Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center and Offices

Just don’t. No good comes out of this place. Read the reviews here. Chilling but true.

I like Kaiser. Very efficient system. I can reach them day and night. There is always an advise nurse available on the phone. If my doctor is not available soon, I can always request to see another doctor if I need something urgently. Doctors are good and knowledgeable. There are good and bad doctors everywhere. I was lucky enough to see doctors who were very competent. I am sure there are some that are not or who don’t care. In my opinion, the only problem with Kaiser system, and I think it’s a big problem, is when you need a second opinion you can’t get a fair or true second opinion. Your second opinion doctor looks in the computer at the previous doctor’s opinion and most of the time (or I should say always) agrees or gives the same opinion. I think this is a big flaw of the system, I don’t know if it’s intentional, but I hope it gets fixed or changed over time, because otherwise Kaiser is there to provide good medical care at reasonable price to masses.

I’d have to say they did a pretty good job at delivering a baby, they really know what they are doing and they realize the customer is always right, that is very important, you never want to tell me what to do. The nurses there are the best. The guards were pretty nice too.
Only one thing I didn’t like is I had to park a block away and I had to pay for parking, I got a little discount from the hospital, that helps but I’ve never seen a hospital with no free parking before, so that is not a good thing, but I’ll let that go.

I wanted to reorder prescription contact lens; after not being able to do this on the Kaiser Permanente reorder website, I called Kaiser Permanente Optical center four times this morning. Each time I was put on hold for about 10 minutes, and then got disconnected.
Perhaps they need to staff up? Or, perhaps there should be a recording letting people know the best times to reach them.
I hate wasting time…
K Z Fung

Despite the meh star rating, as a healthcare advocate witnessing the operations of multiple large medical centers in the Bay Area, Kaiser San Francisco is by far the best in coordinated care. Having said that, one must push the process along, but there are many fine clinicians available who not only cooperate with coordinating care amongst various specialties but are usually grateful for the nudge. You will encounter the occasional incompetent *and* lazy clinician; keep your critical faculties honed to spot such practitioners and promptly request a change to a different clinician (an easy process at this time). The online portal is by far the most useful of the ten or so I have experienced. Administrative support — always a weak link in a medical center — again surpasses that of other major medical centers.
The onus, unfortunately, remains upon the patient to discern the quality of treatment received, so do listen to your intuition and don’t hesitate to change practitioners if you do not find simpatico with your current provider.
Try to get in the habit of obtaining a copy of your medical records on a frequent basis and keep your own copy. Read them — despite the jargon, you often can spot errors or remarks which bear further investigation.
Finally, Kaiser generally has lower insurance premiums than other groups in the area, and one is spared the hassle of reviewing claims and EOBs for later co-​payments due. The patient exchanges the co-​payment at time of check-​in and no further tracking or invoices are received. Hospitalization and transitional care are somewhat different, so do ask Member Services how the process works for your plan. As with all healthcare providers, *always* get an estimate (assuming non-​emergent care is involved), and *never* pay anything until you have an itemized invoice which is explained to your satisfaction.

Radiology department review:
Unfortunately, I did not get this guy’s name down but I did also have an unfortunate experience regarding my recent x-​ray.
Tall African-​American older gentleman with glasses.
Did not say hello, or hi to me at all after walking me through the doors.
Not only that but he rudely put his hand up as if he was a traffic man while looking away to observe something.
Took an x-​ray of my foot, and was really rough with it. I was having muscle spasms there as it is injured.
About an hour before, many of the staff were on lunch so I went to the desk next to the usual radiology desk, where there was a blond lady with glasses. Received attitude from her as she could have kindly just said «please head over to the other side and they take care of you».
These people should reevaluate their jobs. It’s bad enough when people come in there injured/​hurt/​ill, do these people not know their jobs require patience and sympathy? No?
I will do everything to avoid this location.

I received attentive and compassionate care from everyone who I came in contact with.

