Mc Carty, Matthew F, MD Austin Pain Associates

These people do not care. Do not go there. Run while you can. more

Good: I would have recommended Dr. Dubois to everyone when he had his own practice but then he joined up with Austin Pain Assoc. in May 2009 or thereabouts and it was downhill from there.. Bad: Can never get an appt. with him, only his assistant, Sara V. She has no people skills and very full of herself with condescending attitude! The warm personal care I received from Dr. Dubois disappeared when he joined up with Austin Pain Assoc.. Improvements: Have staff attend customer service classes. Would like to be able to see the ACTUAL Doctor and not just staff. I gave this office a year after Dr. Dubois went M.I.A. and it was the same rude behavior each time.. Other: I have found another Dr. and am so very happy with the change and would recommend this Doctor to everyone...Take this wee bit of advice...you don't want to go to Austin Pain Assoc. as they think everyone is disposable and can be treated with disrespect.. more

Dr Mc Carty does not work at Austin Pain Associates anymore and he let me set in a gown all day waiting for an injection until he came in and opened my chart and said I could not have the procedure as last time they tried, the needle could not go thru the scar tissue. They told me I could wait until all the patients were done and they would talk to me or I could make another appointment. I waited six hours to discuss THEIR mistakes and it doesn't bother them and they do not have I'm sorry in their vocabulary. I am having to leave this practice because they have misdiagnoised me again after me giving them many tries to include Dr. WIlls. Keep track of your records. more

One reviewer said they were the devil but clicked five which is good. I go here but know how they are. They call you at five when they are returning calls and you can't call back and put that they were unable to contact patient. They give you a treatment plan with prescriptions but five times have written them wrong for me and when I call they say wait even though my treatment plan reflects the amount I need to take and I have to pay a co pay twice! I had a positive urine after having surgery and the surgeon given me meds in the hospital and got a lecture. A sleeping pill they gave me showed up and I don't take it all the time and the PA told me I had a positive . I told my PA of all the bad reviews and she was surprised. I have reactions to the spinal injections and they scarred my back and scheduled me for one when they could not get through the scar tissue but I was undressed in a gown and they told me to go home and I had to wait six hours until the doctor was done with injections to talk to me, There is a Pain Patients Bill of RIghts that disallow a lot of what this clinic does. I have had them count my pills and also I have had to give them one of my pain pills to get another when this is illegal. I said I would destroy them but they kept them. I paid for them, and they did not destroy them in front of me. This was years ago and I am on a titered dose from a reknown speacialist and they still offer me spinal injections even though it is documented I have reactions to the injections which is a nuerotoxin. If you can not handle rude behavior, don't go here. Also I went to the counselor once and talked to him and he said I don't have to come. DR. MC Carty is no longer there. more

Your all right.apa is the devil,i recently told a patient while i was waiting for my appt.what to watch out for even before i knew about this review site.And it just confirms eveything i told her and she said it was true and know she see`s it and is very worried as am I.some lucky writer said in her review she has found a wonderful pain mang. office and i am asking her or all of you to reply to me and the rest us their name and info so i can switch yesterday if possible,lets all help each other and get out of there,please reply. p.s. I`m taking this upstairs for all of us and let the people who can do something about this problem. more

I cannot believe any medical office can be so poorly mismanaged. I have called and left numerous messages and NONE of my calls have been returned. I must say that the people who took all these messages that I left were polite and sympathetic to my frustration and apologizing for the lack of response. What an depressing job to constantly be apologizing for other people's failure to do their job. Prior to Dr. DuBois joining this practice, this was not a problem. After reading all the comments on this site, I can take small comfort that I'm not the only one absolutely disgusted with the way they were treated. How refreshing it was to call another doctor on Monday and be given an appointment for Friday of the same week by courteous and friendly employees. One can only wonder if the doctors in this practice are unaware of the downward path of the practice as evidenced by all the negative comments and ratings. Or, if they simply do not care. more

