Nicole J Lederman, MD

Although she is part of a very busy clinic, Dr. Lederman takes the time to explain stuff. Part of the deal is also asking her questions and not just letting her do all the talking. I was impressed when she followed up with my medical condition and even showed me a research article on the latest drug regimen. She is a good doctor and I recommend her.

I have been seeing Nicole for 3 years, and I have been nothing but pleased by her treatment. I first saw her for allery related problems, then spent the next 3 years in her care for absolutely henous soft tissue injuries I sustained at the gym, for which I have been on crutches for 3 years now for chronic pain. It’s true she doesn’t muck around and is straight to the point, but I LIKE THAT. I am an intensive care nurse and I can tell you she knows her stuff. She has always listened to everything I have to say, made informed suggestions, and referred me to anybody and everybody that may be able to help me. She knows her pharmacology, orders tests when appropriate, and has been 90% on time whenever I have been to see her. And I have been to see her probably around 50 times since I hurt myself, so I have a good load of experience being her patient. I have reccomended her to friends, one of which now sees her and Nicole diagnosed a skin condition that derm didn’t even pick up on. Nicole has returned every phone call I ever made bar one, within 2 – 4 days. I think she is a fantastic primary. I give one less star for the practice. The receptionists DON’T always know what they are doing. It is hard to get through, and I do have to lower my language to 8^th grade to be understood.
It’s worth it for Nicole.

I’ve seen Dr. Lederman for maybe 7 or 8 years. She knows her business, is a straight-​shooter, and if you want to be coddled, don’t go there. Also be ready to hear what she says, and consider trying what she recommends, even though you might not like it or agree with it. The office is a zoo, but actually functions pretty well, considering the massive throughput. I’m quite happy with my choice.
Unhappily, Dr. L is no longer with Brown & Toland, and has moved to Kaiser Oakland.

I recently changed to Dr. Lederman and was very impressed with my first visit. She answered all of my (extensive) questions and was smart, knowledgeable and kind.
I like her style and her approach and have already recommended her to my friends.
Some of the staff at Bay West Family Health Care (at St. Luk’es) are not that great and I’ve had to be persistent when needing info, but that’s true of most clerical staff who are overworked and underpaid by Sutter Health /​CPMC (they recently cut tons of staff positions since all they care about is making more money instead of actual health care).
Our health care system is broken after all (click here to learn more:
) but Dr. Lederman rocks.

I felt very rushed when I saw Dr. Lederman but that was basically fine because, well, it meant the appointment didn’t take up too much of my time. It’s not like I relish hanging out at the doctor’s office.
BUT her inability to return phone calls is extremely frustrating. She left me a cryptic message that she needed to talk to me about test results, and then was out of the office and won’t call me back. So I wonder, do I have cancer? A horrible disease? Am I ever going to find out, or will I have to go to a new doctor and wait for more results?
I will NOT be going to see Dr. Lederman again. I would recommend you don’t either, if you want to be informed about your health.

I have been a patient of Dr. Lederman’s for close to 10 years and I consider her the best doctor I have had in my life. She is completely on the ball and addresses every concern I have ever raised. She spends as much time as necessary with me and I never feel rushed. She responds to every message I have ever left for her by a phone call the same day. I could not ask for a more attentive and caring doctor. I have moved several times around the Bay area and kept her as my physician even though I could have found another doctor closer to where I have lived. I also always base my health insurance choice on whether or not she is in their plan. She is friendly, warm and truly cares about her patients, and remembers your medical history from visit to visit. I have always been able to get an appointment when I have needed to and the office staff has always been friendly and professional. St. Luke’s is located in the Mission District so both the staff and Dr. Lederman are fluent in Spanish which is a benefit to many. Kudos to Dr. Lederman and I highly recommend her!!!

