Lakeshore Clinic

I used to see a doctor here as my primary care physician for years. The front desk was generally friendly and I never experienced problems setting up appointments even on same day requests. From that point on the experience wasn’t the best. I would usually show up 10 – 15 minutes before my appointment and end up waiting in the lobby 15 – 20 minutes past when my appointment should have started. Once I was finally in a room and the nurse had come and gone I would have to start the next waiting game. On a few occasions I would time the span when the nurse left to when my doctor would come into the room. It would regularly be upwards of 15 – 40 minutes before the doctor showed up!
As far as the level of expertise and care, I felt that my primary doctor didn’t spend enough time with me trying to figure out what was wrong. In my last visit with her, I saw her for hardly any time and was given a prescription without, in my opinion, sufficient testing beforehand to see if there was another culprit for my symptoms. After experiencing a bad reaction to this medication I made an emergency follow-​up with another doctor there as my primary was out of the office. This doctor was incredibly warm and understanding. Even though the wait time in the lobby and the exam room was horrendous again, she spent a while talking with me and suggesting testing that could start narrowing things down.
In the end, I was tired of having to block out 2 – 2.5 hours of my day for a doctor appointment where I only saw a doctor for 5 minutes. I felt that the level of care was hit or miss depending on the amount of time I had to spend waiting (more waiting = more patients = less time doctor can see you = faster they try and get you out the door). I did my research and switched to a new clinic and am so happy with my decision.

This is a clinic that needs to provide extensive training to their staff on how medical insurance works. They don’t understand the acronyms, so they charge the highest co-​pay when they can and tell you the letters stand for something they don’t. They really don’t understand Medicare supplemental insurance, so you risk being turned away when you arrive for your appointment. Way too much trouble to deal with when there are so many good doctors elsewhere.

The bad reviews are crazy! I’m a healthcare professional so often have higher expectations than others in the entire delivery of care experience. I moved from out of town over 2 yrs ago with seamless transition. Although not super involved, my medical history has been challenged with a prior accident/​neurological & pharmacological concerns as well as women’s health issues. My primary MD is Dr. Teresa Platz, who is a highly intelligent and intuitive person who truly LISTENS, reads her patients well (I can be quite analytical & stubborn in which she takes extra time to explain/​question) and spends the time needed EACH AND EVERY TIME. I’ve had care from quite a few docs over the years in different places in WA and she spent the time to weave all of it together to get the true picture of the difficulties I was and am still facing. I’ve also had to see several other MD’s (Leonardo is GREAT, very warm and friendly, and Lu as well!) when Platz was not in, and nothing but excellent, on time, friendly, THOROUGH, CONCERNING care from every one of them. I’ve gotten call backs when promised, in to see if not my MD, an MD quickly when needed (Sat hours are fabulous!), into my appt within minutes (no more than 5 – 10) of my scheduled time, the medical assistants have all been super friendly, caring & concerned as well, & the front office personnel has always been very professional and friendly. These reviews and a few community recommendations certainly helped me find a slam dunk. Hope this helps you!

I have nothing to complain about other than the staff (mainly front desk) could be a bit more friendly, but otherwise, I’m happy with this location. Making appointments is easy, however, one downside is if you need to leave a message, your message may go into the abyss and you might not ever hear anything back. Always ask for names… etc. so you can get some documentation.
My primary care doctor, Dr. Higginbotham is fantastic and I feel he is one of the better doctors I’ve been to, throughout my life. He is knowledgeable, personable and also very caring and empathetic.

I have been coming to this clinic for 10+ years and regularly see Dr. Leonardo who is great physician. Actually, all of the doctors I have seen through the years have been great as are the front desk staff. I usually can get a same day appointment and seldom have to wait more than 10 minutes. I am truly perplexed by a few of the reviews as my experience has been nothing but positive. Dr. Leonardo in particular is extremely thorough and I never feel like I am being rushed. We have moved practically out to Duvall, but I still drive in to see her and take my kids there as well.

I’ve been going to Dr. Lu for general check-​ups for a few years now and have had only good experiences. She is very friendly and allows me to be involved in decisions instead of just making them for me (which tests to run, different treatment options, etc).
Today I saw the phlebotomist for the first time, and she did a wonderful job. I usually despise needles but she was quick and I barely felt anything.
I’ve never had any problems making appointments and all the staff members I’ve interacted with have been friendly.

