Pain Management Associates

Dr. Harris has been treating my severe neck & shoulder pain for the last 3 years and if I were to objectively evaluate Pain Management Associates practice and the services of Dr. Harris, I would have to give them a full five stars. Honestly, and I thought hard about this, I do not have a single complaint in regards to the 25 – 30 office visits I’ve had, or the 8 – 10 x’s Dr. Harris has performed epidural injection procedures on me.
When their Buried, wait times are never longer than 10 minutes and on average, I spent less than five minutes in the waiting room, am then brought back into an examination room, and Dr. Harris always appears within five minutes, ready to go. I’m always in and out of there within one hour from the time I walk in to the time I walked out with my receipt, prescriptions, orders and great experience.
I tease Dr. Harris, a young, specialist with hands of gold, that he should’ve lived & practiced medicine 30 years ago, during the Golden age of medicine. He always seems to be in a great mood, despite the complete dissection Obamacare and the ACA has done to specialty practices, he’s genuinely compassionate and concerned with your condition, progress, prognosis and treatment plan, and always has a few minutes to shoot the breeze and find out what you’re doing personally, to see if it’s contributing to your condition.
Dr. Harris is the first pain management specialist to give me relief with epidural injections and he’s also very accommodating in regards to professional commitments, that might affect your scheduled Appt.
You got pain? (No, an unruly spouse does not qualify) Dr. Harris is the specialist to see in Orange County. I don’t write reviews and I’m not one for faint praise, but I can sincerely recommend him because I know you’ll also be satisfied with the services, bedside manner and the entire office experience they provide.
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The doctors are good but a lot to be desired of the front office staff. You can never get anyone on the phone. always goes to VM… very inconvenient…

Dr. Pouradib has been helping me with pain issues since 2006. Over these years, he has been caring, compassionate and always available for me. With years of athletics and age, my disks have degenerated resulting in chronic pain.
Dr. Pouradib has supported me on a journey of identifying my condition, physical therapy and medications to treat my condition. Over time the symptoms changed from low back pain to numbness and tingling on my buttocks and down the leg. He never gives up! We have had MRI’s, epidural injections and various medications to treat the symptoms. We discuss the symptoms and he offers options without pushing medication or specific protocols but rather treatment that we both agree upon.
At certain times, the symptoms become more acute so each month when we meet I can keep him informed of pain levels and what we can do to manage this acute condition. After various medications for nerve pain which I could not tolerate, he kept trying without frustration to find the approach to ease my condition. Dr. Pouradib adapts to my changing symptoms and addresses them professionally.
Working in a professional environment, it’s important for me to function and he has helped me to achieve that given my condition. Whatever I need, he is there for me whether it be physical therapy, a change in medication, referrals and compassion. He is a professional but over the years, he has been like a friend supporting me.
Highly recommend him for his professionalism, medical knowledge, kindness and individual approach for treatment options. Love his staff too, they are always wonderful to me. Thanks Dr. P

Dr. Harris is hands down the best. I came to him because my orthopedic surgeon ran out of options on how to treat me without surgery even though I was in favor of surgery if that meant being pain free. I had horrible lower back pain and after seeing the MRI, examining me, and later performing a discogram, Dr. Harris was able to pin point the problem, explain exactly why the pain is occurring and discuss treatment options. Unfortunately, I chose to have a minimally invasive surgery done by a neurosurgeon in my insurance network and not by a referral and now I’m back in Dr. Harris’ office with the same pain that I had before my surgery. I never thought in a million years that I would be dealing with back pain and surgery at 21, but Dr. Harris hasn’t given up on me and I know that I’m headed in the right direction to being pain free and having my life back. I don’t know what I would do without his expertise and guidance.

BAD BILLING PRACTICES. and no one cares. I get bills 8 months later that I cannot submit to my FSA plan and it is a big bill. Hard to get hold of billing dept too. this is riduculous and unprofessional. THen I sent a letter to the office and it came back!!! are they in business or not???

