Dr. Richard Jay Atkins, MD

Dr. Atkins diagnosed me with BPD 20 years ago. He saved my life and changed my life. He is a master at assessing and diagnosing, and paying attention to changes in the patient. He listens. He cares. He is not just a drug dispenser as are so many psychiatrists. Is he late sometimes? Yes. I imagine he deals with emergencies and I have had my share and he has been there. Is there occasionally an issue with office staff or his service? Yes. But they are responsive and kind. Good luck to another reviewer who stated they are going to look elsewhere for care. There is no way to replace Dr. Atkins. He is one of a kind/in his field.

Rigid cancellation plan - be prepared to pay if they claim you did not timely cancel. If you do cancel, figure out some way to confirm it. Of course, if their phone message system isn't answering, then how can you cancel? We too experienced long, unexplained wait times - of course, we weren't offered a cancellation for those experiences. "Follows up after visit": Ludicrous.... never.

complete waist of time and money.

My daughter was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age. But we noticed she also had frequent, over the top, mood swings. We were recommended to Dr Atkins by her counselor when she reached teen years as the mood swings were getting more dramatic. We made the appointment, flew to California, and he diagnosed her with mild Bi-Polar NOS, prescribed medication that she can take along with her ADHD meds, and since that time has been like a different child. she feels the difference and knows she needs to take her meds to stabilize her moods. Our lives are so much better and so much more peaceful. i don't walk on egg shells anymore and my daughter is getting the help she so desperately needed. I can't say enough about Dr Atkins. He was a Godsend to my family.

we invariably wait...one time we waited for an hour and 45 min. and Dr Atkins came out and didn't even acknowledge that he was late! His secty, Karen, lied about notifying us of an upcoming appointment and pointed to her notation of the call! What could we say? This was the final straw for us...after MANY years....We are actively looking for another psychiatrist to handle meds for add. Dr. Atkins needs an office manager who understands how a medical office should be run. I have run them myself and can see that Karen does not know how to handle the practice.