We have gone to this office for 4 years as patients of Dr Cohen (starting in Beverly Hills and then at the Valley location). During that time, we had only a handful of sick visits, but this last September a swarm of respiratory illnesses began ransacking our family.
I took my two year old in for an emergency breathing treatment after our hospital's urgent care told us they were not allowed to administer them since the pandemic. It was either ER or BHP so we rushed to BHP. I was an emotional wreck my baby was so sick. I mentioned to the Dr we saw (not Cohen) that both my girls had already been on antibiotics (amoxicillin), and the oldest had recovered, but not the younger one. I also shared some severe family lung history- that my brother's lungs had even collapsed 4 times. We left with more amoxicillin and albuterol for our nebulizer.
After being on the amoxicillin for the second time she was still not well so we found a different pediatrician who said that based off of the lung history, she could very well sound clear even when she is not. She also called for x-rays that showed my daughter had developed pneumonia.New Dr prescribed ezythromycin to better target the lungs specifically, along with budesonide steroid in addition to the albuterol for use in our nebulizer, and she immediately transformed into a happy, healthy kid again. She has been healthy since.
All of this happened when we had recently switched to cash pay.The level of customer service that we have received since then has been unbelievably disappointing. I literally can't get them to send me itemized bills, even after I have been told multiple times that they would be emailed to me right away. When I call back and leave a message, I don't even get a call back. Oh but don't worry, if you have insurance, I'm sure you will hear back same day like I ALWAYS did prior to mentioning the words "cash pay."
It is so clear to me now that this office doesn't prioritize the health of my children, in the same way that I do. In the way that any Dr should. Unfortunately it seems they are just there for the money, which they got from me cash pay anyway, so I honestly don't understand the difference.
The only bill I actually received stated that it was due Dec 7, but they started sending me texts saying we were overdue by 60 days on the 5th.... Tried to call billing to see if they were charging me late fees since I still haven't seen an itemized bill, but of course did not get a response. So I still have no idea what I paid for on the 6th, but have decided that any Dr that charges $265 as the base office fee when there is already such a high annual cost to be a patient, is just about the money.
Save yourself the time and find an office that actually cares about the health of our kids. This one unfortunately is not it.
***UPDATE since I did get a call back, as well as the itemized bills, the day after leaving this review:
Dr Cohen confirmed that the treatment given is standard as the first line of care for this type of sickness. That's fine, and the urgent care that provided that care initially obviously felt the same way, but knowing my daughter was still so sick after already having been on amoxicillin, and entered BHP unable to even sit up on her own, it would seem that she was beyond that first line and needing more. But at the time I trusted them to know what is best.
And to be fair, maybe the cash pay status is irrelevant and their offices have just become incapable of handling the amount of patients they have.*** read more