Amazing physician. He has advocated for me and helped me tremendously through this year with two major pain issues. One of the only doctors i trust and would recommend to anyone struggling with chronic pain. read more

I have been seeing Dr. Shinaman for 3 years. I have chronic neck and knee pain, and he has done a great job so sometimes Ican walk a mile!! Hw is a terrific doctor and Guy and the times that I see him are like being with an old friend. He is a kind genius! His staff are great, friendly and caring. I have referred many to him. read more

Saw the Dr. in early January for back pain. He indicated next steps were to get MRI and then an injection treatment at his office. Said staff would follow up. One week goes by and no follow up. I call and the receptionist said she would send a note to his assistant for follow up. Another week goes by and no follow up. Thanks a lot for not caring about me as a patient and my back pain. Since then found a very responsive provider that actually cares. Just today in late March, his staff calls and leaves a message to schedule follow up. Are you kidding me? Like 70 days later. Here is the final straw. I inform the lady I talked to in the office of what happened and she said okay. Not a word of concern or that they dropped me like a lead balloon. Dr. Shinaman: you may be a great doctor, but your logistics and organization for follow up is totally dysfunctional. Do not recommend! Ever!!! ps: this seems to be a constant pattern. See the other negative reviews below about the lack of follow up and dysfunction. read more

My wife visited Dr Shinaman over the last year for joint pain. He came highly recommended and was an in-network doctor. To be succinct, Dr Shinaman has a good physician demeanor, listening to what my wife said all the while doing the examination and tapping away at a note taking device. On the other hand, his administrative staff leaves a bit to be desired. Mostly younger employees that are completely unaware of the concept of following up as instructed by the Dr and more importantly inexperienced in the nuances of insurance plans. My advise is to be very informed on your individual plan and educate them along the way as they made too many assumptions (and mistakes) relating to our plan which resulted in delays in obtaining services. This is important for two reasons, one is you don't want to pay more than necessary and the other is you'll be dealing with the staff more than the Dr so understand you'll have to be very proactive. These delays will only prolong the pain and the treatment eventually prescribed. read more

I'm sure he is a competent doctor , however, is he generally to busy to see you and the Physician Assistant doesn't translate conversations to him. I've had to call his office five days in a row to get a simple question answered. Horrible staff. I was discussing my situation to a friend and he said "you must be going to Shinaman, I had to find a new doctor". read more

After several months of pain and barely able to walk, Dr Shinaman was recommended to me. His staff was unbelievable. Six days before Christmas they found a time and surgical center where Dr Shinaman performed the procedure of injections which provided relief and I was able to stand up. The followup office visit convinced me this is a doctor who knows what he is doing and has the highest degree of integrity. He is concerned for the whole patient. He doesn't just prescribe drugs but treats the entire situation correctly. It is easy to cover the pain but not deal with the issue. I thank God Dr Shinaman was referred to me. He is the best! Also, I have never seen an office so efficiently run and with so much courtesy and respect. Look no further if you want a doctor who will provide real solutions to your pain. Frank T read more

I have been a patient to Dr. Shinaman for years and am continually amazed by both his professionalism and capabilities. A main reason for writing this review is his office staff and their true empathetic responses and their willingness to go the extra mile. Alisha and her effort to get my last procedure scheduled and completed was no less than a miracle and true representation of her commitment to her patients. If you are hurting, and feel alone, "Go slow to go fast" and reach out to Dr. Shinaman and set up a consultation. read more

UPDATE: Dr Shinaman continues to help me overcome a plethora of pain issues. Even better, the new office staff is on top of insurance authorizations and approvals. STILL 10 stars for this wonderful group of caregivers. read more

Dr. Shinaman and everyone at Pain Medicine Consultants are the best there is in the Bay Area! If you want drugs, which are short term band-aids, go to other pain doctors. If you want to have a thoughtful, solution-based conversation with a pain doctor who actually cares about you, and wants to find LONG-TERM solution for your pain management, go to Dr. Shinaman and the people at Pain Medicine Consultants. He has so many tricks up his sleeve, many my other pain doctors never even discussed with me. He and the practice are on the cutting edge of pain management and I'm lucky to be a patient there. The location in Pleasant Hill is gorgeous. EVERYONE working there does everything extremely quickly, which you know is a godsend if you have chronic pain. Stop what you're doing and call Dr. Shinaman NOW read more

The best back pain doctor you'll Ever get. He again help me get relief from my sciatica pain. I've had other epidurals that did absolutely nothing but Dr Shinaman gets it right every time. I had to have a girls now and both times he did it perfectly in the right place. He also did some other things to help me with the pain. He takes the time to study your x-rays and he has his own opinion that he discussed with you. Just give him one chance to help you you won't be sorry. I've had epidurals from other doctors that did absolutely nothing. He's on the wrong Avenue in Pleasant Hill not far from the freeway so it's very easy to get to. Give them a call if you want to get rid of your pain read more