Two visits with Dr. Lederman — one terrible and one good — so I’m mixed
the first visit — she was dismissive, abrasive and basically told me to get off my ass and stop nurturing my foot injury. I demanded referral to a podiatrist after much wrangling from her (turned out I had ruptured a major tendon, ended up in a cast for a year and had major foot reconstructive surgery). Swore to never see her again. Dr. Birnbaum in her office is my PCP.
second visit — PCP (Birnbaum) was unavailable for 2 weeks. Was in so much pain and desperate. Saw Lederman and brought my husband so he could battle for me. She was attentive, diagnosed the problem correctly and gave some good advice. Referred me to a specialist that I am quite pleased with.
Regarding the office, I do believe that they are overloaded and sometimes you need to be persistent with the phone calls. but I have continued to be a patient of the office since 1990 and have been generally satisfied. Important to keep in mind that they serve a diverse community and have treated me even when I didn’t have health insurance.

I saw Dr. Lederman as a new patient recently. I liked her a lot. She was professional, knowledgeable, and willing to fully explain my treatment options to me. I didn’t feel rushed, but that said, I like a doctor that’s efficient so i can minimize my time at the office as well.
The office itself is chaotic, and in major need of a redesign. But it wouldn’t prevent me from going back.

The last time I saw Dr. Lederman at the ripe age of 36 she asked me if I was planning on having more children. When I told her that my husband hadn’t made that decision yet she told me that «I better hurry up», not one minute later when asked what form of contraception we were using (condoms and fertility awareness) she told me «that it wasn’t very effective». Hmmm, contradiciton? Was my womb a vast wasteland or a fertile valley?

I find her dismissive & abrassive. I don’t know if she has «bad days» but there have been occassions when I thought she was great, and other times when I’m surprised by her short dismissive responses. There have been NUMEROUS occassions when I left messages with the office staff, and did not receive return calls. Ironically, she has told me to call to keep her posted on changes with my condition. This is my primary provider that is «supposed» to be managing the care I am getting for something. I am definetely disappointed with this doctor, and am looking for someone new.

I like Dr. Lederman a lot. My appointments with her were efficient, yet I never felt like she was rushed or distracted when she met with me, and I was very happy with the care I was getting. She was informed and informative, and didn’t mind lots of questions from me.
Two things finally drove me to leave her practice. The first is that it is very very difficult to get through to her office. My husband finally set me the task of making appointments for him since he couldn’t afford the typical 15 minutes on hold every time he called, and eventually I got tired of getting taken for my appointments 45 – 60 minutes late.
The second gripe I had was that when I told her we were ready to get pregnant, she did not give me a lot of information about how to get started, just told me to «have a lot of sex and we’ll check back in a year». This may be standard practice for under-35’s like myself, but I was back in a year, not pregnant and worried that there was something wrong. *Then* she gave me more advice about fertility timing, and bang, I was pregnant six weeks later. She also generated a series of tests that my insurance company would not pay for because they said those tests needed to have been ordered by a fertility specialist. (Dr. Lederman said she wouldn’t refer me to a fertility specialist without the test results.) So I found another doctor, frustrated that we lost a year in getting our family started because of her (lack of) advice.

She’s been nothing short of great the few times I’ve gone to see her. She is thorough and to the point.
The only problem is that she’s part of a clinic at St. Lukes. They are short staffed so it is impossible to get through on the phone most of the time and appointments are hard to come by.
If you live in the Mission, it’s convenient, but otherwise, not worth the long waits.

Sorry to say that most medical doctors out there are not what you would expect: sensitive to your needs, understanding, patient with a keen ability to help!
Well, Dr. Nicole Lederman is AMAZING and is all of the above and more! She’s a one of kind doctor that genuinely cares for her patients and the community. You’ll never hear say, «It’s all in your mind or it’s nothing». She truly wants to know what your feeling and how to help. She’s straight forward but compassionate and you can’t help but feel relaxed.
Don’t understand the medical terminology or lingo? That’s perfectly okay as she will explain so you understand! Visit her at Baywest Family Health care on Valencia and don’t mind the receptionists… it’s the doctor that counts!!!
FYI: She speaks Spanish and if you are on a PPO plan at work… give her a try!