Rosanna Chow, MD – Pacific Family Practice

Dr. Chow is a great doctor, and has treated me at short notice for several respiratory infections over the past few winters. She’s very busy, but she always finds a way to squeeze you in. Her staff is excellent. You do have to keep her on track for the small details, but this lady knows her stuff and provides excellent care. She can be direct to the point of bluntness, and if you’re not comfortable with that style, another physician in the practice might suit you better. I’ve been very happy with the care I’ve received.

I am very impressed with Doctor Chow. I have a medical situation that is not life threatening but bugged me all my adult life, and was never diagnosed by any other specialists and doctors that I have been going to (I spent $$ doing all sort of tests with Kaiser a year ago and no result)
In my first and only visit (so far), she told me what she suspected it to be and requested for a specific examination. Of course she is spot on and the mystery is solved!
She returned call to me at 7.45pm (yes, in the evening) after getting my message. What a dedicated doctor!
I found her thru Zoc Doc and am very happy and lucky to have her as my primary care doctor. I highly recommend her. Besides her many years of experience, she is super nice and very funny.

I have been seeing Dr. Chow since the early 90s and I have always been pleased with the level of care I have received. Everytime I see her she spends the first part of my visit catching up on where I am physically as well as emotionally. And she always has positive professional advice about my health and happiness. She encourages open communication and trusts that I know the body I live in. She is caring, attentive, and actually quite funny. I am very sad to hear that others have not had a great experience with her, as I always have.

I had originally been a patient of Melissa Lin, who was great, but she moved to an office in the south bay. The office said i could see dr chow so i figured it should be fine. I was 100% wrong.
Not only did I wait over an hour for my appointment, but I did not find dr chow friendly, personable, understanding… i decided I’d look for another dr but I should at least do the tests she suggested.
i have the tests, which dr chow tells me will take a couple days to get the results and then she’ll get back to me. two weeks go by and i didnt hear from her. i email her through the patient portal to find out the results and what i should do. all she responds with is «negative» thats ALL! nothing like oh the results were negative but i suggest you… seriously, just the word negative.
i would not suggest/​recommend/​ever go to her again and you shouldnt either

The worst.
I’ve been her patient for 5 years and she always asks «who’s your regular doctor?». My answer is always «you» and she seems to still not remember me. I should have listened to the other reviews on multiple sites. She doesn’t listen, rushes you through the appointment and you have to beg her to order a test for you.
She is not a whole body/​whole foods doctor at all. She prescribes antibiotics like candy and doesn’t look at the base of the issue to solve any health problems. For any pain she prescribes pain pills or tells you it will go away with rest. I had to go out of network to get a dr to get an MRI. Turns out I wasn’t crazy and I did have a significant tear in my ligament.
There are a number of other Drs in her practice that are great and caring. You’ll be much better off going with one of them. Anyone but Dr. Chow.

She’s been my PCP for my whole life and she’s been really good. Very patient, caring, seems a bit rushed at times but understandable seeing as how she is a doctor after all. Ties everything together and educates me on healthier ways to manage my health concerns. Also prompt at getting you the appropriate health care you need from other specialists and meds and really friendly to talk to. Ask her about her cute dogs!

So I’ve gone here for a few years and have always been content. the last time I went in I was charged for a full annual when in fact the Dr. was so late for my meeting she had no time to do anything. So since I had stitches that needed to be removed they were done instead. I let her know my insurance was ending so I needed to keep my annual and the stitches removed. She simply said it’s 12:30 I am late for my next meeting I can only do 1. Obviously I choose stitches wanting them to be out (Also which I realized later should not have been removed yet they were not actually healed well), I think not giving me an annual when the stitches literally took 10 seconds to remove was insane. It’s not my fault you over booked and are like 30 minutes late for my appt. I ended up switching Drs. to Karen Khoo who is excellent she’s very up to date on new info for thyroid issues also and between her and my endocrinologist I finally feel normal again after complaining for years about my energy and being told my dose was fine turns out it was way lower than it should have been. I never really felt like I had more than 5 seconds with Rosanna and am much more happy at my new place.

I don’t know why people are complaining about but i am her patient for past 5 years and never had a problem. She sometimes literally call you cell phone if your blood result is really bad or really good in order to keep you good. I’ve been with many different doctors and Dr. Chow, you are the best. 5+ stars

She didn’t seem to care — I was asking all of the questions. I got an x-​ray for a fracture, then was told to hang out for results, but she couldn’t see me after wards so they sent me home. They claimed they called and left messages with results that day, but none were received. But the worst part is that they then say they cannot treat/​evaluate my x-​rays, I have to see a different doctor… so why did I even go there in the first place if I could have done an x-​ray and been evaluated elsewhere all in one visit?
Now I need to see a new doctor and hopefully they can get my x-​rays over in time, but my guess is I’ll have to go pick them up myself.

