Zarate Medical Group, P.A.

If you can get an appointment, Dr. Jocelyn Zerate is a very thoughtful and good doctor. But if you’re in a bind and need immediate help, her support staff will just refer you to an urgent care clinic or suggest you take some antihistamines for an earache and sore throat. And this will all come from a support staff who is completely disinterested and quick to get you off the phone. The doctor will not talk to you directly. It was not the kind of care and interest in my health that I was hoping to find from a primary care doctor. If you want to feel like a valued patient, I do not recommend.

I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed Dr. Zarate yet!
Anyway, I have cycled through a lot of primary care doctors over my adult life in a handful of different cities and Dr. Rudy Zarate is by far my favorite. He takes time to listen to your symptoms, cares about your health and wellbeing, and (gasp) tends to be very timely.
Added pluses are his location (I work downtown and often walk to/​from his office), it is easy to get in to see him, and billing/​admin stuff has never been an issue.
If you are looking for primary care, I highly recommend Zarate Medical Group, in particular Rudy Zarate.

My husband and I both saw Dr. Zarate for a variety of reasons. At first, we both thought he was great (he’s in a practice with his wife – also Dr. Zarate). He spends a lot of time in the room with you and it’s clear he cares about his patients. Also, the wait to see the doctor is really short. However, neither of us was satisfied with the advice we received. We wound up spending a bunch of money on tests that really felt unnecessary. He recommended against seeing a psychiatrist because they are too quick to prescribe meds, but prescribed Lexapro for my chronic shoulder pain. Also, we’ve had nothing but problems with Nix billing. The billing part really didn’t have anything to do with Dr. Zarate’s practice, so I’m not sure if it should go in a separate review of Nix. If you do go the the Zarate Medical Group, they pay for an hour of parking in the garage kitty corner from their office.

I found the Zarates after I moved to San Antonio a few years ago. A coworker had a positive experience and Nix Hospital is near work, so I gave them a shot. I really do love this place.
Jocelyn Zarate is my primary physician, but I’ve also seen Rudi when I was admitted to the hospital for an emergency surgery. The office staff is nice and I’ve only once had an issue with getting a prescription refill faxed to the pharmacy. I’ve never waited more than 5 – 10 minutes in the waiting room and they don’t leave to alone too long in the exam room, which is nice. I have even received early morning calls from Dr. Zarate after leaving a panicked message with the answer service.