Johnston Medical Inc. - Berkeley, California

Sarah R.

They don’t take insurance, and you might have to wait to go in (It’s a very full space. The people mentioning very high, overflowing shelves are not wrong).

But Johnston Medical Supply has a really good selection of medical supplies. The people are entirely competent and unfussy. I have been there a few times with my elderly parents, and they’ve been there without me, and every time we’ve had good, fast help once it’s our turn, and come away with just the right equipment.

Rose S.

This place is SUCH a GOLD MINE and blessing to the community it servers. I hate they had to reduce their hours; just finding out today (08 19 24). Lets make sure to keep them open

Kara B.

I have come here for years to buy various braces, etc. I have always thought their products were on the expensive side. Today I bought a simple neoprene open patella knee support for $45 that I probably could have gotten elsewhere for about half the price. I had already been looking at one on Amazon, but figured I'd go to Johnston so I could try one on. Two of the sleeves I looked at there were $75+. Nooope.

But here's my gripe: the COVID shopping experience. I couldn't touch anything, I couldn't try anything on, and all sales are final / no returns allowed. We measured, so I thought I was good to go for fit, but I got home and the knee sleeve is too small. The box says it's too small if it leaves deep impressions in my skin. It DOES leave deep impressions in my skin around my kneecap and deep cutting marks on the back of my knee. I can't use it. I can't return it. It's going in the trash.

I'm going back to my original Amazon product purchase. From now on, I'll buy from Prime or other places where I can get good prices, and I KNOW I can always try the product on and return if it doesn't fit.

Sorry Johnston, you lost me as a customer.

Sarah M. M.

Ridiculous business practice that doesn’t seem to employ common sense! I have a polar care cooling unit and the current pad had a failure (leak. I checked online but preferred to buy local. The Johnston sales associate couldn't offer prices on the first call for ANY of the potential suitable replacement parts (multi-use, shoulder or knee adapters) and after calling me back, still had no answer on cost. She also insisted it was a "federal regulation" that I needed a current medical RX to buy the replacement part. I shared there are several reputable online vendors that allow purchase of durable medical supplies -including the polar wraps without this requirement, why are they so different and why would I need to go bother my physician to essentially ice my swollen joint topically? I said I'd be happy to bring in my current unit with pad to show replacement need, as it's replacement with kind and she she wasn't willing to deviate from what the "book told her how to sell the cooling pad replacement". Folks, this is a durable medical supply item...I asked, does someone need an RX for crutches where more likelihood to cause self harm than an icing pad for inflamed joint therapy, would you sell it? She said yes but these units are federally regulated. I again reminded her I'm not buying an entire unit, just the pad attachment which is leaking. She wasn't willing to ask a senior member how to get past her rule. So, I took my business online and just sourced it from a direct supplier, NO RX required with overnight shipping, no questions or RX asked. Too bad, I was trying to shop local but they don't seem to want it. I won't be offering my business there again.

Benjamin K.

What an absolute disorganized mess. The store has papers and boxes of paperwork piled 7' high, no exaggeration, 7' high in the middle of store. Nothing was dirty to be fair, but such a mess. They said they were 3 people short today which is why I had to wait so long to be helped. It really felt more like the store has been 3 people short for about 20 years. Honestly, I had to leave because the store felt like stuff was going to topple over on me at any second. While I was waiting, I directly heard a customer asking about buying a foot bath. She asked if it didn't work for some reason, could they bring it back. The salesman said as soon as you put water in it, that she couldn't return it. She asked again to confirm that if it didn't work that she couldn't return it. The salesmen said that no she couldn't return it.

So they won't even let you return something if the thing they sold you doesn't work. I will spend my money somewhere else.

Tracy H.

This place is good for last minute unplanned medical requirements, but is very expensive. My husband had knee surgery recently and when we got home from the hospital and went to clean the wounds we found that the instructions required a type of dressing we didn't have. I checked a few different pharmacies and finally found that Johnston Medical had it, which was great. However, the dressing was so expensive - $87 for a box of 50, that I ended up buying 10 individually wrapped pieces instead. I assumed it was just a really expensive item, but then looked for it online since I'm going to need more and it isn't an emergency this time, and found the same item, same brand, same size at $26 for a box of 50 on Amazon. I am glad I was able to get the dressing on short notice but I wouldn't go here for anything other than an emergency if I could help it.

Sonia B.

I buy wound care and other supplies from this business regularly. Sure, Amazon is cheaper, but if my client needs a dressing change, the question of affordability shifts to time over money.
NB: Some durable medical equipment does require a prescription (even from me) when making a purchase from a brick & mortar vs on line store. The way to change access to medical care and related, is to become informed, involved, and *vote.*

KIMBERLY W.

Upon entering the very disorganized store, one of the very nice ladies offered to help. While she was trying her best, a very abrasive rude man that worked there decided to chime in.

That’s when it would’ve been smart to leave. Unfortunately the item was wrong. It was a cash transaction. The next day the item was taken back for a full refund at which time we were told that they did not have enough funds for a refund. It took three calls and two trips to finally get the refund because they were having a slow day!

They seemed insulted that we wanted a refund and their demeanor change towards us.

Never again will we frequent this establishment!