Step Ahead Podiatry Clinic - St Albert - St. Albert, Alberta

Micah D.

I had an excellent experience with Dr. Patel and his entire team. From the moment I walked in, the staff made me feel welcomed and at ease. Dr. Patel was professional, kind, and took the time to explain everything clearly, which really helped ease any nerves I had. The whole process was incredibly smooth, quick, and comfortable from start to finish. I truly appreciate the care and attention I received. Thank you to Dr. Patel and your amazing staff!

Jackie S.

I've been bringing my elderly mother to Dr. Patel for monthly foot care for years, and we couldn’t be happier with the care she receives. The clinic is always clean, bright, and welcoming. The receptionist is truly AMAZING — I think she might just be my mom’s favourite person! The service is consistently friendly, personable, and professional. Highly recommend!

leeann R.

Reception was extremely rude on first inquiry call. Wouldn’t let me speak or ask questions. Just kept saying “surgery starts at $500” and said “we can talk for 1/2 hr but surgery still STARTS at $500”, I was just trying to ask a question but she kept cutting me off. I was trying to ask what she meant by surgery for an in-grown toenail (simple procedure or possibly something much more), as I was curious if it was an in office thing or what, and it was for my child so I had questions! I ended with saying I would call another clinic, she said “ok great”
Not an ideal way to gain patients…and $500+ for an ingrown toenail is ridiculous….as well as a $75 consult fee
I went with another podiatrist in St. Albert and the consult fee and treatment was $100 with very good customer service….

Katherine S.

Saw Bhishma Patel for Callus Removal. Honestly, he was very lazy. He asked how I trimmed my calluses, and when I mentioned the use of a foot dremel you could see his eyes light up. He cut off the bigger pieces (less than 2 mins per foot), but then told me to go home and dremel the rest of my calluses MYSELF to even out his cuts and handle the thinner callus. Like, what? I am paying you $75 for callus removal, you spend 4 mins of work and tell me to do the rest of it myself? He has professional grade dremel and tools, but I should go home and do it myself. A waste of $75 and a waste of my time for a lazy guy to do 4 mins of work and expect the client to do the rest for him. He only needed to do 5-10 mins max of dremeling and my feet would have been callus free. Save your insurance money, or heaven forbid your personal money (they don't do direct insurance billing). The secretary was nice, I came early, I filled out the paperwork and was seen quick. The administration is great, but Bhishma Patel is lazy, and I highly suggest others go elsewhere for callus removal.

Delicia T.

We took our son to see Dr Patel as his arches hurt whenever he skated. At first we thought it was fixed when we used a custom skate insole that we ordered from this office. However, the pain returned and continued to progressively get worse six months later, so we ordered another custom skate orthotic. The pain was so bad he couldn’t be on the ice longer than 10 mins. Many office visits later for adjustments, but nothing worked. We ended up taking our son to another podiatrist who ordered xrays and ultrasound on both feet. Turns out my son had three tears (one on each plantar fascia and one near the ankle consistent with sports injury and fallen arches).

I give Step Ahead three stars and I do think they had the best intentions, but in the end didn’t solve the issue. If you know for sure it’s orthodics you seek, this is the place to go as the products are high quality. However I would seek another opinion if it’s something more complicated.

Justin

The doctor was fine. The organization is very odd and have very suspicious practices:

Wanted height and weight for my child and were perturbed when I did not have it. Were even irritated when I inquired about their instruments for measurements and outlined they did not have a scale or measuring tape.

Obtained the orthotics from them; however, threatened to destroy the prescription if we did not call them right away to confirm or decline. Was informed, if the prescription was destroyed we would need to be reassessed by the podiatrist. Weirdest practice I have seen, seems as a way to have double dipping. They have an electronic medical record, yet do not keep the information in it.

When you call them, they never answer and take a lot of time to return messages.

Avoid this place, there are way too many red flags in regards to their practice that screams malpractice.

Mandy

Definitely about money only. My husband broke his toe months ago and continues to be painful after months of wearing a cast. He got an x-Ray done 2 weeks ago and the report says there is displacement. Dr. Patel looked on his system and said he doesn’t rely on reports and needs to see the imaging, but for some reason can’t see the x-rays and insists it’s because they weren’t done at MIC (which they were). He told my husband to retake them. Charged us $75 for nothing and was quite dismissive. We went to the GP who showed us the x-rays on the system and confirmed they were indeed done at an MIC.

He ended up having a second x-rays done (and needlessly exposed himself to more radiation). Couldn’t find a phone number for the St. Albert location so he called central booking. The rep was adamant that there is no way to reach the specific location directly and that if we showed up in person, that no one will be there to help us. So my husband explained the situation and asked if the rep knows what system Dr. Patel is using, because if he still can’t see the imaging, we weren’t going to waste another $75 just to be told nothing is showing up. The rep insists that Dr. Patel does not look at imaging and only gets reports faxed to him. My husband explained that was not the case and the rep just cut him off and said she knows what she’s talking about. So all around the experience has been very negative. Will be going someplace else.

Jamie S.

My experience with Dr. Patel and the surgery he performed was top notch. He was attentive, efficient and took all the time I needed to answer all the questions that I had (and I had A LOT). He also took the time at my pre-op to calm me when I became very anxious. After surgery he wheeled me out to the car and helped me in and made sure I was comfortable. His staff at all locations were always very friendly and helpful. I am very grateful for the service and the great post surgery results.