Dr. Shinaman was highly recommended to me by Robert Rovner, MD for a simple procedure. Dr. Rovner's office sent in the referral, and I waited to hear from Shinaman's office. When no one called me from the scheduling department, I called Shinaman's office, left two voice mails, and finally received a return call several days later. The person with whom I spoke claimed that no referral had been received, so I sent over a copy myself. (I've since learned that Rovner's office did, indeed, send over the referral.). I waited another week for someone to call me to schedule an appointment. When no call came, I called and left a third message. Today, I finally received a call to schedule an appointment only to be told that it would be at least a month away. Dr. Shinaman may be a good physician, but his office procedures need a complete overhaul. He is a specialist in pain consultation. In claiming to be "excellent," it is certainly NOT evident from his office culture. read more

Dr. Shinaman is exceptional doctor. He is very knowledgeable about pain and how the body works. . I have been a patient of his for over ten years. I would recommend Dr. Shinaman to anyone who has pain. I'm a very complicated patient and he has helped me live a better quality of life. read more

STAY AWAY from Dr Shinaman and Pain Medicine Consultants. Dr Shinaman doesn't listen and Pain Medicine Consultants is BY FAR the most unprofessional and poorly run doctor's office I've ever been to. Here's a summary of my experience. Before my first appointment I called for directions. The phone number I had was from a different office location and the lady I spoke to was very little help in directing me as she had only been there once. Apparently patients call that office a lot, but PMC hadn't printed out directions and does not allow their employees to look up directions online. When I got there, I waited for two hours. During my appointment, when I asked Dr Shinaman a question, he would answer a different question. This happened a few times, even when I said "I'm not asking (the question he later answered). During the appointment we decided that a neurostimulator might be a good option for me, mostly because he didn't offer me any other options. I later discovered through my own research that there were quite many treatments that would have been much less invasive and could have potentially cured my problem, instead of putting a "bandaid" on it. During the many months that I saw Dr Shinaman, this turned out to be the norm. According to them my insurance company required me to complete some lengthy paperwork and I was told to wait "a while" for them to call me. Two months later I realized that I hadn't heard from them so I called and left an extremely nice message saying that I wasn't sure if it had been long enough, but it had been two months, and that I'd like a call back either way. The next day I didn't get a call back, so I called and left another message. I was super sweet & calm and reaffirmed that I just wasn't sure what was going on. I continued to leave calls w/messages all week, w/o a single call back, and by Friday I was starting to wonder what was going on. So I called the main number again and told the person that I'd left messages every day for a week, had not gotten one call back, and confirmed that the person I was leaving messages for was, in fact, in the office. The front desk got the person I needed to talk to on the line and finally connected us. This person confirmed that they had gotten my messages & apologized, but didn't offer any explanation. She did find my paperwork and processed it, but that gave me some real concerns about how this office was being run. I tried looking for other pain management doctors in the area, but at the time, neither Google, yellow pages, nor my insurance company's list had any other pain management doctors. Throughout the time that I saw Dr Shinaman he continued to answer my questions with answers to other questions, wouldn't give me the proper amount of medication that he prescribed (he'd actually given me two weeks worth of medication at the dose he prescribed but claimed he gave me a month's worth of medicine, something confirmed by multiple third parties). And I later found out that he was telling the staff that I was an addict and was taking twice as much pain medication as he prescribed, even though I was really taking a third less medication than he prescribed, also confirmed by both mine and the defendants (car accident) attorneys, my pharmacy, and my insurance company. Whenever I had a question or needed a form filled out or a procedure scheduled, the staff would promise to call me back, but didn't call, didn't pick up when I called and didn't return any of my messages. One time, I was waiting on them to fill out a disability form for which they charged more than twice the amount that everyone else in the area charged for it. They knew that I had no money coming in until it got it sent in and approved and I was extremely broke. They told me it would take a week, but three weeks later, two of which I spent calling their office every day, I ended up driving half an hour to their other location to ask what was going on in person. I found out that they hadn't touched it the entire time! Until that point I had never once been rude, angry, or even a little upset. No matter what I did, the problems only worsened. When I needed to have my next procedure, I was told that I would have to call and get the authorization myself, even though I am not trained to do so and it requires paperwork that they keep in their office and codes they learn in school. My insurance was extremely good about authorizing and paying for my treatment and PMC had not had any problems with getting things authorized or paid. They were trying to get me to do their job, despite the fact that I was frequently having procedures worth over $10k to them! After all of these issues, I complained to the office manager. She told me that every other patient of theirs had these issues as well, which I think is outrageous. If they knew these problems existed, why hadn't they done something about it? read more

Over a period of 5 years with a multilevel back fusion, I offer the highest regards for professional care. Pick an expert... surgeons do surgery... If you are pain, get a specialist! Dr. Richard Shinaman and his staff helped me stay employed and get to the other side of terrible adversity. Be prepared for what has happened with legislative change in our state regarding oversight and regulation of narcotics. These changes are difficult for patients and medical staff so pack your patience for the best standards of care. Remember, you aren't the only one in the waiting room with terrible chronic pain.... Thank You Dr. Shinaman! read more

I found Dr. Shinaman to be very attentive and caring. He cared about me as a person unlike many doctors in the area. He was able to give me my life back and for this I am very grateful. He is busy, but all good doctors are! nancy is incredible! read more