Encompass Family & Internal Medicine Group

Karen, the Nurse-​Practitioner, is excellent, and very kind, caring and knowledgeable. I trust and value her medical skills; I recommend Karen, and the wonderful, professional nurses in La Jolla Encompass… BUT…Beware the nasty receptionist at the front desk, she’ll bite your head off if she has a chance, along with her poor customer service.

THE WORST! Karen is the ONLY thing good there… first, be prepared to sit in the lobby for an hour… then in the room for at least an hour… expect all the tests you take to be wrong AT YOUR EXPENSE… the new Doc, she wanted me to stop drinking water after 5pm… I AM 60, IS SHE INSANE? I started with Lazarus who just abandoned the practiced, then new staff and for a year, fired and fired and fired people and the billing is absolutely despicable! I had to keep coming back and back and back for botched tests, due to the constant turnover of employees… I asked for years to get off meds that were killing me… I finally left and went to the most fab Doctor… Abbo, and shortly after transferring records I received a 4000 bill… I am still disputing it and had to take it to my attorney as they told me that I would not be paying for tests that day as in FREE due to ALL the screw-​ups with tests being redone over and over… I am now off all the drugs they had me on and all my new tests are the best they have been in 5 yrs, the amount of time I was at this wretched ripoff office… if you value your life… DONT GO! I would put zero stars but not an option… run for your life

Great all around care. One stop shop for all your medical, or cosmetic needs. The providers and staff really care, and focus on healing you, not just masking pain. The office has been remodeled and is so much nicer and cleaner then before. If you don’t have medical insurance, they have a concierge program that can make health care with them more affordable.

I’ve been a patient of Dr. Lazarus for many years. Today I called to schedule a physical and found out that he has left the practice. The woman I spoke with was monotone and acted like I should have known that since he had left last July apparently. (shouldn’t they inform patients that their doctor of many years is no longer practicing there?). Tis woman was very short in her replies… nothing friendly about this person. When I asked who Dr. L’s patients were primarily seeing now, the woman told me they all see a Nurse Practitioner. There was no effort by the woman to assist me in trying to select a new doctor. I told her that at age 59 I preferred to see a male doctor in regard to some «male» issues, but she clearly expected me to schedule with the female NP, offering no other option… a very «that’s that» kind of attitude. I was looking at their website while speaking with her and inquired about a doctor listed there… she abruptly informed me that this doctor did not come to the La Jolla office, but that info was not on their site. (Also Dr. Lazarus’ picture/​profile is still shown on the site.) So the only way for Dr. L’s patients to find out he is no longer their doctor is to actually call the office and be surprised and a bit put off. I told her I would look into other providers and she said Ok bye. Absolutely no effort to try retaining me, offering alternatives/options…PLEASE RUDE PEOPLE IN THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY, IF YOU DO NOT LIKE YOUR JOB OR ARE NOT A PEOPLE PERSON, LOOK FOR ANOTHER JOB WHERE YOU DON’T INTERACT WITH THE PUBLIC.

The receptionist is extremely rude and left us standing and did not greet us at all. She was also annoyed that she had to help with giving directions, uhhh that’s your job.

I have been a patient of Dr. Leonard Lazarus M. D for many years before he phased out of his practice and Karen Lappas took over his client’s. She is extremely good and very attentive to my needs. She is a great listener, asks educated questions and has diagnoses issues for both my wife and I with accuracy. I give Karen 5-​Stars!
The PROBLEM: There is ONE VERY RUDE WOMAN on the staff at the front desk! She has been VERBALLY ABUSIVE to me, my wife and I have seen her be abusive to others as they have tried to communicate with her. I do not know her name but would have no problem writing it here if I did. (She is the one in the red shirt in the staff pictures) If you choose to work with a Doctor in this office you will undoubtedly have a run in with her in person or over the phone.
UPDATE: 11÷10÷14 The Rude Woman is no longer working in this office! HoooooRay!!!

Probably the worst medical experience I have ever had in my life and it is a shock that they will not have a medical malpractice suit soon. After seeing Mena for over a year and receiving hundreds of tests that the Doctor told me would be covered by my insurance which was a COMPLETE LIE, they decided to bill me over one year later because of a computer glitch for over 800 $. This is completely unacceptable and absolutely pitiful– avoid this place at all costs.

My review is very similar to Beth C. I was a patient of Dr Broomberg for a few years before he retired and this clown company, Encompass took over. I go for my yearly physicals and prescription refills but nothing else unless it is absolutely necessary. Almost a year after my service, I received $ 1350 in bills from them. Even after asking the attendant if the diagnostic test was included as part of my physical and being assured it was I was still charged $ 680 for the test. I found out from my insurance that Encompass coded this incorrectly and I am trying to get it resolved but it is a huge pain. Additionally, in order to get a prescription refill Encompass requires you to get a urinalysis. Not big deal, right? How much can that cost? $ 950. My portion $ 670. Now even tho I never requested the urinalysis I am stuck with a huge bill. I either had to choose my prescriptions or pee in a cup. Not a hard choice until you realize how much you may have to pay for it.
I too would give this place negative stars if I could. All I can do is warn others of this scam factory and help others avoid unnecessary bills and headaches.

Wait until you get your bill. I was a Dr. Broomberg patient for years. I loved him. Then this group took over — I went in for a physical and was given all kinds of fancy tests. I was assured that the tests were part of my physical and would be covered by my insurance. Then they call you back to discuss the results — even though you are fine. Two years later I am being billed over $ 800.00 for that physical. I would give negative stars if I could. This is now nothing but a money hungry, screw-​the-​patient operation.

I don’t write reviews on Unilocal very often, but felt compelled to write one after the exceptional experience I had at this office.
Mena Mesdaq, PA, was incredible! She took the time to answer all my questions, and offered her expert opinion on the best route to take. I felt she truly cared about me and my health. I highly suggest Mena to anyone.

I have been going to Encompass La Jolla for a couple of years now. The staff is amazing and friendly. My most recent experience has made me see what wonderful Doctors and Nurses they have there. My GNP Karen Lappas takes extraordinary care of me. I had some testing that I really didn’t want to do that needed done. She encouraged me to have it, so reluctantly I did. The reality of this situation, had I not done what she recommended a few years down the line I would have been in very bad shape. The fact of the matter is I could have been facing serious medical issues, and still may. However with her pro-​active attitude I have the opportunity to remain healthy. I am so appreciative of the attention to detail. A little thing that seemed like no big deal would have been life threatening, and Karen took the time to listen to my concerns and to advise me of the steps I needed to take. She went as far as to print out information, refer me to doctors I needed to see and email me to make sure everything was on schedule. I am overcome with gratitude for this medical practice. I highly recommend them. If you want excellent care, see them and be honest with them. They will guide you, and keep you healthy.

I have had a great experience with the La Jolla office of the Encompass Family & Internal Medicine Group. I was a former patient of Dr. