Alphaeus Wise, MD

We have been seeing Dr Wise and Nurse practitioner Lisa for many years now. I just think they have the best staff. I never have to worry about our medical treatment we get from them. They make my husband and I feel very comfortable. Always seem to go above and beyond.

I left another doctor because he was always late and always too busy to listen to me.
I love Dr Wise. I never feel rushed when he’s seeing me, and feel he truly cares about how I am feeling. He looks for solutions that will help me. He’s compassionate and thorough, and always seems happy and positive.
I would highly recommend Dr Wise and hope I never have to find another doctor!

Dr. Wise and his staff and other practitioners couldn’t be more lovely! Patient, interested, empathetic, kind, thorough! I do NOT understand the one star review below throwing off his overall rating but it is rather an insane rant, which Unilocal (since it is so fond of doing so) should block! I just started seeing the good doctor and Lisa (NP) a few months ago and I have serious, complicated health issues, all of which have been addressed! They are outstanding!

From the beginning… Staff was very pleasant and attentive when scheduling the initial appointment. I needed to change the time and left a message, got a call back the next day. Had to wait a month to see the doctor, but I would rather wait for quality then have someone available in a week.
Day of appt… The office is located in a 1970’s garden apartment style suite. Opened the front door and wow! Totally cool and comfortable, kinda swanky and charming. Reception was easy. We filled out the paperwork prior to the visit.
Dr Wise was fabulous. Very kind and warm. Always had a smile. Offered very constructive recommendations. Very thorough and detailed.
We left with all of our questions answered. Very thorough visit. Will definitely keep him as our primary care doctor.

Mis-​represented billing practice by Dr. Wise office and Dr. Wise.
I called Dr. Wise office to ask whether Dr. Wise is accepting new patient and also to request for an annual physical examination. It will be my first time to visit Dr. Wise. I went and met Dr. Wise. He asked me to fill in my medical history and reviewed with me, ordered a blood test and asked me to come back to review the blood test results with me. The second office visit was scheduled a month later. Today (August 10, 2015) Donna from Dr. Wise office called me to remind me the second doctor appointment and also told me that I have to pay $ 105 for my first Dr. visit. I was puzzled and told Donna that the annual physical as part of preventive procedure, is fully covered by my insurance and should NOT be charged to me. Donna told me that the first visit is NOT annual physical, instead, it is a regular Dr. visit. Tomorrow August 11 visit will be my annual physical checking.
I filed a complaint to my insurance Anthem BlueCross to dispute this $ 105 charge. They told me that Donna filed a code as «examination treatment». If the code is filed as «preventive procedure», I will NOT be responsible for the $ 105 cost.
I am very disturbed by Dr. Wise office billing practice. No one has never notified me that the 1^st visit is NOT considered as a part of annual physical (preventive procedure).
My main issue with Dr. Wise is that he did not inform me that my 1^st visit is NOT an annual physical checkup. I feel I was cheated by Dr. Wise’s misrepresented billing practice. First, it has never communicated to me that the first visit is regular treatment and will be billed as such! Neither the office person nor Dr. Wise himself did this type of communication with me at any given time points. I was seen as his new patient, and requested to be seen as an annual physical checkup. The Dr.‘s office and the Dr. himself obviously understand there is a bill difference between the physical and annual checking, why would they choose NOT disclose such billing practice to me? No one made it clear to me at the first place. I do NOT feel that it is done in good faith! I feel I was cheated by Dr. Wise’s misrepresented billing practice. If Dr.‘s office manager told me that the 1^st visit is a regular visit, and cannot be treated as a preventive annual checkup, I will decline to come to your place at the very beginning.
If the priority of a doctor is to «allure» new patients in to scam them, I feel sorry the patients he is seeing.

Dr. Wise is honestly the best doctor I have ever had. Personable, takes the time to chat and really listen to what’s going on with you, and never makes me feel rushed or like I’m just another patient. I totally dig him. I also love his PA… she’s great. Wonderful practice… and I’m always able to get in to see one of them in a timely manner. Happy to have found him!

First off, I have not seen this doctor, but this is my experience in trying to become a patient.
I have a week-​long cold and decided it’s time to find a new doctor close to home.
Did my research (several «good» doctors are not taking new patients, and finally found Dr Wise.
I called up, and asked if they are taking new patients. The person told me they are, and they are booking new patients into March (it’s Jan 21^st). When I said that I can’t imagine booking a GP 2 months in advance, she said if I want I could see the nurse practitioner, and she’s booking into February. Wow.
Off to urgent care I go instead.

I am a Nurse practitioner, and I have worked for John muir health for 14 years, I recently switched my PCP to Dr. Wise. He is an angel from medical school. I made him my chidrens PCP as well. He is so compassionate, professional, and caring doctor. I can’t speak highly enough of him. I work with so many doctors within the John Muir network. Dr. Wise takes my honor! He is truly the best.

Update: I get an e-​mail from the doctor himself stating that his receptionist will call me to set up an appointment (8 days later I get this e-​mail.) Don’t hear from the receptionist at all. Call and she doesn’t answer, goes straight to voice mail. I write back a day later letting the doctor know his receptionist never called me to set up an appointment and his response is: «Sorry we failed you».
How are they going to pay for their new office if they can’t even schedule appointments and have staff that don’t follow through?
I would not recommend going here.