I’ve been trying to get a billing error fixed for 14 months now. I’ve spent numerous hours on the phone. They have been billing me for double insurance for my daughter. Every time I call the billing dept they tell me they are going to fix the issue and adjust the balance on my account. 14 months later they have not done anything. I have called, filed grievances, spoken to supervisor after supervisor everyone promises me they will fix it and nothing happens. My insurance has been cancelled for non payment… huh? I’ve been paying my premiums and getting health care all along… now I’m cancelled and can’t get into my online account. I can’t get my Rx now. Ready to call the local news and get on TV.

These people don’t know what they’re doing. My son needs a referral to a clinic. We’ve been trying to get someone to help and have gotten passed around to ten different numbers and no one can help. He now has to go to the emergency room to get his meds because they’ve been absolutely lame, disorganized and unhelpful.
Avoid them at all costs!!! Horrible insurance company!!!

I miss Kaiser. I’m at UCSF now because my new employer doesn’t offer Kaiser as an option. There are things about Kaiser that aren’t so great. But having your insurer, doctor, and pharmacy all in one place is very efficient. Some things aren’t covered and some things aren’t approved. But that’s true of all insurers. It’s not a PPO versus HMO thing. You always need to be your own best health advocate. But for paperwork bottlenecks, that just rarely happens at Kaiser because it’s all the same organization. Having my health provider, insurer, and pharmacist as separate entities may sound great if you’re a free market advocate. But it sure sucks if you want one stop service.

Unprofessional! Kaiser needs to spend more time and money getting QUALITY doctors. I Had an appointment with Sumeer Gupta at the Kaiser French campus and arrived 8 min late due to heavier than normal Super Bowl city traffic. It was a minor procedure in the head and neck department and the doctor asked his assistant to reschedule because I was 8 min late. There is a grace period at any hospital you go to, and 8 minutes should not be an issue. Kaiser hospitals and doctors seem to have a problem with customer service. Will definitely be looking at other options for medical care!

Kaiser doctor recommended a preventative colonoscopy which I had. I called Kaiser prior to the procedure to ensure it was covered without a co-​pay and was told that it was preventative not diagnostic and that all costs would be covered. I then received 2 bills for $ 6,000 which I contested. It’s been 2 months and they are still trying to re-​solve the issue even though I have 2 written letters from them saying it was preventative not diagnostic. I left 3 voice mails with the claims adjuster with no call back and finally managed to reach her direct and was told that she didn’t call back since she didn’t have her voice mail password and wasn’t able to listen to any of her messages! I’d recommend getting everything that you’re told On the phone in writing.

The French Campus psychiatric department does not return phone calls. They’ll leave you on hold for 45 minutes, so you’ll eventually give in and leave a message, and they don’t respond. You’d think they’d be a little more concerned with messages considering it is the mental health unit, but I guess not. If possible, try to get a different center to handle your medication/​psychiatric needs. This place sucks.

They suck at their jobs! I met one doc who knew what she was talking about the rest sucked i left out there in so much pain i nearly cried my eyes out i felt worse then i did coming in. I rather get treated by sutter health in sf and wait for a loong time then go back to Kaiser.

I love my regular dermatologist at Kaiser San Francisco and I when I asked her about fillers, she suggested I have a consultation with the Cosmetic Dermatology department at Kaiser.
Booking an appointment was very difficult because the receptionists are very unhelpful. The first time I tried, I actually gave up because of how rude and dense the person I was speaking to was. The second time I was successful, but had to book very far in advance, at least a month and that was only because there was a cancellation! I was able to get a 5PM appointment, but had previously been told their latest was 3PM, so if you need a late appointment, note that they CAN do 5PM.
Upon arrival, there was one woman working at the reception area and one client in line ahead of me. The receptionist was doing another task and did not help either of us for a good 5 minutes. When she helped the person in front of me, she was very rude, I was surprised the client didn’t get upset. This experience made me 5, if not 10, minutes late for my appointment. I saw Sarah Briones and she was quite nice and enthusiastic about the procedure. But I was REALLY surprised to hear how much filler she would need to inject and how much it was going to cost! She recommended 3 syringes of Restylane, each syringe being about $ 650 a pop! The treatment lasts around 6 months, but can last longer or shorter. I was not going to spend $ 2k on something that could last a few months!
I was told that I should book now because, even in doing so, she wouldn’t be able to see me for at least a month. This made me nervous because, what if I needed a follow-​up? I decided to just book it and think about it, but then she told me that they take a non-​refundable deposit when you book! When we left her office, the receptionist said she couldn’t book me anything because she had logged out of her computer already but that she would call me the next day. I never got a call, which was OK because I researched and found a much better option — Ageless Beauty on Union Street. Interestingly enough, AB only rec’d one syringe of Juvederm ($ 550 at Ageless) which was a HUGE contrast from the 3 syringes of Restylane that Dr. Briones at Kaiser rec’d. Either Restylane comes in a MUCH smaller syringes, or Dr. Briones was gonna have me looking like a Beverley Hills Housewife haha…
I think you would get quality dermatology services here, but the lack of availability for appointments and difficulty communicating with the front lines made Kaiser Cosmetic Derm, a no-​go for me. Still love their regular dermatology though!

