Jared was super in assisting me b/c I am in a wheelchair; he explained m9hs treatment very well

I had a very frustrating experience with Golden State Dermatology this morning, and my biggest concern is less about one individual employee and more about how the practice appears to be staffing and managing its front desk. I had a confirmed 8:00 a.m. appointment and took the day off work specifically to attend it. When I arrived, the front desk was clearly overwhelmed with multiple patients checking in at once. I gave the employee my name several times and my date of birth, but she initially told me there was no record of me in the system at all. She then told me I did not have an appointment that day and instead had an appointment on a Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. I explained that this could not be correct because, due to my work schedule, I only make medical appointments on Fridays. Unfortunately, I felt dismissed rather than having anyone pause to investigate what might have happened. After going outside, I checked my appointment history and confirmed that my appointment was, in fact, scheduled for that morning. There had clearly been some kind of scheduling or technical issue. I called the appointment desk to explain what I had found and happened to reach the same employee. Despite explaining that I had a confirmed appointment and had already taken the day off work, there was no attempt to investigate the discrepancy or accommodate me. I was simply offered the next available Friday appointment, September 11 at 8:00 a.m. I want to be fair to the front-desk employee: she appeared experienced and professional, but also visibly rushed and overloaded. That is why I believe this is ultimately a management and staffing issue. Golden State Dermatology's physician partnership and management team should take a hard look at how the front desk is staffed, particularly during the morning rush, and at the reliability of its scheduling system. When a patient has a confirmed appointment, rearranges their workday, shows up on time, and is turned away because of an apparent system error, there should be a process for investigating the problem and making a reasonable effort to accommodate them. Instead, I lost a day of work, made an unnecessary trip to the office, and left feeling dismissed. I hope Golden State Dermatology takes this feedback seriously. A medical practice can have excellent clinicians, but the patient experience begins at the front desk, and today that experience fell well short. read more

Absolutely fantastic experience all the way through. Mimi was instrumental in getting us in. My mother in-law had skin cancer and she was able to get us a next day appointment. Our nurse Paola was amazing as was the doctor. I recommend them 100% read more

i've had many many surgical and physician interactions thru the years. only 1 surgeon at ucsf was light years above the rest, until now. i came in for a follow up appointment with dr. daniel j. aires. he was concise, direct, and engaged me to recognize how to manage .my dermological concerns. i appreciated his insight and depth of care for a new patient. much respect. read more

I have had Mohs surgery and removal by excision work done recently. All three procedures resulted in excellent results. I highly recommend this facility. read more

They have since redeemed themselves and both my daughter and I have gotten good prompt care from this office and we like Patricia Loo.

I didn't even get an actual Mohs Surgery because it was a one cut and done! Look at what Google information says: "No, a "one cut and done" procedure is not considered a Mohs surgery; Mohs surgery is characterized by removing thin layers of skin in stages" "Mohs should be Staged removal: Tissue is removed in thin layers, with analysis after each layer to identify remaining cancer cells." read more

Hema Patel PA and her assistant Julia are consistently thorough, compassionate and professional. Hema explains well and teaches me proactively how to care for my skin. She makes me feel comfortable during full body checks and every experience is the absolute best it can be. Highly recommend and grateful. read more

I had the best experience today at Golden State Dermatology on Lennon Lane. I have been seeing a different Dermatologist for several years. However, I had a couple of concerns and couldn't get in to see her for a month. So, I saw an ad on social media and I made an appointment at GSD, online, last week. I thought it was too good to be true because it was so easy. I made an appointment with PA Elaine Lim and she was fantastic! She was friendly, professional and very thorough! She took her time and addressed all my concerns and questions. I will no longer procrastinate going to the Dermatologist since I have found someone whom I feel very comfortable with. The office is easy to find, with plenty of parking and a nice, friendly office staff, too. I would feel comfortable seeing anyone at the practice. read more

I've used GSD several times and always had great service. They are friendly, skilled and helpful. I will always get my skin care needs from them. read more

Maybe it was an oversight on staff. But I had recommended a dermatologist Jeannie Jhu who has since left to start their own practice. Not thinking about her new location they called GSD and asked for her. Staff stated she retired. Doh! As I said maybe an oversight on their part but she works under Rejhuvenate Aesthetics now. So any past clients I'm sure wound know, but she has not retired from dermatology work. And I have to add she's amazing. She's my first recommendation when people start their journey in proper skin care and cosmetic skin care. read more

I have been there before and was very pleased with their good service. However, I booked 2 different appointments because they keep calling and canceling them without a reason. I need to see a dermatologist as soon as possible. Being disabled I must make arrangements "like a driver" to get treatment. To whom do I speak for proper service? Mary C. read more

