Carolina Back Institute

Don't even bother. I went to CBI Raleigh first to see what options were available for chronic headaches and neck/shoulder pain. Dr. Gwinn was pleasant, and a nurse took a thorough history questionnaire. The treatment recommended was injections at the pain sites. I said I would need to know what this would cost, and they indicated they would seek pre-authorization from my insurance. What followed were weeks of back and forth via email and telephone -- well over a dozen convos. Finally someone from their billing office phoned and told me the treatment was approved and my copay would be X amount. Great, so I made an appointment and just before treatment, the nurse wanted me to sign an agreement that I would pay up to FIVE TIMES the amount I was told (the copay). When I explained the background, he said there was no such thing as pre-authorized approval for this treatment, and that the copay amount I'd been given was what I would pay IF the treatment were covered. I left without treatment as I could not take a chance. At home I double checked my emails, and sure enough they had -- it appears -- deliberately deceived or at least misled me in a weasly way, into thinking the treatment was covered. I don't know if anyone in pain has been helped at this clinic, but their communications is pretty sleazy and the result is at best a waste of time and at worst, unexpected and treatment that may or may not have helped me, but would certainly have helped them! more

Do not go here. Find a real doctor's office. I am in extreme pain in my lower back, which is very unusual for me. I sought treatment at Carolina Back Inst. and saw Dr. Gwinn. Dr. Gwinn is a nice enough guy and he seemed to listen to me and he did examine me and take x-rays. He said I had some inflammation and sent me away with drugs and a follow-up appt. The drugs did not help, and I'm not interested in being drugged up anyway. I want a real solution to whatever is wrong with my back. My pain actually became much worse over the weekend and I had to put in two calls to the after hours line. The first person to call me back was a female (no name) and she actually yelled at me that I should be taking a certain drug at a certain time - turns out that's not what my doctor had prescribed! The second doctor to call me back was Dr. O'Brien and he treated me very poorly, like I was an idiot and why was I bothering him on the weekend? Anyway, Monday morning I called and left a message. Monday afternoon I called and left a message with the nurse line, begging for help. I want an MRI, not more drugs. No call backs. I called again on Tuesday AM and insisted on leaving a message with the nurse for Dr. Gwinn. Stated that i was in extreme pain and requested MRI. By Tuesday night, no call back. At this point, my family encouraged me to find another doctor, because this office didn't seem to care. So on a whim I checked reviews of CBI online (at sites like this). WOW - so many bad stories from patients. I decided to take my medical care elsewhere and was seen by a real Orthopedic group today. I'm glad I didn't waste any more time or money on CBI. more

Let me start by saying that Dr. Gobout seemed to be a great doctor. He was very thorough and did a complete assessment on me.*** The problem started when I called to make an initial appointment. The girl on the phone seemed so put out and said it was going to be 2 weeks before I could be seen. I had a huge insurance billing issue that took someone 2 1/2 weeks to figure out. They tried every way in the world to make the fact that I was charged 13 times what I should have been charged my fault. I guess I was labeled as a ''problem child'' since I questioned the billing etc. and at my follow-up visit the staff was so rude! The girl that checked me out said she did not know how to fax a copy of my bill to my HSA company! ...and she was doing billing, etc.?!?! YIKES! She sure knew how to swipe my credit card! Too bad Dr. Godbout does not have better people working for him. I really liked him! more