Dr. David L. Gilbertson's response
I thought I would respond to these old ratings as I have a little more time now than I did years ago when I first saw them. I was glad this patient was happy that we squeezed him in that day and that he was very happy with the relief that he got. At our office we offer both acute pain relief care as well as corrective or maintenance care. I explain it to all patients their options and then let them decide how they want to proceed. We do promote wellness at the clinic, just like my dentist does, but each patient decides their course of care. As a few years have gone by I have no idea who this was, or if they continued on for care. I obviously wish them the best and hope they continue to get relief from chiropractic, wherever they may be getting at. BTW, I retired from practice in 2022 after 40 great years. It's nice being retired but I sure miss the interaction with all the patients that I really got to know over the years.

Submitted April 11, 2024

Dr. David L. Gilbertson's response
I thought I would respond to this rating we received from 15 years ago as I clearly remember this situation. I'm sorry it did not go as well as we would have liked with the scheduling, but sometimes things are out of our control. I clearly remember the patient as he was referred in by his wife who was a very satisfied patient at my clinic. If I remember correctly it was a Monday morning and the first hour of the day which is always a very busy time after weekends and new injuries that occur. We made a point of trying to fit him in, because he was referred by another patient, but our computer system, with the schedule, went down that morning. We didn't have access to the schedule, we didn't know who all was coming in, we just did the best with what we had to get everybody taken care of.

I was seeing my regularly scheduled patients first and we were waiting for a little gap in the schedule to go see him for a new patient examination, which is much more involved than a regular adjustment visit. Unfortunately he had already decided he was leaving, about 3 minutes before I got to him. He went and saw another doctor up the road that was fairly new in practice, had a open schedule that morning and sounds like he had a good result. I'm happy for that but I wish he would have understood our situation that computer problems were out of our control. We were just trying to help him out by fitting him in.

Obviously, most patient interactions didn't go that way or I wouldn't have lasted 40 years in practice. The doctor down the road was fairly new in practice and I assume had lots of room in the schedule to get him in. That doctor was only there for 2-3 years and then was gone. I don't know what happened to the other doctor as we never met but I did see a lot of doctors come and go during my 40 years in Mill Creek.

BTW, I have retired from practice and the clinic is being run by my successor, Dr. Doerge. He was a patient of mine in the 1990's who went on to graduate from chiropractic college and eventually ended up taking over my practice when I retired.

Submitted April 11, 2024

Dr. David L. Gilbertson's response
Years later, as I fade into retirement, I thought I would respond to this rating. I found this really interesting. She said I was a nice guy who seemed extremely knowledgeable however, she thought I was always rushed and didn't spend a lot of time with patients. She also noted that she felt I never listened to her or got to know her. She also noted that she felt pressured to return even though her insurance benefits run out. Then she turns around and says she wish she could be seen more since she thought I was a great chiropractor and she could already see the benefits from what I had done this far. This is both a good and a bad rating. The good part is that the care was good. The bad part is she had bad insurance.

That is a situation we run into periodically with people. Often times their insurance doesn't cover the amount of care that they really need to get full relief and or correction. We always leave it up to the patient how much they want to come in but do encourage them to get the amount of care that's really necessary. Most people that saw me over a longer period of time realize that I really do get to know them and listen to them.

Now that I'm retired, the thing I miss the most is the patients that saw me off and on for years as we developed a real relationship. As far as commenting on the staff, that was 20 years ago. If I remember right, the front desk staff she was talking about was young and was only there for one year. As far as one of the women being rude and pushy, I really don't know who that would have been as I assume it must have been my lead assistant and she is a wonderful person. Not a mean bone in her body. She is still working there almost 20 years from when this rating was first posted.

As far as the loud and immature intern that she commented on, he may have appeared that way to some people but being only about 25 back then he probably was "loud and immature". He developed into a fine chiropractor and after spending thirteen years working in some other offices, gaining a tremendous amount of experience, he contacted me and he is the doctor that took over my practice when I retired. He is also one of the best people I know.

Since I never knew who this was posting, I did always wonder if she may have come back in for care when financial/insurance situation improved. I had lots of people reactivate every year, get care for a while and then stop again based on finances. I understand that and we always just worked to help them to the level that they were able to receive. That model worked well for 40 years.

Finally, after 20 years, I have responded to this rating! Still just tying up loose ends after all the years in practice.

Submitted April 11, 2024