UCLA Health 2020 Santa Monica Internal Medicine - Santa Monica (CA)

5 /5 Ali Sadr: For past ten years I visit Dr. Goldsmith, he cares so much, he even message me on weekend to make sure I am fine, he is very knowledgeable and care so much. Scheduling is very easy and they have a great staff.

1 /5 B Harvey: This review is specifically regarding my experience seeing Dr. Sarah Schoenbrun /my experience with the office on the day of my visit with her. I was in need of an annual adult wellness exam and to find a new PCP in LA. I waited over 6 months to see Dr. Schoenbrun, as the UCLA appointment line stated that she was highly recommended. On the MORNING of the appointment, I received a voicemail from the office that she was leaving in less than 2 months and that I should set up care with a new PCP, they asked for a call back. I called back and the person I got had no idea who had called me and even stated "I was not aware she is leaving, thanks for telling me!" in a joking manner. They told me to come on in for my appt since they were unable to book me for a new wellness exam prior to coming in for the one that day. When I got there, I set up a new wellness exam in May so that I would have a PCP. I asked if this would be covered by insurance, considering I had no control over the PCP I was meeting today leaving. They stated yes. When I met Dr. Schoenbrun, she was rushed, cold, and one of the first things she asked me was "if you have an appt with someone else in May, what exactly do you want me to do today?" I stated "I would like the annual exam that I booked." She asked me questions carelessly and never once touched me anywhere. My "annual exam" with her was a bunch of questions and no exam. Now, less than a month later, I received a bill for an outrageous amount. When I called insurance/UCLA billing, I was informed that she "coded my visit" as an "office visit/establishing care" and not an "annual exam", which are billed and covered completely differently. I am in the process of working with UCLA about this (I doubt anything will come of it), but I just double checked for my next visit (new PCP that I am required to see if I want any doctor after Schoenbrun leaves) and it was scheduled as another office visit. The UCLA hotline was able to change it to an annual physical exam, but if I had not been informed of the insurance/corporate wording/coding, I would have been charged another $1k just to see a doctor who will hopefully be staying long enough to be my doctor. The entire process from beginning to end was careless and inappropriate. And now I basically had a verbal questionnaire as a visit, no physical examination whatsoever, and am being charged a large amount. I have had many good experiences with UCLA in the past. This was sloppy and I feel taken advantage of.

1 /5 Suzy Northstar: New to LA and looking for a family practice for my family. I want just one doctor my entire family can see. This is exactly how we have always done it. Never an issue. So I made an appointment for one of my teens for their annual check up. Three days before the appointment I get a call from the office and was told that the doctor my child was scheduled with, Dr. Serena Wang, only sees patient over the age of 18. Wait. What?! It would have been nice to have been told this when I made the appointment. So the office cancelled my appointment . The other doctors in the practice do not see new patients.

1 /5 Melody S.: I am writing this review specifically for Dr. Sarah Schoenbrun. I first contacted this office in March to establish care with an internal medicine doctor at UCLA. They highly recommended her because of her Ivy League education. I have been diagnosed with cancer, and I am currently receiving treatment. It is important for me to be under the care of an internist. They gave me an appointment on the Friday before memorial day weekend. The morning of, I received a call from the office, letting me know that Dr. Schoenbrun is not coming in and has canceled her day. I found it to be very unprofessional to cancel the Friday before a national holiday. They scheduled me for Friday, July 7. On June 30 I received a Message on my UCLA portal, Asking me if I would like to see the doctor earlier on Monday, July 3. I accepted, only to get a call the morning of July 3, Letting me know that the doctor has canceled her day, again before a national holiday. As you can imagine, I was shocked at the level of unprofessionalism of this doctor. She doesn’t have the courtesy of blocking off her schedule so that patients are not waiting weeks and weeks to get an appointment just to be canceled on. After going back-and-forth with her office I was given an appointment for July 21 at 4:45 PM. starting 7 AM, They called me asking me if I can come in earlier. I let them know that I was receiving radiation and Physical therapy and I was not able to come in earlier. Finally, they said that the doctor has agreed to see me at my scheduled time. I finally met Dr. Schoenbrun today. She is the most unprofessional and unfriendly doctor I have ever met at UCLA or anywhere. Her approach is so cold and off-putting. She proceeded to tell me that she was going on maternity leave And she was going to be out of the office for four months and I might want to consider seeing another doctor. She also said she’s extremely busy in her practice. I asked her why she couldn’t relay this before I waited almost 5 months to establish care with her. I also reminded her that she canceled on me twice before a national holiday. She starts telling me about her husband and how sometimes kids get sick. Does she really think that her patients believe any of her excuses when she canceled twice right before a national holiday? Her Ivy League education is absolutely worthless when she displays such a high level of unprofessionalism. No one has forced her to be a doctor. She has chosen this path, but it’s obvious that she doesn’t care about her patients. I do not recommend this doctor. Do not waste your time. Shame on UCLA for employing someone that lacks professionalism, compassion, and has total disregard for patients.

1 /5 Milad: I was charged $900 for a preventive annual checkup. I scheduled an appointment here for my routine annual physical and clearly stated that at the time of the appointment scheduling and also at the beginning of my visit with the doctor. The doctor only went through my file and asked questions regarding my background and medical history. Yet I was charged $900 out-of-pocket for this. The insurance told me that the claims submitted by the provider were not coded as preventive care. Despite calling the provider multiple times about this, they refused to update their claims. The doctor told me himself that UCLA health charges new patients for physicals (as an establish care visit) without disclosing that to the patients and that he believes this is misleading and he has raised the issue himself multiple times with no success.