I was referred to this clinic by my doctors and came to this clinic with medical records that would equal 3 New York Telephone books. I have many health problems, but my doctor decided my pain was caused only by Fibromyalgia.Be Careful. In the contract you must sign to become a patient you agree not to seek help for pain from any other source.If the pain doctor you see is incompetent you might end up dead. I begged for help. I was at a pain level of 7-9 most of the time. Dr. wages said there is nothing for fibromyalgia and he could not help with this unless I wanted spinal shots. Spine shots are not indicated as treatment for Fibromyalgia but they do make the doc's house payment. I was given Tramadol which is like a water gun on a dragon. i ended up months later in the ER where I had many kidney stones trying to push their way through my ureter and my left kidney was partially blocked. Since I cannot see anyone for pain but Dr. Wages, I was so afraid to go to the ER, I changed my mind many times, turned around and went home. This clinic drops you for seeking outside help. I ended up n surgery and if I could i would sue this doctor for incompetence, abandonment,failure to treat,all acts of retaliation due to my sarcastic nature when writing letters regarding my pain to Dr. Wages. i cannot help but wonder what could have happened if I just believed in this man's God complex. A lost kidney is a high price to pay, more

I have been going to them for 10 years and lately they treat you like you are a criminal and have to take degrading urine tests every time you come in. It has gotten so big and impersonal and I can't even get a appt. with Dr. Wills and all I see is one of his nurse practioners Sandy and she is terrible with a awful personality and she bosses the whole staff around as if she the doctor in charge. I can't stand her. I have made several appt s. to see Wills but for some reason he always cancells them with some excuse, maybe he doesn't want me to tell his that all his practice is just a bunch a pill pushers and gets people addicted so they will keep coming back. They never talk about altenative medicine and diet or anything more

Last poster...we have the same Dr. (had, at least) Just so you know, YES, you will be billed for that urine test. And it's just shy of $1600.00. Yes, that's 16 HUNDRED dollars. That's what they billed Medicaid for mine and I was told that's their standard test. I left APA. Something is wrong over there. more

All the neg. reviews here seem believable. I found this site AFTER I went for my reg. appt. & found that my wonderful P.M. doc has joined this APA group – reason unk. Now, reviews here confirm my worst fears. My 1st appt. after "merger" w/APA, was exactly as described here. Parking lot full; waiting room even more full. (Never like that before.) It was only a "med check", but a bad experience. Waited 1 hr.+ for 10 min. visit. In the back - chaos. My 1st "urine test" EVER (after 10 yrs as a legit pain patient) For what reason? I never saw those people before. (ARE they CHARGING me for that? Why?) APA staff seemed not vaguely interested in me (or anyone.) Appeared distracted & confused about what they were supposed to be doing. When I spoke, they looked at me as if I were some annoying talking plant or as if they thought they heard some distant murmur that they couldn't quite make out, as they looked right through me! No one seemed able to make eye contact & everyone had a mean scowl. No one spoke more than to say, "Pee in this cup." Picture stressed out zombies. I couldn't help but feel that my being there was somehow interfering with their doing something more interesting - like kicking their heels. APA staff made NO effort to be nice or friendly, all appeared miserable, ready to take out their frustration on patients, if given a chance. Scary. Sad. Upsetting. Now I fear for my health & for my life - it took yrs to find a great doc & get the perfect level of pain mgmt. At last, exactly where I needed to be, I could HAVE a life. Dr. Dubois is the best P.M.doc ever, a humanitarian, a great person - now what? Can any of us afford to submit to mean-spirited, paranoid, sociopaths at a place where ALL patients are treated like "drug-seeking scum" . . .where sadists blame the victims & do real harm. I believe every neg. thing people said here. I say: RUN far & run fast! Find a better doc ASAP! Don’t pay to be abused! It's not your fault. Please Report Back here! People need the truth to protect themselves. more

