Tommy H Chen, MD, FAAD

Went to see Dr. Chen yesterday and very satisfy with my overall experience. Front desk receptionist is friendly with a smile on her face at all time, wait time was about 10 mins which is pretty quick. Dr. Chen is very patient and be able to tell me the cause of my skin problem, and answer all my questions and concern. I highly recommend Dr. Chen to everyone.

Worst place ever!!! I called to make an appointment a month in advance. receptionist forgot I was on the line. I had to call back and try again to make an appointment and did. The day before my appointment, I called to confirm because apparently they «dont do that courtesy.» Turns out they didnt even have me in the books and found my name and info on some piece of paper that they failed to enter into the calendar. Hipaa anyone?!
Then b on the phone tells me they scheduled someone else even though I had the appointment first but «dont worry. we messed up and you can come later after work if that’s easier for you?» I said sure thanks. that would help me out a lot. Turns out I get stuck behind a cluster you know what on the freeway. it takes me an hour and a half to get there. Im 15 minutes late after a fricken hour and a half drive and the b of a receptionist says «Youre too late. we are closing now. I already did you a favor by moving your appointment.» Are you kidding me? I did YOU a favor by moving my appointment because you forgot to put me in and left my paperwork lying around somewhere. No accountability. No empathy. Zero intelligence. Waste of my time and will be a waste of yours.

Here I am five years down the line, I continue to receive exceptional care from Dr. Chen for my condition and he has never wavered in his pursuit to help ease my suffering. My full update review can be found at

I don’t even know where to start! The receptionist are awesome! My son and daughter have a severe case of scabies and we’ve had a really tough time getting there medication. the receptionist have always been there calling every place to see if they have it and getting back to us super fast and letting us know what’s going on… to all those people saying that they are mean and rude, you get what you give. if your not nice why should other people be.

Dr. Tommy Chen has been my dermatologist for well over 10 years. I see him a few times a year as I am fair skinned and enjoyed too much sun as a teenager. Dr. Chen takes the utmost care in carefully inspecting my skin, thorough explanation of options for treatment and excellent follow-​through. When I have had other skin issues, other than sun damage, he has also treated those events with superb success. I have recommended Dr. Chen to others and they have also had the same excellent experience. His staff is courteous and prompt in scheduling my appointments. I receive compliments on the skin on my face although I have not had any cosmetic surgery or injections, just the skilled treatment of the sun damaged areas by Dr. Chen. Parking is a cinch, lots of spaces and courteous valet. Carole Cota Gelfuso 1966 Rose Queen

My daughter and I thought Dr. Chen was very patient with questions, very knowledgeable and gave us really clear advices about what we need to do with our skin conditions! He did not try to sale anything to us, not like many dermatologists do. I would recommend him to anyone! The only negative point is the parking at the office building is very expensive, but you can park on the street near by.

You have to be kidding! I could write a long convincing essay here, but the long and the short… without mentioning this on the phone when I made the appointment, and having it nowhere posted in the client area of the office (that’s all I got to see other than the bathroom) is, he charges a 10% premium for using your plastic… even if it’s your flex spending debit card.
Come on… a bit petty. Yes, I know charge card companies charge a fee, that’s part of doing business. Yuk! #badform

My follow was a success. Thanks Dr. Chen

I had a great experience at Dr. Chen office even though I had my doubts from reading the reviews. First off parking is valet or self-​parking. It wasn’t a nightmare for me. I self parked and there were plenty of open parking spaces. Unfortunately the office does not validate but I paid about $ 5 for parking. When I walked in there were about 2 other patients waiting and the receptionist/​nurse was very friendly. I waited in the lobby for about 10 – 15 minutes. It was my first visit and I had to fill in some paperwork before seeing Dr. Chen. When I was called I was guided to my room and waited for about 10 minutes then Dr. Chen came to see me. I told him my skin problem. He was able to fully explain what skin problem I had and why I had it & what I needed to use to treat it. He also took the time to answer all the questions & concerns I had and he answered all my questions fully in good detail. He also prescribed topical steroid cream with a coupon that read the prescribed medicine will be free and the next 3 refills will cost mo more than $ 10. He said that if there were any problems with my pharmacy, let the pharmacy contact his office and he will help process the prescription. My pharmacy had trouble processing my prescription so I told the pharmacist to call Dr. Chen’a office and so they did and Dr. Chen helped me by talking with my pharmacy
and I was able to get my meds. Dr. Chen is a very professional, friendly, patient, intelligent doctor that really does help explain the skin problem I had and I didn’t feel disappointed at all. It was a great experience. The wait isn’t long, friendly staff, friendly/​professional/​informative Dr. I highly recommend him.