After having issues with John Muirs customer service, I decided to try Dr. Wise’s family practice. My husband see’s Dr. Wise and really likes him. I have been seeing his nurse practitioner, Lisa Wright. The staff are very friendly and Lisa is terrific! When I call the office, the phone is picked up right away. I am not on hold for over 30min. I never feel rushed and am well taken care of. It’s nice to be part of a small family practice that takes pride in their work. I highly recommend this practice.

Dr. Wise is a great doctor. I am a little surprised at some of the reviews as most people say he is great but that he is too busy. I have not found that to be the case at all. Yes, when I was new, I had to wait for a few weeks to get my new patient appointment, but other than that, I get in quickly and efficiently.
As much as I like the small town doctor approach, I also need the high technology as well. I make my appointments online using the portal, I can see my prescriptions, I can order refills, and I can send notes to the doctor without having to go in. Very easy and very quick.
Once you do go in, they do annoying things like insisting on weighing you and taking your blood pressure. A small price to pay for the level of service and the ability to converse. I don’t know how anyone can survive the Kaiser experience or the big medical group practice experience. Having your own doctor who you can talk to is the best. Dr. Wise is easy to talk to, he is very knowledgeable, and he cares. No matter what the subject is, he can talk to you about it and help you understand the causes and your options.
I am in the customer service business and I am picky. There is no way I would give less than 4 – 5 stars for the office. I have been with other doctors and Dr. Wise’s practice is the best one I have been with!

After 6 years of being a patient of Dr. Wise I’m sad to say I’ve scheduled my last appointment for two weeks from now. He’s too busy to see me for that appointment so I won’t even get to thank him for the years of trusted healthcare. Perhaps the nurse practicioner will pass along my message after she completes my physical.
I loved the attentiveness of the small office and caring staff, but they have become overwhelmed by their popularity and growth and are unable to properly manage their patients as a result.
A few months ago I had a sore throat so bad I could hardly swallow liquids. I called teary-​eyed for an appointment and was told they had an opening several days later. I walked in to Walnut Creek Urgent Care and they immediately tested me positive for strep and I began antibiotics. Unfortunately, Urgent Care doesn’t do female annual exams, so for the first time I kind of feel like I have no trusted health care professional at all that can monitor my all-​around well-​being. Le sigh.
While I believe that Wise’s office will give you great care when they are treating you, getting the appointment requires patience and lots of time. This may work for some people, but I am no longer one of them.

It bites to have to lower the rating. The doctor here is a good doctor and it used to be easy to get an appt and he would usually take the time to talk to you and actually HEAR you unlike many others. But, I’ve noticed in the last year that the practice has grown to a point where you will call and get put on call for many minutes. Usually the receptionist is quick and abrupt but, given the constant phone calls I can see the frustration. They prefer to receive prescription refill requests by fax and even after doing this method through the pharmacy to request a prescription over and over along with leaving messages I’ve had to resort to now trying to find another local MD to see me and establish a patient relationship with because I have found it very difficult to not only get an appt with Dr Wise within the same week but, to even get a prescription refilled that used to be easier to get refilled when I started coming to the practice before it got so busy. I haven’t even received a return phone call after leaving a few voicemails. I’m glad that he’s getting a lot of new patients but, wish there was some balance to help with those of us who have been with him for a few years or more. I do recommend him as an MD, the practice just seems overwhelmed. I miss the days where it still had that «small town feel». It kind of lost that now.

I heard from a couple of friends that Dr. Wise was great. Being new to the area, I decided to take their (and my fellow Unilocalers’) advice and make an appointment.
This review is based solely on the receptionist/​office staff who answers the phone. It took me four phone calls to get through past an abrupt ‘I have calls in front of you please hold’ to the receptionist. One call, they left me on Muzak for a good 10 – 15 minutes and never came back to me. Still, I persevered in the hopes that I was just getting them at busy time (despite the 4 separate calls made at various times during the days).
I finally got through and start with ‘Hi, I’m a new patient and I wanted to…’ before I got cut off because another call came through and she dumped me back on hold and their Muzak station. When she returned, she pretty much couldn’t be bothered to talk to me like a valued potential client but just another annoying phone call among many.
Dr. Wise may be the best doctor on the planet but I just couldn’t get past his awful receptionist. If I have to call and speak to her in order to make appointments and/​or get information, it’s just not worth it.

After seeing a doctor where I was just a # and herded in and out like cattle, Dr. Wise is a breath of fresh air in family practice. I have lived in the east bay since 2001 and never really found a doctor that I cared to stick with. Until now that is. Even my hubs who had never even been to a doctor in more than 10 years felt very comfortable during his first visit with Dr. Wise. As Bob mentioned below, Dr. Wise definitely took time to listen and explain to us any issue. It very much feels like a family run business and runs his office very efficiently using technology. He carries a tablet so your information is always at his finger tips. During our appointment, he sent our prescriptions directly to the pharmacy right as we were talking. Dr. Wise provides the personal attention we don’t get anymore these days in health care!

I was a patient of Dr. Frank Sherr before Dr. Wise and Holman took over his practice when he retired. I was pleased with Dr. Sherr and if anything my opinion has risen with every visit. He is personable, knowledgeable, and available. He listens and explains things like no other doctor I have ever had. My only regret is that if I ever have to leave the area I will never be able to find another one like Dr. Wise.