Scripps Coastal Medical Center Encinitas – Primary Care

I love my doctors and the staff here at Scripps Encinitas! I have been seeing Dr. Stacey Lin, and then Dr. Elizabeth Bartolomeo for over 10 years and their attitudes, kindness, professionalism, passion and talent are amazing! I can usually get an appointment scheduled right away, and have never had to wait longer than 5 minutes to get called into the exam room. They spend the time, ask great questions and explain things in layman’s terms. I love them both! SO much so, that even though I moved to Las Vegas over 3 years ago, I have still kept Dr. Bartolomeo as my primary. (I schedule visits for when I will be visiting San Diego… I realize that I can’t do that forever, but they really are that exceptional.) The office and exam rooms are clean, but the parking lot is often full and little tight. I have also always had a great experience with the front desk staff, assistants and lab there! Thank you!!!

I have rarely seen anything as unprofessional as what happened today. I went to see Dr. Walker at this facility (as I have once before). The most upsetting thing about this visit is that after Dr. Walker stepped out to ask the nurse to print something out for me, I heard her mocking me. At first I wasn’t sure, but then I heard to repeat something I had told her in a singsong falsetto voice of mockery. I was so shocked I did not know what to do. I sat there, dumbfounded and hurt. I had come to Dr. Walker for help, not to be mocked. And if you are going to mock patients, have the good sense to mock them after they have left, not right outside the door to the room they are in.
Nothing was resolved and I was not helped. But most of all — Dr. Walker was brusque, uninterested, and broke my trust.

Horrible billing. We have had 3 children at Scripps over 4 years of time and I mention that because we have responsibly paid Scripps for all of our bills over the years of having children at Scripps. Then today I receive a bill from a collections company for $ 43.00 from Scripps.
I called Scripps and of course they say over and over that they mailed us bills. $ 43.00 are they kidding us? Of course, we would have happily paid a bill for $ 43.00 if we had received it. We would have paid the measly $ 43.00 on time exactly as we paid the many other bills for thousands of dollars from them that we received over the years.
I’m furious that they are taking no responsibility for us possibly not receiving the invoice or I’m not sure what occurred. I do know that our records with them CLEARLY show that we have paid ALL of our invoices for all three kids on time; every single one, except for this measly $ 43.00 that somehow just showed up unpaid and has sat there unpaid so they sent us to collections for it. We didn’t receive the bill. We would have easily paid the $ 43.00 if we had.
Horrible, definitely treated as a number not as a human being in this instance.
Customer beware

Parking is a pain but other than that, if you like your doctor here, that’s all that matters!

I’m officially finished with scripps. I went in for a physical in July and just got a bill for $ 350 for std tests my dr decided to do as part of my physical. Never was I given a heads up that this would cost me money– since yearly physicals are included in insurance. Drs really need to be educated about what they can include on a physical. I already pay tons of money for a super high deductible insurance, which is basically for emergency. I don’t have extra money for these kinds of things. The prices scripps charges for a simple std test is absolutely obscene.

UPDATE 06/​09/​2014: Still no reply from Scripps after they invited me to send them an email and explain what happened (see my original complaint on 05/​21/​2014).
Scripps will reply to a negative Unilocal post duping the community into thinking they care about the patients’ concerns; obviously, this was not the case with my issue. Still no email reply, let alone phone call, to the email that I was told to send them.
Folks, we don’t deserve this crap; it’s bad enough we pay through the nose for medical services. The last thing we need are incompetent doctors and representatives from Scripps screwing up the schedules and having the patients pay for the wrong type of visits…
Pathetically unprofessional…

