John Muir Health Urgent Care Center

I could not feel worse about this place. I used to go to Kaiser but switched jobs and got different health care. I chose to go to John Muir thinking it would be better. I chose a Primary Care Physician and was set for my first appointment. Everything went smoothly until my new doc walked in. Doctor Sarah Sanders. She walked in without making eye contact and sat down and started typing away introducing herself while looking at the computer screen. She literally went through everything like she was reading off a teleprompter and when I had question seemed so bothered. I was there to get a series of tests. I have really good health but it had been a few years and I wanted to get tested for everything from cholesterol, vitamin D, glucose etc. She told me that she didn’t understand why I wanted these things tested as I’m young and likely don’t need them. She continued to ramble on about why I shouldn’t be concerned all the mean while not looking at me. I have never seen anyone hate their job more. She seriously seems like the most miserable person ever. I really think she is in the wrong profession. I have never had a doctor act like they could care less about me or act so aggressive toward me. I am serious when I say she was aggressive. She acted like she was annoyed by me and it was a bother to do her job. I could go on and on about her poor bedside manner but it will only get me very upset again. I left that day feeling really upset and it lasted for a few days. Like I said I came from Kaiser and I had a one on one relationship with my doc and she was great. I figured if Kaiser was great John Muir would be excellent. Wrong! I hope Dr. Sanders finds her true calling in life as this is not it. If you choose to go there please steer clear of her if you like to actually feel like you’re being heard or feel like you are a valued patient. Happy Health!

Better if you all have a catching up session with the patient after offerings medicines because sometimes people may get allergies and the reception people wants us to take another appointment with the doctor.
Since it is a emergency care unit, it’s always better to be responsible in these affairs
I am not talking about the doctor but the management system

Was really impressed with the ease of making an appointment. Got in and was seen immediately, nice doctor and staff. Then walked next door to get my X Ray and was out in less than an hour. Now, I’ve called twice since its been 6 hours since my X Ray was taken and haven’t heard back on the results (they said they would call within 2 – 3 hours). Each time I call they try and make me feel like I’m asking too much and that the doctor is busy. If my bone is broken, they will already be closed before I can get it treated at this rate! Why bother if they don’t follow up???

Convenient hours and friendly people who seem to care, but I unfortunately cannot commend their competence and would avoid this place — go elsewhere. I took my son to the pediatric urgent care unit, and the experience was a total circus, including seemingly inexperienced medical staff not knowing what they are doing.
They also struggled just to correctly inform us on how to collect a sample for lab testing (providing patently incorrect information) and then on reviewing the results in their system (they couldn’t determine what test were ordered and what results were in and outstanding); they also dropped the ball entirely on reporting his results to us, sitting on a result for 10 days to where it was a moot point, and wrongly informing us that they never received the results from the lab (again, incompetence in managing their own systems).

I went in yesterday due to swelling of my right arm after surgery. My UCSF surgeon suggested I go to the urgent care to rule out a blood clot. I had to make an appointment to see the doctor so he could order a STAT ultrasound. Then I had to wait until I worked around the appointments for ultrasounds. I waited over 2.5 hours. This is no longer a stat procedure. I would have made an appointment, but they require a doctor order. Something is very wrong with this set up. They should probably have more ultrasound techs to do these procedure. This would help cover lunch times and address the workload.
For the most point, the staff are nice. There were two rude front desk staff there. But the other workers there made up for the very rude staff.

I really didn’t want to write this review. I still don’t want to write this review.
I went in a week ago today because I had a bad sore throat. I thought it was strep. Dr Megha Ambati orders a strep test, and it comes back negative. Then — and this is where my frustration begins — she steps in to the hall, calls across the room to the RN, and asks for a mono test. Really? You’re gonna call that out across a room? Then, when that comes in negative, she goes back in to the hall and asks for another exam — of which I’m horrified to even list on here. Then when the RN says he didn’t hear her request, she writes it in the air with her finger. WHAT?! Has she not heard of HIPPA?! I was mortified when I walked out of the exam room. None of the nurses would look me in the eye, and who knows if any other patients heard/​saw this interaction.
To make matters worse, I called the site administrator — Ms. Brown — to complain, and it took her two days to return my call in which she left a message. I called her back a few hours later, and while it was after hours, here we are three FULL business days later, and still no response. I even gave her a second call after returning from the weekend in the event she forgot. I’m thoroughly disgusted with how this facility has handled themselves.