I delivered my baby here in April of 2015. Every single nurse, doctor, lactation consultant, staff member was great. I felt safe and in good hands during such a vulnerable time. Thank you Kaiser staff!

This place is absolutely terrible. Lets start with seeing a doctor. To do that you have to (a) go through a nurse who screens you. After you tell them whats wrong, you (b) wait for a doctor. When the doctor finally sees you you’ve got 10 to 15 minutes tops with them. If you want to see a specialist you have to follow steps a and b even if you know whats wrong. Lets say you have a rash and want to see a demonologist, sorry first step a and b. Want to see a cardiologist, go through steps a and b. You get the idea. And some of these steps can take weeks. And then theres the dismal phone service. Ive waited 40 minutes at a time and still didn’t get to talk to a pharmacist. I could go on and on. For the price you pay, you’d expect more than the DMV style of service you get.

I came as a visitor —
Cafeteria food — price cheap. (but I didn’t get any food)
Nurses /​Staff was friendly and helpful.
Food served to patient — didn’t look good.

(This review is for Labor and Delivery and NICU)
I came here to deliver my baby. Didn’t get the chance to tour the facility yet but heard good things from friends who delivered here. My water broke suddenly at work and luckily my work is 15 min drive away from the hospital. I called in the L&D department when that happened and had s small hiccup when I called the first time. They put me on hold for quite a while that I had to hang up and redialed again. Second time I got connected and was told to come in asap. The instructions from the nurse could be better as I was left hanging in the waiting room for a while and didn’t see any nurses around. I had to walk out of the waiting room to find someone. Luckily a nurse walked out of an office and saw my confused face and directed me to the right place. Minus those hiccups, the whole process of admission was smooth. The team was great. Nurses and doctors were helpful and professional. Labor and delivery went quite smooth.
Since my kid was born prematurely, he had to stay in NICU for few weeks. The staff was really caring and helpful as well. They encouraged parents to get involved in morning rounds and asked questions. Nurses were super helpful with breastfeeding and any other tips to take care of premature babies. It could get stressful when your baby is in NICU but the warmth and the expertise of doctors and nurses really helped us understand what was going on with our baby. Overall, I was very happy with the care that we got.

Slower than the snail service!
Tip: take your day off from work before you come here.

I recently enrolled Kaiser and I can’t be more pleased. My experience has been great very profesional, I have felt really happy with my new health plan. I don’t understand the bad stars though.
Thanks Kaiser

I was very hesitant to switch over to Kaiser. I remember Kaiser as being the «cheap option» in health care. Well it is still the «cheap option» but the difference is, you get premium care.
When picking doctors, I had a choice of hundreds of doctors which I could then narrow down and investigate their education/​experience/​etc. I picked a great Harvard Doctor and he’s been absolutely great.
The pharmacy line is long sometimes, but the system they put in is efficient and the wait is not long.
I’ve been nothing but pleased with Kaiser in all my interactions with them.
Only complaint is street parking is crappy so you have to do their ground parking (but the price is reasonable).