Starting Dec '23 I Had extreme difficulty getting through to make an appointment, even went to Berkeley office for appointment and The MOHS surgery doctor didnt show up because they hadnt scheduled him. In February Finally Dr Bortz at Lennon called me himself to apologize and schedule me. He was very professional, an excellent surgeon and the surgery went well. Immediately after Feb surgery-(it is now September 2024) and Im still getting bills after resubmitting insurance, emailing, etc. Im being billed $699.00 after insurance paid when I was assured by my Doctor (after all my trouble with this company) at the Lemon Street office that they take Medicare and Medical Insurance, especially under the circumstances. _________________________________________________________ Update 9/6/2024 Ooooh... they almost got me to pay! as I hate having outstanding bills and they had me in pre-collections. After emailing and hearing nothing back I called billing, explained my situ, and was told "if its the doctor's fault he will not get paid" Oh! What a guilt trip! That did not deter me, I pursued. Supervisor said to call my insurance which Id already done. I hung up, called back and said i cant afford to pay this. what can you do to assist me? Luckily the person who answered this time said I am in "Qualified Patient Status' which means they will fight it out with insurance and I dont have to pay this. She also said this ammount is too high for a co-payment and that humans in billing "made a mistake" HEY! Golden State Ripatology, it seems you train your humans to manipulate people into paying bogus charges! Jan 26, 2024Previous review The phone system at Golden State is negligible. Prompts that lead nowhere. I learned to press one then 0. Then long wait times. So annoying! Finally got through but there was a Mix up with first appointment: the Dr I needed for my referrel was not scheduled. Phone phone phone wait again. Finally someone got back to me. This is a referreI from County Health so I dont have a choice to go elsewhere or i would.. I PRAY my in office experience is entirely professional, It's my face afterall. read more

I made an appointment here with their other office and confirmed it, yet when I arrived I was informed they had no record of my appointment and the doctor I booked wasn't even in the office. I find this very sloppy and unprofessional. read more

Particia Loo is the best! She takes her time and is very kind and professional! Will go again!

I was a long time patient of this group. It has been evolving to what it is now and that isn't good. My doctor is now doing specialized stuff, so they had a new doctor that I met. I go in every 6 months to check for any possible cancer. This was my 6 month visit. I go in and instead of taking off my shirt, etc. The doctor comes in and abruptly -- no hello no nothing -- and says: what are you here for? She obviously didn't read the file. She asked again and I repeated it. She looked at my face, burned off a few places on my forehead, but no exam, no checking my body nothing. She then turned an walked out. Was very disappointed because I always had a good experience before. With their various mergers, name changes, etc. they obviously are not putting patients first and certainly not hiring doctors that at least read the file before a patient comes in, so they know what they are doing. read more

Dr. Call and the staff at Golden State Dermatology office in San Ramon is very professional and kind. All procedures are clearly explained. Dr. Call is very compassionate and answers all questions completely. I would highly recommend this office. You will receive outstanding care from a compassionate team and trust the care you are receiving. read more

Dr. Grace Sohn and the staff of Golden State Dermatology, Lennon lane, Walnut Creek deserve the highest rating possible. During more than 5 hours, the time needed for my MOHS procedure, all the staff and Dr Grace Sohn were so kind and friendly making the time passes comfortably. From the performance point of view, Dr Grace Sohn did a wonderful job, when I looked at the hole created in my shoulder to remove all cancerous cells, I was wondering, how she will close it. She did a magic job and I ended with a Mercedes triangle on my shoulder. Very clean job. I don't wish anyone to have a skin problem, but if any one does, Dr. Grace SOHN and Golden State Dermatology, Lennon Ln is the place you will feel comfortable and is the place and the staff you can trust. Thank you Dr. Grace SOHN. Thank you staff of Golden State Dermatology. Thank you. read more

DO NOT GO TO THIS OFFICE. I had an appointment, showed up on time, and was told my appointment had been canceled. It would have been nice if someone had actually called me or notified me any number of ways through My Chart. Instead I wasted an hour out of my work day driving to and from. Just horrible. Will not be back. read more

Spent more time waiting to be checked in than with the doctor. Receptionist was helping one high maintenance woman for over 10 minutes while a line formed behind me. By the time I checked in, it was my appointment time. The time with the doctor felt super rushed and like he was just trying to get me in and out. This was in the morning so there shouldn't have even been a backlog of patients. Felt like just a co-pay to them. Probably because I was read more

In November 2024, I took my mother to an appointment @ the WC office on Lennon Ln. After the visit /w the PA(which went well), we were scheduled for a follow up appointment for 1/6/2025( was given a hand written appointment card). Today, 1/6/2025, we showed up for our scheduled follow up appointment(on time), & was told no appointment was scheduled, & no record of any follow up appointment in the GSD database & that we could not be seen cause - too busy(?) - & of course we could schedule an appoint today for the future. I informed the receptionist about our scheduled appointment & was told that I could talk to the Office Manager. I agree with others who have gotten bad service from that office. Go find another dermatologist. Do not schedule appointments with the Lennon Ln office in Walnut Creek. I will be looking for a new dermatology clinic closer to home. Pretty bad the way our seniors are treated when they are looking for help. Reception staff does not seem to care, or are unaware of the challenges facing our seniors, or they just don't care. read more

