Dr. Steven Scott Overman, MD

I finally got my PCP to send me to see Dr. Overman and I found him to be attentive yet straight forward. I got a follow up call, asking me how I was doing. Even though I haven't been back(because I don't need to), I will go back to see him again should I need continued care that my PCP cannot do.

This review has several opinions, but the facts cannot be disputed. My first visit was somewhat positive. Dr. Overman appeared extremely knowledgeable of his field. He asked for a significant amount of detail, but near the end I realized it was extremely important for him to be right, as opposed to reaching a greater understanding of my symptoms. It should be stated I have been suffering for many years and after seeing over 30 specialists, I became flawless at articulating the symptoms. At the conclusion of our first visit, he attempted to sell me his book. This marked the first time in my life a doctor shifted focus of improving my health to make a quick buck. In the interest of beating a debilitating illness, I gave him additional opportunities. During the follow-up visit, he asked me to review his notes to confirm accuracy. There was a minor error, and I very gently explained it was not what I had reported. He followed up with "Hey, life is full of people miss-interpreting things. I… think the assessment is fair. Are you worried about what I think about the note or an attorney?". There really is no acceptable explanation for this type of communication between doctor and patient. This time, I remained patient, but more firmly explained I am only worried about getting healthy. He interrupted and in response to the notes he stated, "Personally, I think it's the latter." Approximately half way through our treatment plan, I began to experience a glimmer of hope. That thought process immediately changed when I arrived at my next scheduled appointment. He came into the room and indicated my chart was missing. This was minor. However, the next few minutes were spent looking around and then I was pawned off onto a colleague. I was not given any medical advice and did not have an opportunity to provide an update. I was still charged for the office visit. Towards the end of our time, it became clear the treatment was not going to work. We began discussing other doctors and treatment options. One thing became troubling. When I provided names of many other doctors, he often asked for the last name twice. That was always followed by an abrupt, "Never heard of him/her". But, when the last name matched other doctors in his, "Instead of religion, let's just say clique", he was suddenly a wealth of knowledge and gave them the highest praise available. I would argue this one-dimensional approach is a factor as to why I did not respond to treatment. One final issue. He was so focused on making sure I was referred to someone in his clique, I ended up receiving unnecessary treatment. He made sure I understood how great this guy really is and he was Duke educated. During my first visit with the new doctor, I very clearly stated I had been tested twice for Sleep Apnea and it is not the cause of my illness. He proceeded to test me anyway, and during our follow-up visit he explained I did not have Sleep Apnea. As you can imagine, I was extremely unimpressed with the doctor from Duke. Oh, and if you post an article on the wall of a patient room about yourself traveling to Tibet, and then a closer examination reveals it was written by you as well, people might view you as too narcissistic to be a good doctor.

Had a fantastic first appointment. Really excited about pursuing medical care with him. Ordered a tremendous amount of costly labs but willing to err on the side of his being thorough. Follow-up appointment he states that he has lost all my notes and therefore we'll need to reschedule. States this has never happened before. Am still billed. 2nd appointment he can't recall what we talked about the previous appt. and cuts our visit short after less than ten minutes saying he has been double booked and needs to leave for a conference. Very disappointing.

first visit he was a breath of fresh air, spent time going over my history and I finally thought I found hope in a dr who was caring and compassionate and wanted to seek out a proper diagnosis. The next several visits were very disappointing. 2nd appt he (previously told me to come back in a month to follow-up on blood work, which he only did 2 minor tests and not a complete workup like we discussed) asked me why I was there for my follow-up apptI was stunned and taken abackhe was supposed to go over the labs and he didn't and didn't do the major test he originally said I needed. He spent like 10 minutes with me. I had so much hope for him. He brushed it off and rushed me out of his office, told me to come back in a month without prescribing treatments, doing tests, referring me to any other specialist or trying a medication. So I thought maybe it was just a bad day for him and gave him another shotsame thing, didn't review my charts, didn't remember me or my history and I felt… like he didn't care about me. He kind of went towards saying it was psychological without actually stating that. I continued to see him for about 7 months, thinking I'd give it a fair shot. He never looked into what he promised me on our first initial visit, continued to forget my case and what we previously discussed, didn't follow through with any tests HE recommended. Completely and utterly disappointed. I think that I'm too hard of a case or something because no doctor seems to want to deal with my chronic illness. I had high hopes for this MD but for some reason, drs in this area dont seem to care about helping many of us "tough cases". It's depressing and saddening when your daily life is so disrupted that you can't seem to do the simple things in life w/o serious consequences. I know Drs can't be the only option, that we need to do things at home to take care of ourselves, we can't expect drs to do everything for us, but they sure can refer you to other specialists if they think your case is beyond their scope or if they are too busy to take another patient. Overall very nice guy to begin with, but his tone changed over the months I saw him. I'm sure he's extremely busy and has a lot to deal with in his office, that I am understanding about, but to be rushed out of his office after asking me why I was there to begin with, then tell me to come back a month later is completely confusing.I have a great job, a family to take care of and don't want to lose everything I worked so hard for. It's been a tough road for me and I need some compassion and someone who can at least TRY to help me and diagnose me. Long story short, you can either have a great experience w/ him or not. Probably depends on the situation but I got the feeling like I wasn't wanted, but still wanted me to return for other future visitswants my payments? Not sure and dont want to speculate but just be cautious when you see him and make sure he remembers you and reads your chart notes before he sees you on future visits.

If there were any physician in the PNW that I would have confidence in the factors of caring, knowledge and making sure an accurate diagnosis is obtained- it is him. He is very intelligent but can be hard to get in to see as his caseload and research projects are immense. He handles all of this with grace. If he seems quick, this is not always the case as he is always keeping many of his patients welfare high on his priority list. He takes care of the most ill of patients and therefore has to prioritize, many may be dying and because of his nature and there being a need for sleep, the man will determine what needs to be done and when. I would have utmost faith in his judgement and I would never have any hesitation in making an appointment to see him if referred. Support staff changes, so I would not base some of these potential issues on his capability to do his job. I would refer family to him and that says a lot. One of the most intelligent men I have ever had the pleasure to meet.