To whom it may concern —
I have spent about $ 30k at Kaiser over the past 15 years. In that time, I have had a half dozen physicals and gotten some immunizations, and I gotten a couple refills.
Suffice it to say, I have paid far beyond the service that I have gotten.
Even with that, the experience that I just had was deeply frustrating and revealed fundamental flaws in your system.
I’m in New York, and need to refill my prescription. I have an important presentation tomorrow that I have to travel to first thing in the morning.
The local Walgreens said that they needed verbal confirmation in order to transfer my prescription.
— The pharmacist at the local Walgreens called the number on my Kaiser bottle five times, unable to speak to a representative.
— I called that number, failed to talk to a human.
— I called the operator. They transferred me to Member Services
— I spoke to Member Services, they told me that I needed to talk to the pharmacy. They gave me a different phone number.
— I called that phone number, failed to talk to a human.
— I called back again (and cried) and asked to speak to the pharmacy. They transferred me.
— The pharmacy told me that there was no problem, I could speak to the pharmacist. They transferred me.
— The pharmacist told me that he could not call Walgreens, but Walgreens could call him. He gave me another phone number.
— Walgreens called him on that number, they navigating voicemail prompts. By the time they got to him, the pharmacy was closed (I cried again).
— I called back to complain. The agent followed through my whole process, and then recommended attempting another number, to another pharmacy, that she said was open.
— I called Walgreens to have them call that number. They were closed.
So now, it’s the night before a big presentation. Totally preventable, totally treatable. And I have a prescription for treatment. And 12 hours ago, I started trying to refill that prescription. And now, 12 hours and a dozen phone calls later, I have nothing to show for it.
So thank you Kaiser, for taking my $ 30,000 and not even refilling my prescription.
I couldn’t be more unhappy with your service, your treatment of your patients, the efficacy of your systems, and your ability to make me feel like you care about me and my health in any way, shape, or form.
I will be launching my own little online campaign to provide negative feedback wherever I can.
I have every confidence that I will not receive any follow-​up communication from this letter or any of the 10 agents that I spoke with today.
Thanks for taking my money and not giving a sh*t about me!

Parking is a joke here. It was full. Well, if it was full shouldn’t there have been a sign up staying saying the lot is full? Luckily I found a compact space? So waiting for the elevator to go to the lobby from the lot. Waited and waited… About 5 minutes. It already came through but going down to the levels. Ok. Was thinking it should be clear or not as crowded when it comes back up because there’s no parking. Why the f was it full, mean full to the point no one can go in? Should had just walked it. Again, to a joke here. 2 stars because I’m being nice. Smh…

The wait can be long, but the doctors take their time with you; and all the staff (doctors, nurses, what-​have-​you) seem knowledgeable and committed to your health, comfort, and well-​being.
I’ve been here as a patient and with friends who needed after-​hours and/​or non-​emergency care. Even though I’ve had a good experience each time, I’m always waiting for something bad to happen, and it never does.
The exam rooms could be cleaner, and the waiting area is a zoo, but Kaiser can’t control kids – God knows these parents don’t know how to control their own kids; or they just let them run around and make a lot of noise because, I mean, we all chose to have kids, right? And it’s very comfortable when you’re in pain to have to listen to a bunch of screaming five-​year-​olds. It may take a village sometimes, but back in the day, it just took a glare from my dad.
And yes, I’m talking about you. You know who you are.

I was called by a patient to provide services on-​site in the ICU department. What I witnessed there appalled me. A male nurse was using obscene language, the F’ing word repeatedly in his communications with a very ill patient talking like street trash. I also noted when he had to converse with me he made a very unnecessary disgusting comment when I told him I’ve never been asked to wear a gown and gloves before when visiting a patient for services. He said «it’s only a precaution, don’t worry he’d have to poop on your face in order to catch something».
After witnessing this nurse I deduced he was mentally ill and a disturbed individual who is unfit to be performing his job serving patients at Kaiser Permanent. After witnessing an entire staff of people in ICU doing a lot of personal conversation, some of whom could barely speak English, I witnessed how KP cuts corners by hiring third world cheap labor to handle it’s patients needs.
I would never use this hospital’s services after witnessing this tolerated behavior of its staff member. People have no choice being assigned nurses in emergency situations, it’s a shame KP doesn’t use common sense to match up some sleazy street talking trash with vulnerable people who have no choice in the matter.

