Lucas Mei-Lai, MD

I’ve just realized that this page is specifically for Dr. Lucas and the office itself has its own page. And now I feel bad because if I’m reviewing JUST Dr. Lucas then she is amazing and deserves 5 stars. She is so kind and sweet, and I feel so bad for giving her the one star this whole time when I could’ve written it for the general office on their own Unilocal page.

Maybe they have some new front desk staff because they were awesome! Super helpful and friendly. The nurse practitioner I saw here today was wonderful as well, she really took the time to address all of my concerns and ask me about the quality of my health in a holistic way. The nursing staff was also really great and for the first time in my life I didn’t faint during a blood draw! Best HMO accepting doctor I have experienced.

Mei-​Lai Lucas is awesome!
She’s so friendly and down to Earth. I felt like I wasn’t rushed through my appointment like I usually feel like with all of my appointments I’ve had at Kaiser. She took the time out to really listen to all my concerns and make sure she was giving me the correct information. She even gave me references to other doctor that she thought could help me better than she could and I really appreciate that.
The only downside is trying to get your first initial appointment with her. I called in July and couldn’t get my first appointment with her until October. That’s a long time! Good thing there wasn’t anything wrong where I needed to see a doctor immediately. But I can say that it was worth the wait! Once you are in the practice it is much easier to get an appointment with her. You can call and get an appointment within the same week.
Street parking isn’t really an issue in the area if you’re going in the middle of the day on a weekday. Just be sure to be aware if you’re in a 2 hour parking zone and street cleaning signs.

I have only been to the office a few times since Dr. Mei-​Lai Lucas (Richmond District Medical) became my primary physician in about 2012. So fare, my experience about the office has been GREAT. My phone calls were always returned within the same day if they were answered by the machine. For the times when my calls were answered by a person, she always made sure I got an appointment to see someone for my medical needs. The person also dealt with my request regarding RX, or insurance promptly. She’s experienced and good with her work.
I have been seen by only Dr. Lucas and Rosanne O’Rourke; they both are caring professionals, very easy to talk to. I did not need to wait long to get an appointment with Rosanne each time. I like Rosanne a lot; she’s compassionate, knowledgeable and patient.
The office itself is ok; nothing fancy like some of the nice ones I’ve been. To me, it is the staff and the doctors who work there that matters more.

I don’t write reviews on Unilocal.but cant help myself to comment on those previous Unilocalers. they got really confused with the twin doctors. FYI Dr. Mei lei Lucas and dr Mei lei Fong are the same. Fong is her maiden name. So it is Dr Mei Lei Fong– Lucas. Anyways, Ive been seeing her for so many years she is very cooperative, a good listener she treats patients with respect and most of all she spends time during consultation. So your co pay will be worth it. Mila is good especially in drawing blood. Rachel at the front desk is a sweetheart.

SO excited to have found a wonderful doctor right off the bat! Rosanne O’Rourke was so friendly and just made me feel comfortable immediatley. She listened to everything I had to say and didn’t push medications or the flu shot on me, at all. I am more of a ‘self healer’ where i find that if something is out of whack with my body, it is typically directly reflected by the food I am eating or if I haven’t had enough water during the day, etc. I don’t like taking medications and Dr. O’Rourke was very understanding in my preference. She listened attentively and gave me suggestions for nutrionists to contact to help sort out my diet. She was just so nice and friendly and I appreciate having found such a wonderful doctor right away.

Dr Lucas is a great doctor! I had been seeing her for two years while I lived in the neighborhood. She got all my shots taken care of, and took care of a bacterial infection I got. She is polite, warm, friendly with great bedside manners, and takes the time to explain all your questions. If I do not like my new PCP, I am going back to Dr Lucas!

