website: http://www.marceyshapiro-md.com/

1152-A Solano Avenue, Albany, CA 94706

Re: Holistic Doctors
I was a patient of Dr. Marcey Shapiro for two years, and was very pleased with the care that she provided. She allots half an hour for a basic appointment, so she takes lots of time with each patient and as a result I never felt rushed. She's a very good listener, and integrates Chinese/herbal/holistic medicine with traditional western medicine. I also loved the fact that she WROTE DOWN all of the recommendations that she made, gave me a copy and put a copy in my medical files.

Unfortunately, this level of care comes at a price: Dr. Shapiro is fairly expensive and doesn't accept any insurance, so I needed to file for reimbursement with Blue Cross, my then- provider, and was reimbursed for only a fraction of the cost. Ultimately this is why I switched doctors.

Dr. Shapiro seems to be a big fan of herbal supplements, which she sells in her office. The supplements can be rather expensive (and of course are not covered by insurance). This made me wonder about the necessity of all of the herbs she recommended -- they may well have been in the best interest of my health, but I always wondered because of the apparent conflict of interest.

One last note: it generally took a week or more to get an appointment. I don't know how she handles emergencies or illnesses which need to be seen on the same day, as I never needed to call for a same-day appointment.

Overall I think Dr. Shapiro is an excellent doctor. Hannah