Dr. Paul Jonathon Jaffe, MD

Dr. Jaffe never remembers the decisions he's made for my treatment. I have been his patient for over a year and it is so hard to get appointments. He behaves towards me like I am his ten year old granddaughter - even going so far as to wink at me when we part after an appointment. I just picked up a prescription and the dosage was incorrect!

....and I would highly recommend him to any one in need of a qualified psychiatrist's care - be it for an initial diagnosis, or for a second opinion on a previous diagnosis/treatment plan. HOWEVER, the last time I checked, Dr. Jaffe was still practicing at the Kaiser Permanente Wateridge Center, as the head of Psychiatry. Which means he is only able to see patients who are insured through Kaiser Permanente. In fact, the ONLY reason he is no longer my doctor is because after four years with Kaiser I decided to change health insurance providers & chose to go with Blue Cross Blue Shield. Before I expand on my ratings & experience with Dr. Jaffe myself, I would like to address any one who rated Dr. Jaffe lower than I did, specifically on the qualities of "Spending enough time w/me", & "Following up as needed". They must not understand that IT IS KAISER, NOT DR. JAFFE, that sets things like the minimum number of patients a doctor has to see per day, the number of follow up visits… covered per patient/per year, etc...and it is those regulations that determine the length of patient visits, how often you will be scheduled for any follow up visits, etc. Additionally, if/when I was scheduled for follow up visit(s) with any KP doctor, it was done so according to the Kaiser Permanente guidelines for my procedure/diagnosis, not the desires of a particular doctor. I would also like to remind people again that Dr. Jaffe heads up the entire department of psychiatry at KP Wateridge - which is massive - a factor to consider when rating him on "how easy it is to get an appointment with him". (But please note that that position DOES NOT include his overseeing the support staff for the Waterbridge facility itself - something to think about if rating him on "the courtesy level of the office staff").Lastly I would like to say that I found Dr. Jaffe to be both caring & very knowledgeable; in fact, I have subsequently had two well respected psychiatrists confirm his original diagnosis & suggest the exact same treatments Dr. Jaffe initiated with me when he was my doctor. In conclusion, after spending years as his patient & having had subsequent doctors confirm his original findings, I feel confident saying Dr. Jaffe is an excellent doctor whom I would highly recommend to others. I will be forever grateful to him for sharing his expertise & his guidance - both of which continue to serve me to this day.

I saw him for 10 years. He was great.

I just do not feel this doctor has any interest in me or my well being. He does not want me to share how I am feeling - rather, he asks perfunctory questions,types repsonses on his computer and never looks directly at me.This is the only negative experience I am having with Kaiser.

I have been seeing Dr. Jaffee for over 4 years and honestly, I feel he is on autopilot when I visit him. Most of the time he just asks me questions on his computer screen (while facing his computer screen) to fill out the form for the check-in. I have talked to him about taking other medications but he does not seem knowledgeable about alternative medications or even lifestyle changes that might promote positive change. If you need a doctor to just give you the drugs you want, go to Jaffe, if you want to work with a Dr. who provides you lifestyle guidance to help combat your illness on multiple levels, find someone else. The only reason I am still with him is because I have taken on the responsibility of my medication myself, I have educated myself on options and other resources. I just need to him to sign the paper to get what I need. Sad. He is a nice man, just not engaged at all.