Born here.
Been coming here since.
Never fun coming here whether for annual checkups, emergencies, or dreaded colonoscopies.
Never known any other medical care save that ear infection from Ala Moans beach’s salt water that took me to the hotel’s clinic and one that took me to Alta Bates in Berkeley for another ear situation.
So, I’ve only had two doctors, pediatrician Dr. R. Burnip and Dr. A. Tang. I’m fortunate to have two physicians who communicate bluntly and with a sense of humor. The facilities have grown exponentially as the clinic portion is now across the street from the main hospital on Geary and many departments have moved to offsite locations like the former French Hospital on Geary and 6^th Avenue.
If you seek a personal one-​on-​one experience, Kaiser may not be the place for you as it is now more like a «fast food» feel where things flow very systematically.

Well the whole process was great for us! We came to see our friend of over 50 years through a triple bypass and te staff, facility, surgeon, assistants, security, cafeteria, and more were all so kind, caring, compassionate, friendly, open and just nice. The patient was treated so well, and the work was superior. These people do it right.

I don’t care about what everyone else thinks about Kaiser… but I love it. Maybe like, 6 years ago or so, Kaiser made it difficult to make appointments, and I can agree that it used to suck.
Now I think that Kaiser sets the bar on guidelines for other heathcare facilities. I had a choice with my employer to have PPO or Kaiser, and I chose Kaiser. I am glad I did, because last year I was pregnant and had my baby this year in May 2014. All the appointments I had were easy, comfortable, and the doctors all knew what they were doing. The nurses were always sweet and also very attentive. The 24-​hr on call nurse line helped a lot when I was scared and pregnant when I thought something was wrong. They assessed me over the phone and if they thought I needed to see a doctor, they scheduled me to come in right away.
During my labor (across the street at the labor and delivery building), I had a scheduled induction appointment and the baby still didn’t come out till 30 hours later. It was painful, but the nurses were all very helpful. Everyone just knew what they were doing. My mom and boyfriend were able to be there with me the entire time and we all trusted the staff 100%. And as a lot of people I know who have a PPO are still paying for their labor and delivery, I didn’t even have a copayment.
A few years ago, I found a lump on my right breast, and they scheduled me right away for the biopsy, they did it right then and there. They made sure that it was benign and I still was able to get it removed without any complications. All my doctors for all these procedures were awesome. I trust them with my healthcare and would not think about switching. Kaiser is pretty good, I have no complaints.

Given how shaky the US health care system is, my experience with Kaiser over the last few years hasn’t been bad. With the new and improved Kaiser website, it’s easy to schedule appointments online, order refills, and email your doctor without having to come in or deal with a painful phone call.
I mention the online services first, however, because you’ll definitely want to spend as little time here as possible, and they allow you to do that (I mean, who’s likes going to the hospital?). Additionally, not only is it usually pretty busy, which means you’ll usually be spending a lot of time sitting and waiting, but it’s also a little tricky to get in and out of. Technically, the location itself is great, so it’s easy to get here, but after that it gets more difficult. Being at the apex of Geary and Divisadero has major drawbacks, as it can be a hassle unloading/​picking up people, as well as getting into/​out of the parking garage. Plus, it sucks having to go up or down an entire block to cross the street on Geary (and it’s a long one too).
At the same time, there are some really nice things about this Kaiser as well:
Location: As I said, it’s conveniently located in the middle of the city, so you can easily drive or get here by MUNI is you need to.
Parking: Garage underneath, which is good, because there’s otherwise zero parking in the area.
Service: Even though I’ve had some very long waits here, once I’m able to get seen by a doctor or nurse things have always been great. Most physicians and staff I’ve seen are very good at what they do and friendly.
Pharmacy: As long as you don’t come at the end of the day or an otherwise obviously inopportune time, the pharmacy is usually on point. Most importantly, I’ve never had any issues or mix-​ups with my prescriptions, but they also have decent hours, good staff, and a wait-​time that isn’t too bad (as long as you order ahead).
I’m a thrilled with Kaiser? No. But they get the job done, and I’m certainly thankful for that, because as everyone knows these days, there are some TERRIBLE hospitals lurking out there.