This rating is for Hema Patel. I am so appreciative that she made time to see me next day from request. I had been seen by a GSD MD in a different office in January. Based on a biopsy I needed liquid nitrogen to an actinic keratosis on my eyebrow. The MD was not available until MAY !! Why would I want to wait 4 months to have the pre cancerous lesion removed? Thank you for accommodating this grateful patient. read more

Awful service and AWFUL customer service! Don't waste your time or energy coming to this location or this entire dermatologist branch. They will charge you $300 just because you're a new patient and it is ridiculous. I was with the dermatologist for maybe five minutes, and they think that that was worth a $300 bill! avoid this place at all costs- it's not worth the bill! The billing manager is a very very very rude woman, she should not be working in her position and I'll be advising everybody to avoid this place because it's so unprofessional. read more

This place is so gross. Unprofessional staff and completely useless system for processing bills. I'd strongly urge you to go to less of a scamy place for actual service- nothing they do here is good it's all overpriced and would be better at a different location Listen to the negative reviews and DONT come here read more

Every aspect of our experience at the Lennon Lane office was stellar. The office staff is professional and accommodating. They made a special rush appointment for my husband. They went above and beyond to communicate and make sure he got the care he needed. Dr. Bortz and his assistants were extremely thorough, compassionate and clearly experienced and professional. Dr. Bortz even called a few days after the procedure to clarify a question he had and to follow up on how my husband was doing. We highly recommend Dr. Bortz and the Lennon Lane team. read more

I was sent here from their Ygnacio Valley office to schedule for a Mohs procedure, and I have never heard back from anybody regarding scheduling. When I decided to call on my own I was pretty much booted off of the phone and told someone to call me back that they have a particular scheduler for that, and I've never heard from any of them. This entire organization is completely disorganized and whoever runs this company needs to be fired because they don't know what they're doing. And I know it's not the stuff, I can tell it's the way the organization is ran. read more

Dr Patel did my annual exam and found some cancer that he recommended to be removed by mohs. I called the Lennon Ln. office and I waited over an hour to talk to someone. Horrible service. Once they answered the phone they said it would be over a month to schedule an appointment . When I told them I was leaving the country in three weeks they said they would check their schedule and get back to me. About an hour later they called back and said they could see me the next day. They scheduled me with Dr. Arzeno who was new to the practice. I could not be more pleased with her attention to my problems and dealing with the very complicated surgery. I would give her a ten plus. She is one of the best doctors I have met. They need to solve their lousy phone service. read more

The worst customer service experience of my life. On December 7th, I had an appointment to remove a mole. The doctor applied liquid nitrogen to the mole and said in short order that it would shrivel up and disappear. When nothing happened after 9 or 10 days, I called the office, where i talked to a young lady and informed her that nothing at all has changed. She told me that it was standard procedure to wait for 2 weeks, and to call back then, and she would fit me in for an appointment. I called back on December 21st, which was exactly two weeks from my procedure. I reached an answering service which told me that it would be several months before my doctor could see me. I explained my previous conversation with the office, and he said that he would send a message marked urgent and someone from the office would get back to me in a day or two. When I hadn't heard anything for 9 days, I called back on the morning of Wednesday, December 29th, where I reached the answering service again, and talked to a young lady who apologized profusely for their non response, and again sent a message marked urgent. She told me that I should hear back that day. When I didn't hear back by the following afternoon, I talked to her again. She told me she would follow up again and send the message marked as urgent. To date, I have not even had the courtesy of a response. Even if there were extenuating circumstances, I still deserve the courtesy of a phone call. Golden state Dermatology should be ashamed of themselves for having a customer service department that is so ambivalent and so unprofessional. It is now January 8th and I still have not had any type of response. Elliott D read more

The medical office doesn't communicate with the billing department and vice versa. I was a new patient. They tried to bill me for a missed appointment when they were the ones who rescheduled me. Office staff couldn't care less and tried to push me off the phone. Billing department told me the office staff didn't communicate with them. I cancelled my rescheduled appointment because I'm not interested in an practice this disorganized. read more

The receptionist yelled at me while I was just trying look at my calendar to pick an appointment time. That's nothing. Dr. Patel referred me back to primary care and told me to approach it with my psychiatrist. Both primary care and my psychiatrist were baffled as to why the dermatologist wasn't dealing with my dermatology issue and asked them to handle it in her place. I feel a little discriminated against as someone with mental health issues. It seems, since I admitted to having those issues, that the doctor did not want to help me. read more

