Simjee Salma MD

My appointment was at 2 so I arrived 30 min early as instructed to complete paperwork. At 2:10 they took me into a room to wait for the doctor where a nurse asked all of the questions I had just answered in the paperwork. I was asked to put on a gown so I placed my starbucks tea by my folded shirt on the counter as instructed. 25 min later Dr. Simjee finally walked in. The first thing she says to me is, you are not allowed to have liquids in this office you either throw it out or walk it outside to your car. I looked at her blankly because I could not understand what she said at first and thought maybe I misheard her. I asked her to repeat herself to which she signaled me to get up and pour out my drink out into the sink. (Side note: I was walked to the room by a nurse who saw my tea and said nothing). I felt as if I was being scolded, I was shocked and it was actually emberrassing. I stood up and i was in disbelief, I’d never met this woman and she doesn’t even introduce herself she scolds me for having a Starbucks tea sitting on her counter. I poured it out and sat back down as she and the nurse watched me and said nothing. When I sat back down she finally extends her hand to shakes mine. … (wow)!
She rushed the entire visit dismissed my concerns on the spot I had checked and offered medication that would cost me $ 35 to buy from her office bc as she put it my insurance won’t cover it unless I’m under 18?! So I declined medication from her office called the pharmacy the following day and they confirmed that my doctor does indeed cover the medication and it would only cost me $ 7. I will never go back to this horrible doctor.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a good dermatologist?

I took my son to Dr. Simjee, not because she was recommended, but because I couldn’t at the time get in to see the recommend doctor for three months. The pediatrician thought my son had a spot on his head that needed to be checked at his pre-​kindergarten checkup. I was recommended to Dr. Tashjian (now retired) who was her partner. She took one look at the top of my sons head, walked away and said, «Yes, this is a malignant tumor». I was speechless. This was my 5 year old. To me she was giving him a death sentence. Who just says something so blunt to a mother? I asked her how can you say that, don’t you have to do a biopsy first, to say that? She turned and looked at me like I was the idiot and got defensive. She said, of course we have to do a biopsy, but this has all the signs. It’s a malignant tumor. By the time I got back in my car and drove to my sons pediatrician I was a wreck. My pediatrician was upset and went and called Dr. Tashjian immediately and I got an appointment with him that week. Being her partner at the time he tried to cover for her the best he could with out bad mouthing her, but did apologize. As it turned out it was nothing more than scar tissue, that he believed happened in the womb, as he was born with that spot. When I returned for my follow up visit with Dr. Tashjian, Dr. Simjee was at the counter. I asked her if she was a mother (she’s not) and I told her she should never tell one that her child has a malignant tumor, like she did me. And that she was WRONG about my son. As I then followed the nurse into the room to meet with Dr Tashjian, I could see her in the reflection of a picture. She was mocking me, lipping what I said and shaking her head. As much as I wanted to turn around and give her a real piece of my mind, I thought this type of person will never get it. A classless disgrace.

I must agree with Jean, I love doctor Simjee. I have seen her for over a decade. She has always been professional and is meticulous with regards to her work. When I was 18, I had two moles removed and the biopsies should they were precancerous cells. I started seeing Dr. Simjee a few years later. Every year she does a through mole examination, and compares her notes to the prior years examination. She quickly removes questionable moles with minimal/​no scars (I have had more than a dozen removed over the years). She was also the only dermatologist who was able to eliminate my lifetime long acne problem, in a way that fit my needs. She may not be the most bubbly person, but she knows her craft and is skilled with a knife. And in the end I am thankful to have an amazing and skilled doctor who leaves me cancer free and bueatiful.