Only been with her for a year, seen her three times. The staff is friendly, but only when you initiate the friendliness first (exaggerated thank yous and smiles.) But at least they’re professional and not rude. The wait time in the waiting room: 5 min, 2 min, 8 min. The last time she apologized for the wait. It gets busy and I understand. She gets paid by the number of patients seen and blah blah blah. She’s a sweet woman, and I love how she narrates her every move, «so now, I just put this swab in this tube and swirl 10 times. You don’t really need to do it so many times, but I will. 1−2−3−4−5−6−7−8−9−10 and one more for good luck. See? Now it goes into the envelope and off it goes.» She’s so adorable. I never have questions for her since she goes through everything with detail. And the one or two that I do, she answers without seeming impatient.
I’d give her 5 stars, but from what I read from other people, I can sort of picture it happening. But I also know that differed people have different needs/​requirements of their doctors. Me? I just need someone who reminds me of my grandma.

Finding a good doctor is tough. I lucked out with Dr. Rosanna Chow as she was the first doctor I tried in SF, having recently moved from LA-​LA-​Land.
She’s attentive, thorough, and is perfectly well-​mannered. Every question I have asked has been answered satisfactorily, and she never seems rushed with me. Her staff is responsive, polite and friendly.
Two thumbs up!

Where to begin. Okay, so I couldn’t shake a bad cold (this was in June 2010, before everyone was up in arms about the Return of the Whooping Cough) and while I was fine with continuing to isolate myself, work from home and drink insane amounts of tea — I then found out that three family members of mine had tested positive for pneumonia. I was referred to Dr. Chow by someone I trust, someone who let me know that I might need to «be my own advocate» when dealing with her. Alright, good to know. I called Pacific Family Medical Practice and they were able to make me an appointment for the next day, less than 24 hours from when I called. Considering that I didn’t feel like I was in a life-​threatening emergency, I appreciated that they didn’t fuss and just scheduled me right away.
I get to the offices (at 1 Shrader) and am seen pretty quickly by Dr. Chow. Since it was my first visit there, in addition to needing immediate help with my do-​I-​have-​pneumonia panic I had to fill out the family medical history questionnaire. Alcoholism runs in my family. There’s no shame in that — it’s a disease, which is why it’s listed on the form, along with cancer, hypertension, heart disease, etc. So imagine my shock when an MD makes the following off the cuff remark «Oh, so your (relative) had cancer, your (relative) has high blood pressure… and your (relative) likes to drink»
Likes to drink? No, that person is an alcoholic. Which is what I explained — «Actually Dr Chow, so-​and-​so DOESN’T ‘like to drink’ — that person is an alcoholic.» She gave me a confused expression and said «they don’t like to drink? So is it like a liver thing?»
A. Liver. Thing. No, it’s not. And what the fuck does that even mean? I stated that not only does this relative not have liver problems, they do not ‘like to drink.’ She then said ‘oh, well alcoholism… it runs in families. So if you had said that you drink a lot…’ I cut her off and said ‘yes, I understand how addiction works and that alcoholism, the DISEASE, runs in families.’ She still didn’t seem to understand the HUGE difference between someone ‘liking to drink’ and being a goddamn alcoholic. Which is frightening at worst and insensitive at best.
There was also a screw up with the prescription I ended up getting for my might-not-be-pneumonia-but-might-be-something-else-that’s-gross, the computer system at the office was down and I asked if they could call in the prescription. Luckily, I looked at the name of the antibiotic because when I got to the pharmacy they had a similar-​sounding antibiotic waiting — which (after I asked the pharmacy to call the doctor’s office) turned out to be the wrong one. Yes, that could have been an error on the pharmacy’s part but after the unprofessional experience I had with Dr. Chow I won’t be going back.

So I am not sure if doctors read the Unilocal reviews, but talk about a completely different experience than some of the other people on here. I have been to many doctors in my life time and yes, some are business and some are just bad doctors. After reading Unilocal,I decided to go anyway for a couple reasons including she could see me the next day.
As I was waiting I read their pamphlet and saw a stern looking photo of Dr. Chow-​Boy was I worried! BUT!!!
I went today and here is what happened:
–Office staff: Typical. To the point, behind glass
–Timing: I got in about 15 min ahead of schedule
–Time in the private room: 3 min before Dr. Chow came in
–Impression? SUPER friendly! We even shared some stories and she took time to hear me out. She asked me questions and for each thing she would say «now I am going to check this because sometimes _​_​_​_​can occur»
She went back over my symptoms when she was done with the exam and said, «I want you to go get blood work done. It can possibly be two things. Then she listed them and was very careful about using the word cancer. «The second (cancer) is way less common so I don’t want you to worry, but I always want to be safe, so we will check for both» –You can tell she doesn’t want to frighten people.
So SAME DAY I get my lab results back and Dr. Chow personally calls me to inform me that the blood tests came back negative (whew).
Most of the negative reviews were from 3 – 4 years ago it seems. I think it is worth it to give her another shot! I went in thinking I would only use her once in this emergency, but now I am booking my pap smear with her because I was that comfortable and like she said, «I am a family doctor and I work from head to toes!»
Thanks Dr. Chow for the wonderful experience!