I have been a patient of Dr. Mei-​Lai Lucas for several years 2004-​present. She was recommended by my work’s supervisor, good recommendation, kind, caring doctor, nice staff in the office per my boss. She was right, I had fun talking to her she is so thorough, she knows very well what to prescribe with the symptoms you have, although takes time to get an appointment with her as she is also a doctor of some famous hospitals in SF but ones who you are in her office, she listens to all your complains well & she thinks really fast, you will not live unhappy in her office. Roseanne O Rourke is a good NP (or a PA) in her office too. I’m happy that when I need a refill for a no refill RX for my medications when out of it, the office would call the pharmacy asap. When my illness has not been relieved with all the medications she prescribed, the office staff, the Filipina older staff in the office was nice enough to call the specialist that I like with my request & made an appointment for me. I will never change my regular doctor like Dr. Lucas for another doc, also I am happy talking to the rest of the staff in the office, very accommodating, I even recommended Dr. Lucas to my husband who is now also very happy the way Dr. Lucas deals with him as patient.
Here’s my husband’s review:
I am very happy to have Dr. Mei-​Lai Lucas as my new doctor with my wife’s recommendation. Before, I was hesitant to see her due to the distance of the office from my home. But finally, I agreed to see her on my first check-​up. Now I would say from the bottom of my heart that she is a very good & a concerned doctor to her patients compared to the past doctors I have seen. I highly recommend her as other health professionals want only to make good money when they see patients without really doing what they are supposed to do for the comfort of their patients.

Thorough, helpful, honest, understanding. She knows who you are and makes it a point to improve your health! I’m thankful for her– she really cares about her patients. You are lucky if you get to see her!

I love this neighborhood doctor!

The office staff is totally rude and unprofessional. They refused to accept a message for Dr. Lucas to call me. Apparently lost my pharmacy’s request for medication refill. Really a problem for me to get adequate healthcare… not because of providers but because of incompetent, poor manner staff. ZERO customer service.

Dr. Lucas’s office is great. Not necessarily in appearance but definitely in quality. I was actually seriously considering switching to Kaiser before I came here after some pretty sub par experiences with another doctor.
Of course, I have never met Dr. Lucas. When I initially called in they had an opening on one of the days I requested and gave me a choice (while explaining who would be available for that time and their credentials). I took a gamble with the later appointment doctor.
Rosanne O’Rourke is AMAZING. She was super thorough with everything. My last doctor just prescribed me a medication that I could only use for a max of four months and didn’t follow up at at all. Rosanne explained to me the benefits of the medication and what our next steps would be. She referred me to two other doctors to help figure out if there was something more serious going on and to deal with the symptoms.
I recently thought I had strep throat and called the office in the morning before they opened. The receptionist called me back and I called back and… you know the drill. BUT Rosanne did get back to me by the end of the day and because it was almost closing time and my symptoms checked out she prescribed a preventative antibiotic over the phone, that i could pick up in as little as an hour. AMAZING.
When my symptoms weren’t getting better I called in and was scheduled an appointment the next morning. I was in and out of the office in half an hour. I don’t think you can do any better.

I think there is some mix-​up here as Mai-Lai’s sister (who is also a dr. — obviously) is the one who opened the boutique practice. Hope that clears things up for the previous poster who was unhappy with the changes at the clinic.
That aside, I have been coming here for a couple of years now, and I am very satisfied with the service and punctuality of the office. Most of the time I actually see their PA Jennifer Lyons, who is spectacular. She is very level-​headed and judicious.
Also, they are great with call-​backs. The schlep-​factor out to Balboa and 25^th is a bit of a pain for a citified flat-​lander like me, but it’s made up for by the treatment received. Good practice.