I was a little weary about this place because of the horrible reviews, however it is so close to my house and I needed a doctor before I left for vacation.
I called and spoke to a very friendly, very informative receptionist. Who helped me schedule an appointment for the following day.
Arrived the next morning early so I could get my paper work completed being a new patient and all, and the woman that helped me was so sweet and helpful. Again got me taken care of and sent up stairs for my appointment within 10 minutes.
Arrived upstairs and waited about 5 – 10 more minutes for the doctor. Was greeted by the doctors nurse who was really polite and helpful too.
Waited maybe 5 minutes later for the doctor (Dr. Eckert) who was really warm and kind upon our first meeting. He listened to me, helped and had me on my way within 30 minutes.
All in all I couldn’t have asked for a better doctors experience.

I appreciate the doctors at Lakeshore, and like that both offices are near me, and on my commute. A the same time, I also agree with many of the other reviews, that the office staff is, on average, difficult to work with.
I’d like to make this positive, so here is my guide for working with Lakeshore Clinics, based on the years that I’ve attended:
1. When you make an appointment, always ask which office the appointment is at. Recently, I went to the office that I called, and when I arrived, I was told that the appointment was at the other office. I received no apology, although they kindly allowed me to drive there. Everything worked out. But, time was needlessly wasted.
2. If you are there for a child, make sure to tell the upstairs receptionist, once you see them, that you are there for the child and not yourself. I’ve had it happen twice, that I waited, and they didn’t call my daughter’s name, or even look for her. The first time, I arrived early and waited over half an hour, as the upstairs receptionist came and went. I don’t like that they made this mistake. The way the Bothell office upstairs receptionist works is disorganized. Bad workflow.
3. If you need the office to fax anything, be firm that you need to done at a certain time, and explain clearly why. My experience was that I needed a prescription faxed to my daughter’s daycare. I called just after 10AM. Later at 3:30am in the afternoon, I got a call asking questions about the fax, and another message just before 5PM that they had sent the fax. They likely did this, because I politely agreed to the first person who I spoke to, that 1 hour timelapse would be OK. I don’t think that message was relayed. I can’t believe this delay happened! Fortunately, my wife had called the pharmacy and gotten them to fax the prescription right away. Which, they did. So, my daughter could have her medicine. At least Rite Aid gets it.
4. And finally, always politely ask for the first name of who you are speaking with. Trust me. If you ever have to reference a time given, or a piece of information, this is the only way that you’ll have a trail from to your conversation to why there is a problem.
The biggest positive is that they are open on Saturdays (one of the offices, I believe). They have an on-​call doctor number for patients, and they are easy to get to, and easy to park at.

I’ve been coming to the Lakeshore Clinic for a long, long time and have never had any problems with them. They get me in very quickly, always the same day if I have some immediate need, and have been consistently on-​time with my appointments. I generally see Dr. Leonardo, whom I love, and Dr. Higginbotham, who is also pretty awesome.

I hadn’t been seen at this clinic before today and didn’t have much in the way of expectations. I set an appointment two weeks ago, arrived 30 minutes early today, and found out that they had cancelled my appointment. Apparently, they thought I was someone else with a similar name and left a message on their voicemail cancelling their appointment — which, somehow, cancelled mine. The receptionist was apologetic and friendly, but didn’t know what to do. After speaking with her supervisor, she was able to squeeze me in with another doctor. The doctor I saw (Dr. Eckert) was friendly and informative. While I was there an hour longer than I expected due to the mix up, all else seemed fine. I’m sure it was just an honest mistake, but it concerns me a bit that two patients can be mixed up like we were. I hope there are better safeguards when relaying other personal information…

Wow. After attending this clinic for 12 years and watching the quality go down and down, I’ve finally had enough.
This place has two doctors who are worth anything. Dr. Lu and Dr. Platz. I’ve seen Dr. Eckert (rude, condescending, and disrespectful) Dr. Leonardo (just doesn’t seem like she wants to be there) and Dr. Higgenbottom or however it is spelled (short visit, sent me on my way without fixing the problem) and they made me dislike this place.
Front desk staff is hit or miss.
Their business office is disrespectful, and demeaning. I went here for 12 years and was treated like yesterday’s garbage because of a clerical error by my insurance provider.
I STRONGLY recommend finding a different office to visit. Unless you like being treated like a beggar in the street.