Doctors generally bill you in two ways — they bill the insurance or they directly bill you. Good doctors will bill the insurance first and then you’ll get the bill. This doctor does not do that. Before each visit, you’ll have to pay the full amount up front and then claim it with your insurance. This is a real nuisance because let’s say you are billed $ 200 in preventative care that’s covered by your insurance. You’ll have to front that $ 200 bill at the doctor visit then claim it with your insurance. Can’t find that $ 200 receipt? There goes your $ 200.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that this office is not organized. I had a minor treatment at the end of the appointment that cost about $ 20. I went to the front to pay and the receptionist had no idea why I was being charged $ 20. It’s important for them to know what they are billing because this stuff counts toward my deductible since the burden is on me to claim this stuff to my insurance now. Again, pain in the ass.
I have also found posts on Google reviews and Unilocal that are probably Dr. Chen’s wife posting. They stick out like a sore thumb — raving 5 star reviews in a sea of 1 star reviews. Don’t game the system please, use it as healthy criticism and change.

I WILL NEVER GO HERE AGAIN. This service provided by this office in astounding. I just got off the phone with the woman in charge and while she was explaining her $ 20 charge for my no-show…she then proceeded to say that I owed her $ 15 for an co-​payment in 2007!!! Seriously? THREE YEARS AGO!!!
I’ve never received a bill. How can she expect me to pay this? I paid my co-​pay (they only take cash), but I guess they somehow wanted more. She quickly said that they don’t chase down small amounts… well how am I supposed to know? I told her I wasn’t paying an unsubstantiated, unbilled, three year old claim. She immediately said she would send me to collections.
If you’re smart, you’ll choose someone else. There are many qualified dermatologists out there. I came home and searched Dr Chen to see where I could post and when I read CitySearch’s reviews, I laughed! They all say the same. It appears that it’s his WIFE that’s the office manager. So there’s no need to try and complain. Just switch…
Fair Warning…

PLEASE READ BEFORE CONSIDERING GOING TO DR CHEN. This office has made numerous errors on my medical billing causing a huge headache. Did not submit my paperwork on a timely manner with my insurance company, causing treatment disruptions. Receptionist is rude to their patients. Very rude, antsy and angry tone. The office and it’s staff do not take the time to listen to their patience’s concern, THE ONLY THING THEY ARE INTERESTED IN IS GETTING PAID. I’ve paid $ 100 of co-​pay in advance for 10 visits and they’ve lost the paperwork, then asking me for more monies. They did finally found records of my co-​pay of $ 100, to my surprise no apology (bad business practice). Now here’s the icing on the cake. I’ve upgraded from HMO to PPO status on Jan 2007. Notify reception, they said no problem and took all of my updated info. Been doing my UVB treatments since Jan 2007 to May 2007. Mid May came, I receive a call from Mrs Chen (Dr Tommy Chen’s wife), accusing me of «Lying» about my insurance status. Huh? What? Our conversation was hopeless because Mrs Chen was not interested in a resolution, she wanted to be RIGHT. Later, I spoke to Dr Chen on the phone, to my surprise with an 8 years relationship, he switched from mr nice guy to a state of uncompassionate and an unwillingness to resolve this issue. MOST IMPORTANTLY, DR CHEN FAILED TO BE PROACTIVE AND DID NOT SHOW EMPATHY TOWARD OUR MIS-​BILLING ISSUE WHICH WAS CAUSE BY HIS STAFF. I then follow up with my Insurance company and was told Dr Chen are submitting their bills incorrectly based on my new PPO status. It appears Dr Chen and Mrs Chen jump the gun and SHOCKED ME WITH THEIR ACCUSATIONS. ONCE AGAIN, TAKING THEIR FRUSTRATION TOWARD THEIR CLIENT. CASE IS STILL PENDING, DUE TO THESE SERIES OF ACTIONS, THEY HAVE LOST A GREAT, LOYAL 8 YEARS CLIENT. THEIR LOST NOT MINE. It is a shame that this office do not understand what customer service and appreciation means. If Dr Chen cares so much about making money, he is in the wrong business. As a physician, Dr Chen has forgotten his mission and vowed to help and assist patience to a positive and healthier lifestyle. In my case, this office has created more grief than I really needed. No more drama from this office suckas! Patient do have rights and I choose not to be treated unfairly. If you need a great dermatologist, go see Dr Seth Vacarro