Chris S Pallia MD - Orthopedic Surgeon - Ortho1 — Local services in Coronado

I highly do not recommend seeing Dr. Pallia or Ortho1 Medical Group -- they do not hold themselves accountable or transparent. I would rate them 0 stars if I could.

• BILLING PROCESS REVIEW * I had a doctor's appointment with Dr. Christopher Pallia on July 14, 8:30am for my carpal tunnel symptoms. I was billed for a 45+ minute session on my health insurance claim. However, I know that I was only there for around 30 minutes. I was texting my boyfriend around the time I entered and left the appointment, since he dropped me off and was waiting for me in the parking lot.

I've called Ortho1 and I've left 3 voicemails across the last 2-3 weeks, trying to reach the billing department. Their voicemail says that someone is supposed to return my calls within 24 hours -- no one has.

• APPOINTMENT WITH DR. PALLIA REVIEW * Additionally, I was told that I was required to get an x-ray before my appointment. The front office recommended I go across the street to the Sharp hospital, where they do walk-in x-rays.

We didn't even look at the x-ray for my appointment. I had minor carpal tunnel problems (which to me felt pretty major at the time because I'd never had carpal tunnel before), and Dr. Pallia simply moved and pressed my hand and wrists around.

Two weeks later, I see my x-ray bill from Sharp hospital. It's a whopping $1356 pre-insurance. And $755 after insurance. Maybe this isn't the doctor's office's fault and maybe it's the problem of our health system in the States, but I believe I have the right to know if (1) an x-ray TRULY is required and (2) give the patient you're a disclaimer that the cost of getting an x-ray at a hospital is going to be very costly.

• PROGNOSIS REVIEW * For my carpal tunnel symptoms, Dr. Pallia recommended that I get cortisone shots in my wrists if it got worse (aka to invasively stick a needle into my wrist), but to give it a week or few. Dr. Pallia's recommendation was to just wait the symptoms out, and to consume cortisone pills to reduce inflammation. I never got the prescription.

When I asked Dr. Pallia about stretching or his recommendation on seeing a physical therapist, here's what our conversation sounded like: "Sure, home stretching could help." "What kinds?" "Oh you can find them on the internet." "Should I see a physical therapist?" "Your symptoms aren't that severe. You don't need to unless it gets worse. They really shouldn't be letting people see physical therapists without a referral because physical therapists aren't trained doctors."

TLDR; Nothing actionable, besides take pills and wait.

My physical therapist from Crossover that I saw later that day was much more helpful, and actually gave me a prognosis of ~6 weeks to recovery, actionable home stretches to perform (e.g. x times and y repetitions per z days).

Why did I write this all?

You'll see that on my Google reviews history, I have never posted a one-star review with such a long description before (besides the reviews to the entities involved in this same story: Ortho1 Medical group, Dr. Pallia, and Sharp Coronado, and Sharp Coronado Imaging).

I am writing this as a PSA to anyone out there who might be going through a similar problem. I don't want anyone to go through what I did. No one should have to jump through so many hoops to get treated, or have to worry about so many other problems, like (1) how many hundreds of dollars is that x-ray going to cost, (2) how can I fight off this claim that's been incorrectly billed to me for the wrong amount of time, or (3) is a doctor or a physical therapist more effective at giving me advice?

It's now been 1 month since my doctor's appointment. My claims were posted about 2 weeks after. 2-3 weeks later, I'm still waiting for a response from the billing department.

By the way, my wrist and forearm are on fire right now. I went into writing this whole review knowing that I would tire myself out for the day, but I still put my whole heart and soul into...

Forever Grateful to Dr. Chris Pallia.

I will forever be thankful for Dr. Pallia. After suffering a work injury and enduring a long, difficult workers' compensation claim that lasted over two years (2024)I was referred to him by my attorney Mr. Manuel J. Rodriguez, who highly recommended him as one of the top doctors in the field.

From the very beginning, Dr. Pallia showed compassion and a true understanding of the pain I was going through—not just physically, but emotionally and financially. At that point, I had lost my health, financial stability, and, honestly, my hope. I had been told I was permanently impaired without ever receiving the proper treatment for my injury. But Dr. Pallia listened—something that’s sadly rare in healthcare. He never rushed me, always treated me with kindness, and worked alongside me to create a path toward healing, even when the insurance denied treatment again and again.

He empowered me with information, gave me exercises to do at home, and never gave up on my recovery. Thanks to his support and expertise, my condition improved significantly—from a prognosis of permanent impairment to only a 1% residual impact at my final medical evaluation.

More than just treating my injury, he pointed out other important health issues I needed to address. I felt truly supported—seen not just as a patient, but as a whole person. Dr. Pallia made a profound impact on my life and on the lives of those around me.

Because of him, I’ve been able to reclaim my life and fulfill my purpose. I’ve gone back to school to become a nurse, inspired by the care and compassion he showed me. I truly wish more people could have the support of Dr. Pallia during one the most challenging times in their lives—it makes all the difference in the world.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for helping me heal, for inspiring me, and for showing me what kindness in medicine truly looks like. My...

Front office staff were nice, but their system must be a mess because someone called and scheduled me, a different person called and left me a message asking me to reschedule, i called and talked to someone who rescheduled me, and then another person called me asking if i got the message to reschedule.

Beyond that issue, I don't want to see the Dr again.

I come from a medical family - surgeons, nurses, drs, and used to be a corrective injury specialist and trainer.

Because my insurance couldn't get me in with the Dr until almost a month after it happened, I'd been paying out of pocket for physical therapy in order to improve until I could see the insurance-covered dr and PTs.

I walked in with a full report of my week to week assessments, rehab protocol, improvements, etc. from the out of pocket ortho and pt. I asked the Dr if he wanted to see them and he REFUSED.

Then he asked what hurt. I used some medical phrases I know to describe when my injury still bothered me. He essentially rolled his eyes at me and said "oh we are using big medical words huh"...

who is that condescending to a patient? What dr refuses to see what preventative care and rehab the patient has been doing already before making recommendations?

Not a good experience. Will...