I highly recommend looking elsewhere for your pregnancy. Besides being affiliated with a good hospital (CPMC on Van Ness is great), this practice provides poor care and even worse customer service. Overall a stressful and unhelpful experience, from the front desk to the medical staff.
Not great experience with IUD insertion with Dr. Safer here. I felt supported in the initial consult but follow up visits for persistent pain were handled very poorly. Safer did not have time and was very late to this visit which took a lot of effort to schedule with reception. I came in for pain concerns and was quickly dismissed and told I should just get it removed if I’m complaining. I had to advocate for myself just to have a pelvic exam for the symptoms.Terrible experience with billing confusions and the front desk as well, as many reviews mention here. I had to pay just to have my records transferred out when I was finally ready to leave.I’ve since moved my care to the Gyn team at UCSF and am happy to be there!
Unfortunately, I too, had a very poor experience. I was very clear that I needed a follow-up ultrasound when I scheduled my appointment. After a very long wait time (maybe 2 months), I went to the office. Once I arrived, I was charged my co-pay as routine, but once I was in the exam room, I was told there was no availability for ultrasounds that day. It was frustrating because I had been very clear thats what I was there for. I did not need any regular exam. I was also frustrated because my name was never called after I checked in. When I asked for an update about 30 minutes later, the desk staff admitted that no one on the care team had ever been notified I was there.When I finally was in the exam room, the provider, who I had no problems with, said that she would get me a next day ultrasound appointment, no problem. She saw several openings. Upon leaving the office after a very long time (they wanted me to wait even longer for a potential opening during my work day), I was informed via phone call that there were no ultrasound openings for the following day, despite the doctor saying the opposite. In fact, the wait for an ultrasound slot was going to be weeks.On the phone, I told them the provider said she would get me in that following day and they didnt care to take the extra step to speak with her. Instead, they were rude and ruthless and just wanted to get something on the books for the future. I never returned to the office and was still charged my co-pay after receiving 0 care. In fact, they were chasing me down for an extra $10 of my updated co-pay (it increased), which is ridiculous because there were no services rendered. Eventually, I paid the additional $10 to get rid of them with the hopes of never dealing with them again. I am sorry for everyone else with a negative experience. Please avoid.
Consistently receive efficient, helpful care. Recently had an IUD insertion with Dr Kardos and it was as painless and smooth as possible (first experience). She guided me through each step of the process and also provided local anesthesia which likely helped a ton.
Terrible front desk staff. They have zero empathy and are rude, guessing it’s because they are worked and stretched too thin. This led to a pretty bad first pregnancy experience:- Incorrectly scheduled my first pregnancy appointment at 12 weeks because they couldn’t count 8 weeks from my first period.- Ordered my prescription at the wrong pharmacy when I had given them the address of my pharmacy.- When I experienced spotting that lead to a miscarriage I called the office and could only get in touch with a nurse who told me it was normal and to just not lift heavy things. When things got worse, I called again and they told me go to the ER to get blood tests and ultra sound that ended up costing me $1500. The next day they had me come in to their office to get another ultrasound and blood test that confirmed nothing new just cost me another $500.- Prescribed me the incorrect dose of medication because they didn’t refer to my latest hormone lab results.They really make you feel alone in this whole process. I am now going to One Medical and it has been the best experience thus far - complete opposite.
Terrible experience. This group doesn’t take women’s pain seriously. I specifically asked for pain meds for an IUD insertion because my last one was so bad. They denied me and simply told me to take ibuprofen. I saw Dr. Safer and she told me to relax my legs in the stirrups during the procedure, but there’s no way to relax your legs when you have to hold them upright on the stirrups. There are stirrups that exist that have rests for your knees—they need to use those and when a patient requests appropriate pain precautions for a procedure, listen. They also told me I could return to work that day—which is simply not true for many women I know. IUD insertions are left in the Stone Age here. I recommend getting one elsewhere.
I see a lot of bad reviews so I want to hop in here and share my experience.I see Dr. Safer and she’s really incredible. I’ve recently struggled with hormonal issues, going back on Mirena after being off of BC for 2 years and she’s been nothing but kind and patient. I was so nervous during the procedure and she was calling and didn’t make me feel rushed or pressured. So gentle and so sweet.She’s also been really thoughtful and kind with my complaints on my hormones. She listens and is compassionate about the sometimes “invisible” symptoms women deal with. Really enjoy having Dr. Safer as my provider
Dr. Safer recently delivered my first baby, so I hope this is helpful to other pregnant folks! Pacific was meant to be a temporary provider while I was on a waitlist for a different practice. After meeting Dr. Safer, I decided to stay with the practice despite bad reviews. Dr. Safer became my care provider throughout my pregnancy, and I was lucky enough that she was able to attend my birth at the hospital (CPMC Van Ness). While under her care, she was very thorough and so kind when answering my questions. I never once felt rushed during my appointments. She had incredible bedside manor, as did her medical assistants. She was understanding and supportive when I had concerns of postpartum depression. On the other hand, the administrative staff was polite but definitely seemed disorganized. I had to correct them on appointments and forms that were needed a few times. In the early days of my pregnancy, the front desk did not always return my calls even upon request. Separately, I wish this practice had the option to include a midwife to attend births. Some OB practices have midwives available to answer questions and generally support the birthing person.
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this place. Ive only had one appointment at this practice and here are my reasons.Pros: The medical staff are nice, warm, professional with great bed-side manners.Cons: this practice is in the business to make money off you and not much else. The first red flag was a whooping $25 fee if you ever need to transfer medical records from this facility. But thats nothing, right? Wait, theres more. They require a FULL payment for the delivery of the baby at 25 weeks of pregnancy. Let me restate it.They want a FULL payment (3-3.5 months!) before:1) the baby is actually delivered (when we all know sadly theres never a guarantee of this) and2) a payment for natural delivery without complications OR a delivery with complications? (they dont state)3) they want a full payment BEFORE the insurance had a chance to review and adjudicate the claims. Probably everyone knows at this point that medical billers ALWAYS inflate their medical claims anywhere from 3x to 5x the negotiated (i.e. payable) rate amount. Hence, they can basically bill you for a $10K-100K and have you pay it (then good luck chasing them for a refund after the insurance adjusts the claims.)I have worked in healthcare--specifically managing claims and later managing audit of claims for one of the largest healthcare insurance companies for almost 2 decades and have NEVER heard of such thing. If this isnt borderline illegal, then it definitely should be.Conclusion: Ive switched to another practice (with better ratings) that actually bills AFTER the baby is delivered.Hope this helps.
We are having a baby and were recommended this doctors office. Had a pretty horrible experience. The doctor lied to us multiple times telling us that certain ultrasounds, genetics tests, and procedures were covered under our insurance. Turns out that insurance covered very few of these procedures, which we would not have done if we knew they weren’t covered. Cost us thousands of dollars and that is not an exaggeration. Receptionists were rude and not helpful. Would never recommend this place
This place is awful. The office is run very poorly and all the receptionists seem like they ha the their lives. My doctor routinely said she would follow up on things and didn’t. I was constantly being sent bills that didn’t say what they were for. Would not recommend at all if you are pregnant as it adds extra stress just to deal with their horrible management and incompetence. Find another place.
The receptionists are the worst. Good luck trying to reach this place. Was on hold for 30 minutes and then they hung up on me.