I have taken my toddlers here twice this winter and they both saw Dr. Baracar. He is the most amazing Doctor! I never write reviews on Unilocal but I was so impressed I had to! He was not only extremely knowledgeable but so personable and excellent with my kids. After a week of fever and a horrible cold my ²¹⁄₂ was fighting, he was the only one to finally give him something that worked! He explained everything to me, went through all his blood work with me so I could make sense of it. He actually spent time! Which is hard to find in doctors these days! I can’t say enough great things! And my kids loved him too!

I love the fact that such a convenient center exists, and the care from the doctors is very good. However, it is ridiculous and frustrating the amount of paperwork they make you fill out every time, even if you are in the computer and nothing about your status has changed. I have had the same insurance for 11 years, lived at only two different addresses in that time and have always paid all my bills on time. Yet, every time you show up at any John Muir facility, they interrogate you about your ability to pay and ask you detailed questions to determine whether your info has changed, and make you fill out up to half a dozen forms that are COMPLETELY REDUNDANT to forms you have filled out in the past.
Given the generally bloated and overpriced nature of our health care system, this superfluous paper creation and unnecessary administrative effort is unconscionable. What happened to the days of looking at my insurance card and looking at my ID and, beyond that, leaving me the heck alone? By the way, I work in the medical industry and I know that 90% of the paperwork John Muir makes you fill out is not legally/​regulatorily required but driven by John Muir internal company policy.
It is getting worse. Today I was asked my employment status even though our whole family is on my husband’s insurance. I was told that since I was bringing my son to the appointment, I would be considered the guarantor. Never mind that with our excellent PPO this visit will cost us barely anything out of pocket so the question of ability to pay is a moot point. John Muir: maybe you could use these new inventions we have called computers to only flag patients who seem at risk for not remitting payment. Shaking down high income patients with great insurance is a customer service failure on your part.
The bigger failure, however, is to place caring for and treating patients above your feverish need to establish their ability to pay. I was asked a long series of similar payment-​related questions for three or more minutes on the phone before I could even schedule an appointment time. This is an URGENT CARE CLINIC – maybe you should be sure that you can help patients who urgently need to be seen instead of scaring less solvent patients away. I would hate for you to intimidate a truly sick but poor patient from not coming in due to inability to pay and for that patient to worsen or die. Shame on you. Really. Your system provides very good care once you can finally get to a doctor or nurse, but your administration is heartless.

I’ve been really happy with my last couple of visits here. John Muir has made it so easy to be seen and treated. Or NOT be seen and treated — their e-​Visits are amazing!
E-​visits are a new feature on the myjohnmuirhealth website. For $ 25 you can enter your symptoms and answer a series of questions. They even walk you through taking your pulse. At the end of the e-​visit, you may be prescribed a medicine and given an explanation of what you were given and why. If the doctors feel you need to come in to be seen, your money is refunded. I had a great experience using the online visit — it was fast and awesome!
My most recent required me to actually see a doctor (and my primary care physician was booked a week out). So I scheduled my appointment online, and even filled out all the medical history update paperwork online. When I arrived I literally had to check in and wait a few moments before being called to be seen. Dr. Gregory Williams was wonderful! Got a prescription sent to my pharmacy and I was on my way.
I feel like this location has been making an effort to improve their customer service and overall service to patients. Their time-​saving practices are really awesome and appreciated.

My doctors office was closed, so urgent care was my only option. I walked in, and they told me that if I didn’t have an appointment, they wouldn’t see me. I asked if I could wait until the end of the day to be seen by a doctor, and they said that I would need to go to the Emergency Room. When I said I was under the impression that the urgent care didn’t turn patients away, they told me that they could definitely turn away patients. Wow. Disgusting.