Dr. Chow was very abrupt, interrupted me a lot and got my Rx wrong. I can’t blame her entirely… her office staff seems unable to communicate the most simple message – to wit; please re– prescribe because I need 60 20 mg tablets instead of 120 10 mg tablets – it is way cheaper to buy 60 pills and cut them in half. Okay got it? They didn’t, nor did she. Too bad she did it wrong in the first place! It became an issue of epic proportions with 5 phone calls back and forth and with the office manager insinuating that I was trying to commit insurance fraud somehow, instead of taking some responsibilty for the bad service I was getting – I kid you not! Stay AWAY!

My wife went to see Dr Chow yesterday and came back almost in tears. Quite simply the worst bedside manner of any medical professional we have ever experienced. Go see Dr Scott at the Shrader Street location if you can but avoid Dr Chow. You are better off going to the ER and being dealt with by a first year intern.

Wow. It is almost reassuring to see that I am not alone in my feelings for Dr Chow. She is terrible. I switched insurance plans in order to get a better doctor. As everyone has said she rushes in and out. – usually after you’ve sat and waited forever for her to get you. Doesn’t allow you ask any questions, and if you do manages to get one in, she’ll make you feel stupid for asking it in the first place. Once I asked for a specific prescription knowing it was what I needed – she refused to give it to me prescribing something completely different that did not help at all!
As far as the front desk staff, I have had mixed results. On fellow is quite helpful while his coworker has not been.
I know finding a PCP can be difficult depending on your insurance plan, but you will be best to avoid Dr Chow.

i’ve had my share of doctors… switching back and forth… here and there… across the city and back. for the past 5+ years now, i’ve been seeing Dr. Chow at both her shrader and church st office. i have never been disappointed… not once. i’ve never had a problem with getting appointments. i’ve never had an issue with the front desk people. i’ve always had great, quick results. Dr. Chow was the only doctor in san francisco who was educated with my friend’s rare condition. i’ve switched insurance companies 3 – 4 times since i’ve been her patient… she accepted all of them.
i highly recommend Dr. Chow to anyone who is looking for a switch or a primary care physician.

I find it interesting that a lot of the bad reviews here are for problems with scheduling, or with the front desk. This might be an issue, but I don’t think it should reflect on Dr. Chow’s abilities as a physician. It seems minor when discussing matters of health. The problems with her knowledge or responsiveness might be legit, but there is a reason we have a Standard of Care.
While I’ve never needed doctor Chow in an emergency (that’s what emergency rooms are for) my day to day experience has been pretty good. Initially I was irritated by her unwillingness to prescribe medications, but now I feel that her responses have been on the mark. She has helped me with my cholesterol (counter to the reports of difficulties with this information listed here) and referred me to a physical therapist immediately after I reported problems with my shoulder (also counter to other reports). Both of these issues are progressing nicely.
She also helped catch a precancerous condition with my wife. This to me is by far the most important issue. My wife was referred to an excellent surgeon, and we are now in the clear. If this was not caught and dealt with, I don’t know what might have happened.
I think Dr. Chow deserves more credit. 5 stars to counter all the whiney administrative complaints.

I am kind of bummed to see that other people have gotten such poor service from Dr. Chow and feel that she is ordering them extra tests and being neglectful. I on the other hand had a different experience.
I have had this weird skin thing since college… they always used to prescribe me one pill, id take it and it would go away.
I was kind of annoyed when i went in to Dr. Chow and she wouldnt give me the pill without a blood test, but her solution for my problem, albiet a bigger hassle, was the cheapest, most practical way to go.
Dr Chow: (in my best little asian woman voice) Ok, so first you are going to go out an buy Selsun Blue, and in shower rub all over body. Then, you run in place (which she of course demonstrated) cuz it opens pores and medicated shampoo gets into skin. Then when you get out of shower, put foot crème on skin. You must stand around naked till it dry. Should go away. If not, come back for blood test
The only problem was that much of my skin problem is on my upper back, and thats hard to get to by myself.
Ended up getting referred to a dermatologist, and got the pill right away.
Went back to her for other things too, and had a fine experience. She is nothing but sweet and caring. A little flighty, but sweet.

I first started going to Dr. Chow back in 2000. She is an excellent Primary-​Care Physician. She is very gentle and kind, which is important, because you don’t want just anyone giving you a pap, now do you? I like Dr. Chow a lot and would recommend her to any woman looking for a good Primary-​Care Physician.
BTW: Her number has changed and she can be reached at 415−876−5762