I was astonished and outraged by the treatment my mother received from Dr. Simjee. In a nutshell, the other reviewers are correct – no bedside manner. However Dr. Simjee is more importantly working her way towards a medical malpractice suit. Most offensive and worrisome for me is her absolute disregard for the emotional distress she inflicts on her patients. My mom noticed a suspicious mole growing on her forehead. She made an appointment with Dr. Simjee because she could get an appointment there sooner than other offices. Simjee removed it, told my mom it was very suspicious, and said it was probably squamous cell carcinoma. No other possibilities were given, and she had it biopsied. After a week with no results, my mom called the office and the receptionist said the results were in and that the sample had been sent to San Francisco for a second opinion. Simjee’s office refused to say what the results of the first test were, leading to another week of expecting the worst. After a week, again hearing nothing from the office, my mom called in. Luckily, the test came back benign. My mom had a post-​op appointment the following day for an unrelated cyst she had removed and to see Simjee again in order to figure out what the mole was since it wasn’t cancer. My mom waited nearly two hours, was then informed she was only getting sutures removed, and could not see the doctor. My mom insisted (obviously still worried about the growth on her face that was growing back) and Simjee saw her. She then told my mom: «biopsies don’t lie. That was a wart, not a mole, and you were picking on it.» The possibility of it being a mole was never offered before then, and Simjee managed to add insult to injury by blaming my mom instead of simply relieving her that its not cancer.
Separately, my mom also asked Simjee at the first appointment about dry patches developing all over her face. My mom had recently started a new medication under her general practitioner, and asked if it could be related. Simjee said she would research it, but that it was obviously just dry skin, and told my mom to buy some lotion. My mom insisted that she already moisturized, and asked if steroid cream would be appropriate. Simjee said «no! Steroid cream would be to strong!!!» Fast forward to the second appointment. Simjee said «I didn’t have time (in over 2 weeks) to research that medication. Lotion isn’t strong enough, you need steroid cream!» So, she completely ignored her duties as a physician, did a 180 on her recommendation, and acted the whole time as if my mom was wasting her time.
Long story short, seeing any other dermatologist would be worth the wait. Simjee should not be a doctor.

Some years ago I took my kindergarten child in to see Dr. Simjee. I was referred by our pediatrician to her colleague. However there was a long wait to get into see him. So, I choose to see her. No wonder I could get in so quickly, she has NO bedside manners and was down right rude. She took one look at my son and said, he has a malignant tumor. I’m looking at my 5 year old thinking she had just put a death sentence on him. I asked her, how can you say that? Don’t you need to do a biopsy? She looked at me like I was the idiot and said, well of course I do but, this has all signs of malignant tumor. I left mad and so upset, I drove strait to the pediatrician that referred me. He said he would set an appt. with the other doctor and that she was wrong in how she spoke to me. After testing and being sent to multiple doctors studying the results it turned out that my son was fine. When I had gone in for a follow up with Dr. Tashjian I passed Dr Simjee at the nurses station (there was about 5 other people standing around) and I asked if she had any children (no). Then I told her how upset she made me and how WRONG she was for saying the word MALIGNANT to a mother of a small child. AND that she was WRONG in her diagnoses. She was just WRONG on so many levels. I walked away and I could see her reflection is the picture in front of me. She put her hands on her hips and mocked me talking. It took all I could muster from turning around and telling her what I really thought of her. Any time the word dermatology comes up in conversation, I’m quick to say who NOT to go to.

Didn’t wash her hands before touching my face for evaluation.
Didn’t wash her hands before doing a surgical biopsy.
HORRIBLE bedside manner. Horrible. She is just a completely terrible doctor.
Did you not pay attention when you learned about OSHA? Do you not remember anything about infection control from what you learned in medical school?

I made a mistake going to Dr. Simjee. I chose her because she is a preferred provider with my insurance company. She has absolutely no personality, and no bedside manner. She treats you like you are wasting her time. What a dishrag! She refused to submit a prior approval to my pharmacist for a prescription medication she put me on! Fortunately I started going to Dr. Scott Boswell because I was dissatisfied with the level of care I was receiving from Simjee. This was the greatest decision – Dr. Boswell is thorough (Board Certified), friendly, funny, and actually spends time with his patients (what a concept!). His office submitted the prior approval to my pharmacy, which reduced the cost of my medication from $ 75 to $ 4 (the prior approval keeps it covered by insurance). His medical assistant Terry is wonderful as well! So glad I found Dr. Boswell!!!