If there was a zero star setting, I’d choose it.
I’m new to the area and woke up sick a few days ago. I picked this clinic because it’s close to my house. When I saw Dr. Lu, she was nice but continued to ask me questions about a late miscarriage I had in my history. It had absolutely nothing to do with why I was there. It’s painful for me to speak of and I finally had to say, «Look, I don’t want to talk about this.»
I was told that my labs came back positive for an infection and I was given an antibiotic. After a couple days, I’m still feeling sick and symptoms are starting to get worse. I called to ask if they could give me another medication. The nurse called back and said, «Could you come back in for another urine sample? The lab FORGOT to culture your first one.» So, here’s what we’ve learned about this place:
–It takes two visits to get an accurate diagnosis
–They gave me a medication without fully understanding the nature of my illness
–They want to bill me twice to redo a test and cover their own mistake/​negligence
This is why healthcare is expensive in this country: poor care and excessive billing. I told the nurse I’d be looking for another doctor who doesn’t let labs go untested. A practice that can’t diagnose me correctly the first time around does not deserve my business. Be warned, neighbors: these people will give you sub-​par care while wasting your time and money.
UPDATE: I just received a call from the lab. While the nurse tried to blame the mistake on them, they informed me that they cannot legally perform a culture without a doctor’s order and that Dr. Lu failed to give them instructions. So, we’ve also learned that Dr. Lu was negligent and that her office will attempt to avoid blame by passing the buck to the lab (who were actually very nice). Seriously, avoid this clinic! I’ve never experienced such incompetence in my life.

Horrible. Made me wait for an hour. Doctor never showed up. I ended up walking out.

Yes! They are open on Saturdays until 4 pm AND the front office peeps are actually really nice. Not burned out and mean…
I was sick with a cold and horrible cough that would NOT go away. I got in within 7 minutes of my appt time. Yes, I counted ’cause I’m like that. The med assistant was thorough, asked her questions, and was pleasant. Dr. Was the same and very at ease with me and asked a lot of questions about my history etc.
I will go back for sure and I will bring my people with me. I was not able to see the dr’s that were recommended to me by a couple of my friends (Platz and Buerhens) but I was pleased with the Dr. I did see, Dr. Lu.

I have been seeing Dr. Platz for a long time. She is wonderful! She is straight forward and honest with you. I am giving her 4 stars because she deserves them!
Now lets talk about the waiting shall we? I called up to see if I could get in to see Dr. Platz on short notice. When I called they had several openings, I took a 3:30pm slot, thinking I could be in and out within an hour… WRONG! I didn’t even see the doctor until 5pm. Yes, I waited an hour and a half. I wonder what would have happened if I took the 5pm?!
Unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happened. I do not know why it keeps happening but I will give Lakeshore another chance and hopefully the wait time can improve. I really don’t want Dr. Platz to loose my business, she is a great doctor and the location is near my home.

The front desk is hit and miss. One person is gone who was very passive aggressive, but the insurance screening is very much in place. Their computer loses data a lot and they lose all record of us at times.
**please click below on; (5 filtered) to see the hidden reviews**
Records: They changed storage sites and couldn’t find their own records of me, I was told. So my history with one Dr there is invisible to another.
They lost an x-​ray of mine for a broken bone but didn’t tell me. I was supposed to wait for Dr review and they’d call me. They never called, so I called them. THEN they told me they lost it. I was told to call back and reschedule an appointment. I went elsewhere because the bone was calcifying and I didn’t want to have to break it to reset it.
Another Dr there told my child he might have appendicitis. But my child’s complaint was vomiting for 1 ½ weeks. She described the procedure; «We take a knife and cut you open to cut out the appendix». Seriously.
I left there and took him to the ER where my child was treated for giardia and cured. The ER Dr shook his head at the appendicitis diagnosis, the child would have been in excruciating local pain, or it could have erupted I was told in that 1 ½ weeks preceeding.
Dr Platz is a good Dr, but God help you if she’s busy. She is very busy because she is good. Without her and the friendly business office staff — Lakeshore Clinic gets 1 star. Dr Lu is good too. We’ve seen them all and I could go on.
The wait times are 30 minutes to 1 hour even if you schedule ahead. The lab will shunt you off if busy, even if the Dr said to stop in for a draw on the way out. Ad infinitum. Beware.