It’s nice to be able to get an appointment when your primary care med group is full and you can’t get in anywhere else. The receptionist on the phone was VERY cordial. Everyone else from the person who checks you in, to the staff person who takes your vitals, to the dr (himself) acted like they hated their jobs. The dr was gruff, rushed and I felt like I was in an assembly line. «Doc in a box» for sure. Frankly, it has been a long time since I have encountered a dr like this. I was happy to leave. Sure, it’s nice to have a place where you can be seen no matter what, BUT they need to train their staff that the patients are their paycheck.
Update: 1÷27÷16: My test result came back positive. I DO have strep. Dr was acting like nothing was wrong with me. At least he did follow through and send the throat culture in. My poor review is based on condescending attitude and arrogance.

Dr. Beckley is an amazing, warm and caring doctor. She treats the patient just like a family member. She follows up, and makes sure you are improving and you are on your way to recovery .I really cannot tell you how wonderful my experiences with her and the whole Urgent Care Center have been. I highly recommend this place

This place is quite good. I have been here twice. The first time I had to schedule a time that same day and then come back. The next time they got me right in. I recommend calling first and seeing if they can see you before making the drive. Both times the staff and doctors were excellent, very friendly, patient and accommodating. The facility is far above what most urgent care places are. It’s top notch all the way. Highly recommend it.

Great every time we used this facility. Mirela checked us in more than once and she was amazing about following up with test results, she was patient and courteous. I do recommend this facility and the doctors we have encountered we shall use it again if need be.

Clean facility, professional staff, and it has halls of wonderment to be curious about your destination.

Apart from the front desk people, who could use a smile every now and then and could do a little more to make people feel welcome, this place is pretty good. Been there twice with my kids. Doctor De Los Santos was on both times and she is a pretty cool doc. We did not have an appointment both times, and wait was super short.

The doctor that we saw was so great with kids. Even though my daughter wasn’t feeling well he kept her laughing and smiling. The medical assistants were also very nice especially Maritza. You can tell they care.

The staff here are so kind and helpful. I came in sick from a trip to Mexico and they wanted me to get an IV since I was dehydrated from puking so much. They made sure I was comfortable with pillows, blankets, and even crackers. I’m so grateful for the staff at John Muir urgent care.

I saw Dr. Chawla, not at this office but in Salinas, she is very rude and unprofessional. I had an awful experience with her. I wrote a negative review on Unilocal in regards to the horrible medical service I received. Dr. Chawla is so unprofessional that she has gone out of her way to personally message me and ridicule my character as well as respond to the Unilocal post. Her behavior shows how immature she is. Do not seek medical attention from her. She is arrogant and rude.

I had to come here for a doctor’s appointment. I googled first and realized you need an appointment before you come in. Oddly, I think that defeats the purpose of an urgent care? Luckily, I was not too sick or anything. I made an appointment for the next morning and my wait time was pretty much none. I saw the doctor quickly and got a fast and correct diagnosis. The process was smooth and painless.
I will definitely use it again if I need urgent care.

I was contacted by John Muir for a follow up, but haven’t heard back. I still proceed to go to the location on La Casa Via-​They have great reviews and the friendliest and most helpful staff!

Dr. Janie L. Bryant is HORRIBLE. Worst bedside manner i have ever experienced in healthcare. I honestly don’t know how she sleeps at night. Use someone else if you have a choice!

I recently switched to John Muir from my old primary care physician and have been pleasantly surprised since doing so. The integration of Kaiser minus the institution feel and with a much friendlier staff, from what I experienced.
The PCP I met with (Dr. KC in Family Medicine, hey girl hey!) was very informative and made me feel comfortable the entire time. She seemed genuinely vested in my health and spoke to me with the respect and dignity we all expect (but sadly, sometimes don’t receive) from our medical professionals. Most importantly, when I spoke, instead of staring at her computer screen and taking notes like a robot, she looked at me and did everything she could to indicate that she was truly listening and heard what I was saying. I felt like we were engaging and I loved it!
All of the staff here are superstars. From the time you register to the time you check out, you can expect to be treated kindly. I’ve had 3 appointments thus far and have never waited more than 2 minutes to see my doctor, another luxury I had never been afforded before switching to John Meezy. While I can’t attest to the ease and comfort of every JM, I definitely recommend this location and could rant and rave all day about Dr. KC… As long as you don’t ask me to spell her last name.

