Dr. Richard Lee Rauck, MD

Dr. Rauck displays tremendous knowledge in the field of pain medicine. He is very warm and compassionate. He also had a great sense of humor, which doesn't really have much to with medical treatment except that laughter helps me cope with my pain. I am thankful for the 20+ years that he has provided outstanding treatment for my pain condition.

chronic pain causes serious anxiety! the worry of how am i going to work and making a living is devastating. surgery means weeks of recovery with no pay in my situation. so prescribing the right meds and dosage is key. if you find meds are not working especially as time passes and dosage needs adjusted only to be dismissed because you faltered from amount that should be taken is crushing. you are at risk of seizure , heart attack and worse. we need to not be labeled abusive. you are then at ground zero once again. please help us

Dr. Rauck is a world renowned physician, but he is not accessible to his patients. It took over 2 months for him to finish my notes {that my other specialists needed}. It took 3 months to schedule a procedure that was supposed to have taken place within weeks. When I called to inquire, I was "politely" chewed out by the scheduler, then told I was welcome to call and check back if not scheduled in a few weeks. Called back a few weeks later and was fussed at again. I have a rare, incurable disease that poses life-threatening complications with medications and procedures. . . with a high percentage guarantee that the procedure would cause complications. So much so that the other colleagues in his office would not touch me. When I decided {after *much* thought and prayer -- I was not rash in my decision} to cancel the procedure, the scheduler duly gave me the 5th degree because I would dare to cancel after he {finally!} scheduled. My greatest fear was that if I did go through with… it, and if I did have a life-threatening complication, would I be treated as I have so far??? . . . I'm sure he would bother himself 3 months after the fact. The *only* reason I gave the staff 2 stars was in fairness to the receptionists and nurses.

When i first came to Dr. Rauck, he ws still a resident with the ncbh pain clinic. he ws very compassionate, and caring. then the pain clinic closed and dr. rauck started his own practice. it ws very hard to get an appt. w/him and usually he ws only in there for 5 minutes. then, those of us who were on maintenance medications were farmed out to other doctors. when my 'new' doctor decided to retire i came back to dr. rauck. i still had trouble getting to see him for more than five minutes...but the people i did see were generally good except for the fact that they seemed to adopt the assumption that a patient wld abuse a drug if given the chance and often were treated that way, if only in subtle ways. i tried to understand that doctors now are under a lot of stress to comply with the rules in raleigh, and they had to be careful, but it still didn't make getting the 3rd degree pleasant. what bothers me the most is that i have also been told that if i cldn't pay my copay that i would… have to reschedule my appt. i always pay my copay and the one time that i couldn't pay on my appt. day ,i ws told i would have to come back. also, i had to pay for someone to fill out my fmla form, when it mostly only involved copying last year's form. the last straw was when i wanted to discuss this practice with dr. rauck and was told that he did not call patients, that he had his other doctors do that. nothing i said wld make the person i talked to give him a message to call me. that tells me that dr. rauck must feel his time is more important than mine or other patients, and it seems as a previous review states, that dr. r. seems to be more interested in his world class reputation, his magazine and the financial aspect of the business of pain control than he is in having a 'hands on' relationship with his patients. i finally switched to another practicioner in his office and have been well satisfied with the clinical treatment, but the emphasis on collecting money seems well in place as well. when people suffer from chronic pain, it is debilitating in more than just a physical way. these patients need practioners who understand that it's more than the pain that makes things stressful, and dr. rauck's financial practices put unnecessary stress on an already stressful situation. i would have been glad to discuss this with him, if he had only had the courtesy to return my call.

Dr. Rauck is the consummate professional. While it can be difficult to get an appointment with him and the wait is often long, that is actually a testament to what a sought after physician he is. He is VERY knowledgeable, active in current research, and EXTREMELY compassionate. I highly recommend Dr. Rauck if you have a chronic pain need.

Dr Rauck used to be a great Dr and by some, he probably still is. However, since when does he allow his office staff, to turn pts away that are drug dependant for many years? And the only thing that they can recommend is giving you something for "nausea and blood pressure." What about all the physical and psychologial discomforts that comes with being off meds? After taking narcotics for many years, it will do strange things to a body and mind. And, I don't feel that we are alone in this situation, there has to be many other former pts out there that feel the same way we do. WE WERE TURNED AWAY (after 14 years of being a pt) NOT BY A DOCTOR BUT BY A FINANCIAL DIRECTOR AND OFFICE MANAGER. SO, THIS TELLS ME THAT THE ONLY REASON THAT WE WERE TURNED AWAY FOR FINANCIAL GAIN AND NOTHING MORE!!

Brilliant Doctor! Caring, compassionate and dedicated to his patience.