Twice I had a terrible experience. The first time is when I saw my previous doctor that moved to Golden State dermatology from his private practice. I used to see my doctor yearly for a full body checkup which he performed thouroughly while dictating to his assistant who was taking notes. The process took about 20 minutes. When he moved the this office he spent 5 minutes with me. I had another apppointment with another doctor at this office and she spent less than 5 minutes for a full body check. When I got upset about the skimpy and super rushed service, I told the doctor I would not be coming back, her reply was " that's fine". read more

I have been going this office for 30+ years... I use to see a Dr Engle who was a good dedicated patient man... Even gave me his cell number in case I ever had an immediate problem... The last 4 or 5 years the office and examine rooms are filthy w/ old equipment on the floor behind the tables etc... Recently made an app w/ one of the better doctors and he could not see me for 3 months out, but I could see one of the less impressive docs w/n days... One other note is that until finding the current doctor that I like, but can not see because of his tight schedule, if I made an app w/ a doc I would end up w/ a nurse practitioner which seems inappropriate if you think you are going to see a doc... IMO read more

If I could give negative stars I would. I booked an appointment online with this office one month in advance. I received a confirmation email, and two reminders for my appointment (one two days prior). When I showed up for my appointment the front office told me that there was nothing in their system and they don't even provide the service I booked for. I am a physician and planned my whole schedule around this appointment. Just appalling for a doctor's office to be so unprofessional with horrible customer service. I was basically turned away and told it was my fault for booking online. I showed them my email confirmations and they said it was "a glitch in the system." DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY ON THIS OFFICE. read more

Difficulty up front with a six hour visit to remove a cyst. But overlooking that, the follow up visit was much improved and their care and the excellent results weeks later caused me to change my initial review and to be appreciative of their dedication. read more

I was referred to this office after a cancerous lesion was discovered on my face. Dr. Ahmad and her staff were extremely efficient and explained the process (Mohs) for removal. I was completely satisfied and would recommend her unequivocally. read more

WTF billing? A year ago I had to change medical groups. At my appointment I informed the front desk, gave them my new insurance info and paid my copay. A month later I received a bill that was reduced for the uninsured. After many many lengthy calls to Golden State Dermatology's billing department, Blue Shield, my union benefit manager, and even more calls to Golden State Dermatology's billing department I was told everything was handled and my account was up to date. These were HOURS of my life I will never get back. I asked my Doctor for a referral to a different dermatologist, only to find that Golden State Dermatology was the only one "In network." So I went to a different location hoping that I could avoid future issues. Booking the next available appointment, (a month out is significant when your issue causes discomfort) I show up only to find that there is a balance for $116 on my account. The billing department didn't actually fix anything, THEY JUST STOPPED SENDING ME THE BILL! Now I am worried that this could affect my credit. I have to pass background checks for my job, so this is VERY concerning to me. I recommend using any other dermatology company if you can. AVOID Golden State Dermatology if at all possible. read more

I accompanied my dad (the patient), as moral support, for his Mohs surgery today and met Dr. Ahmad and her team. Dr. Ahmad and her staff are great! She is very friendly and comforting. Mohs can be a long and hard day for patients but today was very smooth for my dad. It's great to have a few laughs and still be professional. Thank you guys for taking care of my dad! Also, the music was great too! read more

Ever since Dr. Bortz gave over control of this location to Golden State dermatology, the practice has been a train wreck. Getting appointments is nearly impossible unless you want cosmetic procedures which is where they make the real money. If you have a legitimate dermatological issue getting in will take a minimum of 6 to 12 months. You also get to wait on hold in excess of an hour every time you call in even if you are a cosmetic patient so I can't in good conscience recommend them. They lost all but one of the good PAs. Patricia Loo is still there but she's even harder to get an appointment with. read more

Awful communication skills from the front desk lady! Awfully slow and she appears to have hearing issues. she sounded completely out of energy and lack of passion for her job. This is the first time I got angry about the company just by talking to the front desk. I described my situation to her and she demanded me to repeat at the end of the conversion by saying" I know you told me your situation but can you describe again". I told her immediately I do not to want to schedule the appointment with this office and I hang up the phone call! She deserved bad evaluation from the customer and the company in today's competitive market. Definitely a very negative image presented by Golden State Dermatology! read more

My bill was late four months, my fault. However, their billing department applied a 43% penalty on my bill and then sent it to collections. None of their paperwork warns about the amount of penalties and penalty schedules. When I spoke to the collections people, they said they still haven't applied their own fees to the bill. The penalty was applied entirely by and for Dr. Bortz billing department. I've had a few doctors bills in my life go to collections (not proud of it) but never has any doctors office just increased a bill by such a severe penalty. 43% is outrageous. I am currently disputing this issue to the California Dept. of Consumer Affairs. read more