What is the point of making an appointment — been waiting over 2 hours — should have gone to emergency rooms /​sucks

Case of husband not listening to the voice of reason. Full blown sick cough, headache the whole 9 yards. Of course my husband came to this realazation 40 mins before WC urgent care closes.
I called just to make sure I didn’t need an appointment. Front desk answered quickly and politely. She recommend one just so they can be prepared but you didn’t have to call.
Arrived at 2025 and didn’t even sit down. They saw my sick boy ASAP. Gave him his prescription at the 24 hour Walgreens down the road .
Very impressed with how easy our experience was. I’m sure Thursday night had something to do with it but I’m very thankful.

V saw a doctor for my daughter yesterday as she seem to have pain in her ankle. They took 8 X-​rays (both legs), the pain was in one leg but the doctor wanted to compare both to better understand .I agreed to both legs as I thought, ok he is a doc and should know what he is talking of… Guess what results come in and radiologist could not clearly understand it seems ??? Anyways the doctor sent us off home saying that another pediatric radiologist will check on Sunday Or Monday. It seems it may or may not be a fracture and to have pain killers … I sent the x Rays to another doctor by email and am being told its a hair line fracture… Waiting for Monday to go back to PAMF and get this taken care of. In the mean time my daughter is in quite some pain, will see if an emergency room can get her a cast… As for John Muir will see if their report or the fat bill from them reaches me first .
Please be very cautious if you plan to use John Muir in walnut creek
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update May 25 2015
I have recd an apology letter from the Patient Relations Director… (I might later post the letter here after hiding personal information… mine and the doctor’s out of respect)
Have also recd a $ 250 for the «service» that was provided.
BTW…there was never any follow from any Pediatric radiologist… so in other words the x-​rays were taken and no followup… only conclusion was to eat pain killers.
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uploading the letter from them .
BTW.I left them a message asking if I have to pay for whatever that was… and no reply…
guess the bill I recd is the cost involved in preparing the attached letter -:)
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update…6/28/2015
got another letter from them saying pay up or collections…-:)
they said we know our doctor is a nut case… but u see u have to pay…
u came in… we took an x ray and sent you away… saying we do not know if its a fracture or not… we told u the truth… WE DO NOT KNOW… now pay up. if not collections…$ 252.60 for nothing…
.

Unless you have a bleeding wound, stay away from this place. I’m 28 weeks pregnant and being cared for by a doctor in SF, but I’ve recently moved to WC and needed to be seen (on a Sunday) to have a nurse in SF call a prescription in. Having heard that a particular doctor at John Muir Urgent Care wasn’t that helpful wasn’t a super big deal because I just needed to make sure my terrible, throwing up, sleepless nights cough wasn’t pneumonia or pertussis before I got my codeine cough syrup FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE.
The doctor at John Muir listened to my lungs and confirmed they were clear (which is all I really needed him to do) but his advice to take cough lozenges and drink tea while I’ve been throwing up from coughing fits and unable to sleep for the last 4 nights is careless doctoring. I’ve tried those strategies for 4 colds and 3 months (I have a toddler bringing every single germ home) and I am EXTREMELY conservative regarding exposures. I worried until my husband got us a non-​fire retardant sofa for 4k because I heard on NPR the risks of exposure to those chemicals. Add to that he lugged jugs of reverse osmosis water from Whole Foods because I didn’t want the additives in tap water (God bless that man!!!) I also work out most days at 5:45a, rain or shine. (Just giving you an idea of my responsibility and tolerance for possible bad-​for-​baby risks).
But if I can’t talk, or keep food down, or sleep — that’s irresponsible and likely to cause a further infection. I’m immune-​compromised from being pregnant, and completely prone to bronchitis (I’ve had it after about every other cold my entire life.) So, really??? Lozenges???
As soon as I REAFFIRMED I didn’t want him to offer me a codeine cough Rx (he insisted on calling it by it’s class name — «narcotic»). He treated me better by saying he could understand how horrible I feel because he had a cough 20 years ago that lasted 4 months because he had no insurance. I asked how he got rid of it. «Codeine, that’s the only way».
Needless to say, I had the SF nurse call the Rx in. She said she prescribes it regularly in pregnancies with bronchitis or kidney stones. She could only guess that he doesn’t deal the the pregnant population often because coughs are likely (and can be debilitating and further complicate pregnancy) and should be addressed. EVEN THE PHARMACIST SAID SHE GIVES IT TO PREGNANT WOMEN ALL THE TIME!!!
If you don’t mind spending $ 300 for a semi-​sincere «I feel for you», tough it out until Monday and go absolutely anywhere else. Lord knows you’ll have to anyway unless your problem can be fixed with stitches.