My experience here didnt quite start off on the greatest foot…
I was referred here from an orthopedic surgeon. I have an HMO so everything needs a referral.
I called to schedule an appointment, and it seemed no matter when I called, I got voicemail. When I was able to schedule my appointment, it was for 3:30pm and I arrived around 3:10, because Im always early. The girl at the front desk was on the phone so I signed in, and took a seat. A few people came in after me, signed in, and were taken right away into the back. I sat there for 20 minutes before I was asked what my name was, which… was on the sign in sheet. I was then given paperwork to fill out, at 3:30 which was when my appointment was, after I was already there 20 minutes. That was frustrating.
I was finally taken back about 45 minutes after I arrived, at almost 4pm. When Dr Harris came in, I will admit, I was sort of fit to be tied. I had an attitude. I had been dealing with a level 8+ pain for around 4 weeks at this point, with no relief and nothing but frustration, and sitting in the lobby that long really set my mood off a little worse.
I definitely had a tone, and Dr Harris called me out on it. I let him know my tone wasnt towards HIM, but in general I was really frustrated. After explaining everything I had already tried, and been through, I started to calm down, and Id like to think he understood where all of my frustration was coming from. He was really patient, sat there as long as I needed him to, to explain everything and ask any questions I had.
He agreed to schedule two epidural steroid shots for me, which was what I was requesting. No medications had helped with my pain to this point, and I was given plenty from my doctor, the urgent care and the ER. He gave me an anti inflammatory and a tylenol 3 to sleep at night. The anti inflammatory also ended up not working, and the tylenol helped me but only for the first few nights.
My medical group, Memorial Care, when they saw the referral for this location assumed it was a mistake, and changed it in the system to be approved for Saddleback Surgery Center. No one called me, so they night before my appointment, PMA called to confirm my appointment for the shot. They then called me back and let me know Memorial Care approved the shot but for the wrong facility and if it wasnt worked out before my appointment, I was going to have to be a cash patient, and the shot would run me about $ 500. At that point, I was so tired of the pain, I agreed, and kept the appointment. I got on the phone with Memorial Care the next morning and tried to resolve the problem. Because it was that day that I had my appointment, they did me a «favor» and approved the shot at PMA, however they would not let me return in the 2 – 3 weeks for the second shot I had scheduled. I still dont fully understand Memorial Cares reasoning, but I dont have a choice.
When I showed up to get the shot, I filled out some more paperwork, and Lupe was there in the office. She was the one I had talked to the night before about the problem with Memorial Care. She calmed me down about being nervous and was really friendly. I was taken into the back, and hung out in a little area closed off by a curtain, and was told to get into a paper gown and take off my shirt and bra. Once in the room where the shot is done, the tech cleaned off the area, and was very friendly. Dr Harris came in and did the shot, which once he started he said took a total of about 3 minutes. I was given a shot of lidocaine first then the epidural. It felt a little longer than 3 minutes but all in all, I was expecting much worse. Afterwards, I went back to the chair to hang out, to make sure I didnt have a reaction. I wasnt told to change back into my clothes, so that was a bit funny when Dr Harris came to check on me, and didnt know why I was still in my paper gown. He gave me a prescription for a different anti inflammatory since the first one didnt work, and I was on my way. I was in my car driving home by 5pm for a 4:40 appointment. I did arrive a little early, but it was quick!
At some point between my first visit and the shot, I left two messages, asking to either speak to Dr Harris or have a different medication called in as the first one wasnt helping, and I didnt ever receive a response. I feel like the front office definitely needs some work here, but I was pleased with everything else here.
Unfortunately I have to start over with a new pain management doctor for my second shot because of my medical group, but I honestly wish I could just have Dr Harris do it.

Dr. Harris has been treating me for two years. He is one of the most caring doctors I’ve ever had. I’ve never felt rushed through an appointment and he actually listens to my problems. If he could be cloned the world would be a much better place. This review was written by my wife Leslie T who is the patient of Dr. Harris.

Dr. Harris is awesome! His staff unfortunately is terrible at answering the phone and returning calls. They’re always «behind on messages «. Ok I don’t understand how a doctor’s practice can be two weeks behind on messages, but these gals figured out how to do that. So I will have to find another doctor whose staff know how to work a phone and voicemail.

Made appointment with Dr. Alsharif but was seen by a physician’s assistant. Some days later tried to call to alter the medication. Dr Alsharif or Theresa, the PA, was not in any of the directories. Was put on hold by the operator for over 10 minutes twice. When finally got through, all she could say was that Theresa was not at the location that I was treated by her, and was put on hold again. This is not the way to run a medical practice.

Great Doctors and office staff! They are all very competent. We have seen Dr. Harris and he is a great doctor, knowledgeable, empathic, and compassionate. He throughly assess the patient and makes reasonable suggestions for a plan of care. I would highly recommend him.