Bad: The lack of service, competence, and negative attitude provided by Dr Bernardini's staff was unacceptable. I was given a stronger dose of a pain medication that I could not tolerate. It made me sick to my stomach and I had lost 5 pounds in 6 days. I tried to get approval for two days in a row for a lower dose that I had been using for several years, but did not receive a return phone call with a resolution to the problem. As a result I ended up in the ER on July 3rd. Other: I was under this doctor's care for 8 days and would never recommend that anyone consider using Austin Pain Associcates. As soon as I understood that they were not responsive to the patients needs, I called and canceled all scheduled appointments. And, I agree wtih every negative statement that I read by the other reviewers.. more

I have been agonizing about my care at this facility for months now. I am quite ill and didn't want to go through the hassle of starting with another group. A friend said I should check out Judy's on them and I'm glad I did. It validated everything I've been experiencing with them. No returned phone calls, PA's with no experience or knowledge of my disease, repeated drug tests without cause and the new "push" to join their counseling service. I already see a chronic illness therapist. But they pushed this service on me during the last visit, then had the audacity to charge me for a level 4 office visit (more time), because of how long the PA took pushing the counseling service! I didn't even request it. I also find it odd that for such a sophisticated (technologically speaking) office, no one has email or voicemail. You have to explain your question to a bevy of receptionists and personnel, only to be told you have to make an appointment anyway. I don't abuse this practice. I've made ONE phone call regarding problems with a med and I never got a call back. The true test? I asked my PA, NICELY, to explain my disease as she understood it. After an uncomfortable 2 minutes of fumbling with my chart, we both realized that she didn't have a clue what was wrong with me! She couldn't even pronounce my disease and knew nothing about it.I am ill and would like to feel that I have a medical team behind me who is treating me from a position of knowledge, compassion and integrity. More and more, I feel like a dollar sign. My stomach turns every time I have an appointment with them.Don't let those slick ads in Austin Magazine fool you like they fooled me. I really think this practice is a train wreck waiting to happen. NO ONE is "minding the store." more

Austin Pain Associates' only concern is generating money. My husband has undergone two back surgeries, the more recent was eight months ago. He is still experiencing pain and was referred to APA. We have only been able to meet with a doctor once. They REQUIRE that patients undergo expensive urine analysis and psychological evaluations. My husband is not a pill seeking individual and has no mental issues. I have been told this is "policy". We also asked if it would be possible to get his refills at two different Walgreen's locations due to our schedules, no. As others have mentioned, it is nearly impossible to speak directly with someone regarding your concerns. The person who answered the phone yesterday couldn't even confirm an appt time! I called and said that I wanted to speak directly with the doctor because the PA was unable to answer our questions yesterday. I was told he wouldn't talk to patients on the phone, that we would have to pay the $50 co-pay AGAIN to see him. We will never go back to this place again and have given this feedback to the surgeon who referred us. more

I am most disgusted with Austin Pain Associates staff and the way they handle the phone calls. I have made numerous calls and wasted so much time trying to get through to someone, it is ridiculous! You can never speak with anyone, you have to leave messages, and you are lucky if they call you back. The checkout staff are the same way, they do not seem to care that you are a patient and treat you like number. I have also seen where a person called in stating they were caught in traffic, they gave her 15 minutes, literally she showed up at 16 minutes, and they turned her away. She had just driven in from out of town. more

Dr. Wages and his staff are the most caring people I've ever met. I'm so thankful to have found this group. They always take the time to make sure I am getting better and am happy. I met with Bruno the counselor, and he's great too. Very nice and easy to talk to. I would recommend this place to anyone who suffers from pain. They helped me put my life back together. more

If you are looking for compassionate care DO NOT GO THERE. The staff automatically assumes that you are an addict looking for drugs. There seems to be a lack of communication between the staff. The bedside manner of the staff is the worst I have ever encountered. The clinic makes money from their production line for injections. You will only see the Dr once and then are at the mercy of the unprofessional staff. Also, once you have been treated there they will make it nearly impossible to get your pain treated somewhere else. I would suggest Dr Malone. His staff is courteous, compassionate and very caring. I can not express how much you need to steer clear from this clinic! more