I was seen here on Christmas Eve and again on New Year’s Eve for a badly sprained ankle. My first visit wasn’t wonderful — they were running an hour behind and I had an appointment. I didn’t fall in love with that doctor either. She suggested that she order me a different walking boot, even though I was already wearing one and I had told her that my cousin who loaned it to me is my same height and shoe size. She also seemed more concerned about the amount of Aleve I had consumed (to keep the terrible swelling down) than about my actual injury. I declined a test to check my kidneys, assuring her I had not over-​dosed on the OTC medicine.
I took an xray there but was not about to wait around to get the result read when they were already so far behind schedule.
I also brought up to Dr. Ambati that I had a bad cough and had picked it up on the cruise I’d recently been on. She said that they don’t prescribed cough medicine and that I could call if it worsened. Well, it did worsen — day by day it got worse and worse and I could barely breathe. It made enjoying Christmas very difficult and I think it terrified my co-​workers that they would catch it too. It was waking me up at night, which was horrible on top of the painful foot.
No longer able to handle the cough and pain, I called and was told I’d have to be reevaluated to get a prescription for the cough. I insisted that the doctor had told me I could just call if it worsened. A return call to me confirmed this and I picked up an antibiotic at the pharmacy but no cough syrup.
I returned on New Year’s Eve — my pain medicine was only prescribed for a week’s worth and I wanted to be re-​evaluated for a refill. The pain is still severe and the swelling is still substantial. I loved Dr. Perez when I saw her for this visit. I had a morning appointment (I called at 8 a.m. and was able to schedule for 9:15.) They weren’t running too far behind at this point so that was a great way to start the day. Dr. Perez refilled the pain meds and reminded me to stay off of my foot as much as possible until I can see the specialist next week.
It’s nice to have a great urgent care facility close to home, but I’m glad that I have since been able to set up a primary care physician for myself. I will always call that office before trying to deal with urgent care again. I’ve had doctors prescribe cough medicines for coughs, and as bad as mine was I wouldn’t want to be sent away without anything for it ever again.

I’ve always been nervous and scared about going to the doctor’s office, but my visit to Urgent Care was amazing!
The waiting room was warm and inviting. I immediately felt more comfortable. The staff posted on the front entrance line are incredibly friendly, calming and relaxing. I didn’t feel like I was being processed into the system. Instead, I felt like I was having a conversation with someone concerned with me about my health questions.
The receptionist was clear in setting expectations about their process. The nurse taking my vitals was obviously experienced, listened to me, put me at ease, and further clarified what to expect. The doctor was also warm and friendly, and listened to everything I had to say. Which I appreciated immensely, because I had to really talk myself into going, and I didn’t want to leave without all my symptoms being heard. He gave my diagnosis, some solutions, and set me up with the lab for follow up tests. I have never had painless blood work before. Never. The technician is a vein-​whisperer!
This was the best medical experience I’ve ever had! The staff at John Muir Urgent Care on Treat Blvd are kind, compassionate, patient people. This is where I’ll be going from now on.

This place is brand spanking new and well-​staffed with amazing physicians, nurses and MA, s, they were thrown into a brand new place and forced to learn a whole new work flow and EMR system. They came together as if they had been doing it for years.
It is a non-​profit hospital as well, it’s a great place for the community, you will be in good hands here.
Don’t complain if you have to wait an extended period of time you chose to come to Urgent Care. Go to the ER and wait just as long if you wanna complain…