On 11/​23/​2010, I experienced cramping and bleeding while about 19 weeks pregnant and was referred to the Scripps ER. After waiting for what seemed like an unreasonable time in an uncrowded waiting room, I begged the doctor (Dr. M.T.) to please check the baby’s heartbeat first. However, he assured me that the best way to see if the baby was okay was via an internal exam. My water broke during the speculum exam with a huge gush. When I asked him what had happened, he was silent before stammering something like «there was some fluid.» I would later learn that you NEVER do an internal exam over a protruding amniotic sac in a potentially salvageable 2^nd trimerster pregnancy.
From the ER medical records, he told me I was «nearly fully dilated, nearly fully effaced» and that «there is no fetal activity… and no evidence of a viable pregnancy at this point» and that there had been «fetal demise.» When I reached the OB floor and was seen by an obstetrician, I learned that NOTHING the ER doc had said was true: the baby WAS NOT DEAD (in fact, I could easily feel every movement with my fluid gone), my cervix was barely open (2 – 3 cm, with 10 cm being fully dilated). However, with the babies amniotic fluid drained during the ER internal exam, I could no longer have a rescue cerclage, a stitch in the cervix which can save other pregnancies with an opening cervix. At best the baby (which was otherwise normal and healthy) would have no kidneys and other deformities due to the loss of the amniotic fluid (Potter Syndrome) and the very high risk of infection could lead to loss of my uterus or life-​threatening sepsis.
My husband left to take my younger child home after the ER doc told us the baby was dead. When I told him by phone that the baby was still alive, he was overjoyed. My heart broke, as I had to tell him that with no fluid the pregnancy was still not viable. So, in addition to dooming a potentially salvageable pregnancy, Scripps mistakes led to my husband having to hope for his babies life and have hope crushed twice.
Sadly, after experiencing equally bad care at the Scripps Encintias OB-​Gyn clinic (including never seeing an MD over multiple appointments despite my request for one and being «high-​risk», and receiving no preventive treatment from the nurse despite ME trying to convince HER of my ultimately correct diagnosis of cervical insufficiency) I ended up in a DC hospital in the same situation: open cervix, baby and amniotic sac fine. The care I received at the DC ER, however, was excellent compared to Scripps. In DC, I was seen immediately despite having a full waiting room by ACTUAL OBSTETRICIANS. When the DC OB mentioned doing cultures, I interrupted her to say that this is what had broken my water in the Scripps ER. She assured me that she meant external cultures only, and that she would NEVER do internal cultures in a patient with a threatened miscarriage, as this could break my water. If only the Scripps staff cared as much.

They spend millions $$ on public relations. Why can’t they put the money into improving patient care. We aren’t cattle they can heard into their facility based on their advertising. There is no where else you can give effective feedback except for Unilocal.After experiencing too many appointments, too many missed diagnostic readings, I have gone to another group in Scripps.
I wish they would realize that if twitter & cellphones can topple governments, then they to take more seriously our feedback. This is a new century with new tools for communication. Sharp Rees Steely had the best website. Everything on 1 page. You could communicate with your doctors via email.
Scripps is putting their money in all the wrong places. Give us email, it’s been around for over 20 yrs

This is in regards to the OB/​GYN Office off Santa Fe Drive belonging to Scripps Coastal Medical Offices:
I wish I could give this place no stars. I’m beyond anger at this point. I was rescheduled twice. Once when I was actually in the room, the other before I got there, due to the ONLY doctor on-​call at this office (and not being told before I made the appointment that this was an on-​call office).
So to all those who want to make an appointment, dont bother. Take the extra 20 miles and drive to Vista where nobody is on-​call. What kind of office has ONE doctor, not nurse practitioners, and the doctor always on-​call.
I gave the office a second chance because the doctor called me herself to apologize, but after getting rescheduled a second time, less than an hour before the appointment time is unprofessional. Not to mention, the office called to inform me my prescription was filled, I go to the pharmacy and it was never called in.
If you want someone who cares about your well-​being, dont go here.

How can I let people who are so utterly incompetent be the people I entrust my health and life to? If my paperwork and scheduling are too complicated for them how are they going to get my «intracellular calcium concentrations» right? They are the type of incompetents that would call you to schedule a visit to discuss your high cholesterol levels the day after you were buried.
I give myself one star too for being so stupid!
*flail*

The last place I expected to end up while out of town was a hospital. But having a 2 ½ year old active boy, you just never know.
It was our first night in Carlsbad, when my uncle’s dog snipped at my little guy. Only 2 puncture wounds (2 too many if you ask me) but seemed deep enough to rush over to the nearest hospital and see if stitches or anti-​biotics were needed.
Our hotel sent us here, to Scripps.
The ER was super clean. The staff very nice and patient. They had a security guy right by the door. A charming older gentlemen who guided us to the right lady to have Chase admitted.
There were a few people ahead of us. And was really busy by the time we were leaving. And still no one seemed to lose thier cool or be waiting without acknowledgement like at other ER’s I’ve been too.
The first nurse to see us was very, very good with Chase, taking his vitals and showing us to our room. The main Doctor came in, heard the story, looked over the wounds and was very, very thorough in his explanation as to why stitches aren’t a good idea. How to care for the wound. The two types of anti-​biotics that would be given and why.
The next nurse came in to be sure the wounds were super cleaned out. She even blew up a rubber hand glove to look like a chicken and gave it to Chase to play with. He forgot he was bitten by a dog the second we walked into that hospital because everyone was overly friendly and playful with him.
When they discharged us, they gave us the antibiotic ointment so I only had to get the oral antibiotics from the pharmacy. They gave me directions to the nearest pharmacy that was open 24 hours and even recommended a place to eat!
Did I mention they didn’t mind I was taking photos everywhere and of everything?
Hopefully no one needs the ER but if you are in the area and need one, I highly recommend this one.