If you have TRUE pain issues, find a group or physician that will give you attention. This is truly a production line. You get to see the doctor once, your initial visit. Then, care is taken over by PA's that span from okay to downright negligent. I was so in fear of them being disciplined and leaving me hanging, I withdrew myself from pain meds. I was new here and after 4 years of PM in another state, I was shocked at the poor level of care in this facility. Try it yourself but HAVE A BACK UP PLAN! more

Dr. Nemeth was with Hill Country Sports Medicine and then with Texas Workers Compensation Commission prior to working at Austin Pain Associates. He has a history of using his expertise to deny people treatment rather than do his part to get people back to living and working. "Sorry, that is as good as you can expect to get". Go somewhere else. He is bad news. more

Bad: The worst patient service ever...Unacceptable treatment plans....If you are in pain PLEASE find somewhere else to go and do your research first.... more

Austin Pain Associates 2501 William Cannon Dr. Suite 401 Austin TX 78745 Last year, while recovering from a terrible car accident and trying to deal with facial nerve damage pain I was sent to pain management at Austin Pain Associates. My first visit with the doctor was great! I felt he was there for me and his "plan" for my treatment sounded real thorough. Not only was he going to address the issues I was dealing with from the car accident, but he also had plans to combat the debilitating migraines I have suffered with for over 15 years. He explained how the offices there all worked together. It is like having a team of doctors working with you. From physical therapy to surgery to follow-up visits...everyone on the "team" communicates and works together so the patient receives the best care possible. I was so excited! On your first visit you meet with the doctor and he paints this beautiful picture of how your treatment will be. He sets you up on a treatment plan to get things rolling. You schedule with any "therapies" he recommends and get your prescriptions. You are asked to sign a contract that states you will only be treated here for any pain and only receive pain meds from here while you are a patient. Fair enough. That makes sense. A few months into becoming an Austin Pain Associates patient I began having severe abdominal pain. When I called to get in to see the doctor he was booked for at least 6 weeks. I asked to speak to a nurse. I was told a nurse would return my call. (I called in on a Friday morning, my call was returned on Monday afternoon.) Over the weekend I was in the ER because the pain was so excruciating. When I finally did receive a call back the nurse told me I would need to come in. I explained how I was told the doctor was booked. She set me up to come in and meet with the PA. At my visit, the PA prescribed me a stronger pain medicine to hold me until I could see the doctor. I went in to see the doctor on my scheduled day. I was told my appointment had been cancelled. The girl at the desk said that one of their schedulers made the mistake of cancelling all my appointments because she misunderstood a notice they had received from my insurance company. I was rescheduled with the doctor another 4 weeks out. In the mean time I had another follow up with the PA. I called on Monday to verify the appointment for Tuesday morning. Again, I had to leave a message to have a scheduler call me back. An hour later the scheduler called. She informed me that my appointment had been moved to today, Monday. I asked why, she asked if I could make it. That was actually better for me because I had another follow up at the hospital that same day. I left work and drove down to the clinic. When I checked in I was told my appointment was for Tuesday. I explained to the girl about that morning’s phone call with the scheduler. After checking with the schedulers no one knew what was going on. They spoke with the PA to see if she could see me since I was there. She could, but not until later that afternoon at 1:00. (It is now 10:30 am) I have another appointment on the north side of town at 2:00 so that will not work. I told them this was the second time they had done this to me. All they could say was, “we don’t know who you spoke with so we don’t know what to tell you.” I told them I will be in at the end of the month to see the doctor for my last appointment and I left. I am still having severe abdominal pain and have had to be hospitalized to keep the pain under control. My primary care physician is doing all he can to get this figured out. At the Austin Pain Associates Pain Management Center they treat all patients like they are drug addicts scamming for narcotics before they treat them for the pain they are suffering from. more