This is only my 2^nd review on Unilocal but I thought this was important. I chose Dr. Lucas and Dr. Fong’s practice because of the good Unilocal reviews and their association with CPMC. Dr. Lucas was very nice and chatty when I (finally) met her face to face, but I have several major problems with this office which are causing me to consider moving elsewhere:
1) I have been happily using the same prescrip. for years and just needed a new prescription written to get refills. Despite having NO problems with it and a top-​rated doctor in another city recommending it for me, Dr. Lucas insisted that I switch to a different prescription which has MANY MANY known negative side effects, including several lawsuits against it. This gives me a strong suspicion that she is receiving illegal kickbacks for prescribing this particular drug.
2) I made it very clear during my visit that I could only afford to use a GENERIC drug. She went ahead and prescribed me the above branded drug anyway, and checked the box that prohibits you from getting the generic substitute. I had to make a 2^nd trip back to the office and get the nurse to get me a corrected prescription just to order the generic.
3) It is extremely difficult to see the real doctor. While the physician’s assistant was nice, I am paying to see a real doctor. You basically need 2 month’s notice to see her. If you have an urgent situation, forget about it.
On the plus side, their office admins are very, very nice.

So I used to see Dr. Fong until she got tired of my HMO and now i’m seeing Dr. Lucas in the same office.
The office definitely isn’t the newest but is is comfortable– the same feeling I get from the nurses and rest of the staff.
I went in today for a physical with Dr. Lucas, which I did have to schedule a month + in advance but that’s been the norm for me for such appointments. I was seen within 5 minutes of checking in at the office and I didn’t have to wait at all for Dr. Lucas. She is friendly, attentive, knowledgeable and answered all my questions. Unless my insurance changes again, I will def. be staying with Dr. Lucas.

Not sure what the boutique thing is about that the other reviewer was talking about. Dr. Lucas has been my PCP for several years now. I love her. I went to a few others until I found her. Even though she only sees me 1−2x a year, she always remembers my stories and where we las left off with my life. I like that she cares enough to remember her patients. I feel like I have a great relationship with her. Also, if something minorly urgent comes up, I can call and she will call me back! I know she calls her patients back during lunch and after hours… she stays late to do this. And she even offers med advice and prescribes during these calls. So to me, i don’t think this office is about going after your money. If so, then they would make come in so they can charge for a visit. Instead, Dr. Lucas knows I’m in pain/​discomfort and she does her best to make sure i’m covered on the spot with advice, home treatments, prescriptions if needed and follow-​up instructions.
I really like Dr. Lucas. I also have never had an issue getting an appt. For physicals, yes, you have to wait a while (she’s good and she’s got patients), but if you become a patient and then need to see her, she makes the time. I recommend becoming her patient,… it’s worth the wait for a good, thorough, caring, intelligent gracious doctor.

been a patient of hers for years. she’s pretty busy and routine appointments (e.g. physicals) should be planned for in advance, as with all doctors. she definitely tries to see you and make time for you, if only for a few minutes (assuming you couldn’t get scheduled to see her). definitely a good bedside manner.
the office staff is friendly and courteous and will try and squeeze you in, if you are sick or have some sort of semi-​emergency, to the point of scheduling you with another doctor in their office (personal experience).
i’ve been to other doctors who were more interested in getting your copay and this office/​doctor is definitely not one of those.

I have to revise my review. I used to be at this office before they switched to their «boutique» medical office. This is set up so only those who can afford to pay an extra couple thousand dollars a month can get prompt appointments etc with the doctors. There are some on the HMO who are still on their books, but if they’re not on the Boutique membership, they won’t get priority. I didn’t want to fork over $ 4,000 (the amount my husband and I would have to pay to get preferential treatment) so I have since switched to another medical office: Metropolitan office at 110 Sutter. They are great and you never have to wait long in the office for an appointment

I can’t get an appointment with her. She is always booked for 3 months. She is my primary care physician. Instead I get stuck with her PA. I hate this office.

Dr. Lucas is wonderful. I’ve been another doctor in the same office for many years but when my primary doctor was out, I had the opportunity to be treated by Dr. Lucas. She is very kind, listens to your symptoms, ask many questions to make sure she can give the right treatment. The other great thing is that she explains why it happened and how to prevent it. She doesn’t mind taking the time. I love that! very informative that you don’t fee rushed!
When you need an appointment, this office is very accommodating. The only thing is that they keep you waiting for a long time. That’s always frustrating!
Overall, the office and doctors are very nice and caring! It’s what you need when you are feeling crummy!