Like ANY clinic the trick is to find the right doctor.
I started going to the Lakeshore Clinic right after I moved to the Bothell/​Kirkland area. I have always had a good experience here. My favorite thing about this clinic is that I have always been able to get a SAME DAY APPOINTMENT on short notice when I really needed to. I have, from time to time, experienced a fairly long wait to see the doctor but if you’ve ever been to ANY clinic… you’ll have to wait from time to time. Its just how these places work. My advice? Get up early and schedule one of the first appointments of the day– you’ll never have to wait.
The staff has always been nice both on the phone and in person. The waiting rooms are pretty big, pleasant and never overly crowded (which is a plus during cold/​flu season).
I will most likely continue going here for a long time!

I was impressed by how courteous the customer service was when I called in for an appointment. They were able to get me in last minute, on a Friday. I chose to go to Lakeshore because it is within walking distance to my house.
When I arrived they had me fill out the paperwork, and I was received promptly. Dr. Eckert was nice and very thorough. I was having a lot of sinus pain and was disappointed that he told me there was nothing that could be done because he thought it seemed to be a viral infection.
While I was bummed that I couldn’t really be treated for what was going on, I appreciated his honesty and that he didn’t just try to write a prescription to shut me up. He suggested I take alleve and rest.
This is definitely a clinic, and it seemed kind of crazy when I arrived. If you need to get in somewhere last minute though, I would suggest this place, as I had a good first time experience.

I agree with Michelle K. regarding Dr. Platz, if it weren’t for her I would most likely be going elsewhere even though the clinic is 5 minutes away.
I did have less than positive experiences with Dr. Eckert and Leonardo.
Two examples: I brought my daughter in when she was about 8 years old for allergies and Dr Eckert asked if we had animals, for which my (emotional) daughter replied yes and went on about her beloved cat. He coldly suggested we consider not getting any more animals after «that cat» was dead. Wha???
Then when my daughter was about 12, Dr. Leonardo suggested (in front her) that I put her on birth control being she «looked a lot older» than she actually was. I tried immediately changing the subject while I walked behind my daughter giving the Dr. «the eye» while waving my arms and shaking my head no, to which she just ignored me and carried on about it acting like I just one of those mothers who «doesn’t get it». I was so taken aback and my daughter was pretty weirded out by it. Like somehow I don’t know my daughter or what’s best for her and need to be educated, uh no, I’m her mother and if you want to suggest something insane like that you can respect my position and say it discreetly, thank you. My husband was so p*ssed when I told him about it and said he would write her up for trying to cram her own agenda. It took me a long time to return after that but I finally decided to give them another try myself for convenience sake.
Sooo, other than that I would suggest Dr. Higgenbotham and PA Kosnik who is also very good.

The 2 stars are for the front desk staff ONLY.
They were friendly, and knowledgeable.
I waited for 1 hour to see Dr. David for 8 minutes. I had an appointment, sat in the waiting room forever, and then was transferred to the exam room, where I proceeded to wait forever again.
Is this typical M.O. for Doctors? Maybe this is why I never go. Why even make an appointment?
When Dr. David did show up she didn’t make any apologies for the wait time. I saw her for something simple — ingrown toenail (I know, gross). She told me she isn’t very «good at those»… and wrote me a prescription for some antibiotics and told me to take 12 advil a day for 2 weeks.
2 weeks came and went and my goodness, I was almost 100% healed! I was so excited I ran out and bought a sexy new pair of shoes to wear when I was completely healed. The day before my antibiotics ran out I called her office to see if I could get a refill for maybe 4 – 5 extra days because it wasn’t 100% there yet.
They said Dr. David would call me back — but she didn’t.
Her assistant called me and said «Go see a Podiatrist.»
I tried to explain to her that I probably only needed a few extra days and she said «Dr. David says go see a Podiatrist.»
I hung up — totally pissed off. 3 days later, my toe is now getting worse again, it could have been perfect if she or her staff would have taken the time to listen to me.
I’m going to see the dreaded Podiatrist, I’m scared out of my wit because I hate needles, cutting, surgery, etc… but I am also sick of this stupid problem.
So, thanks for nothing! I won’t be going back.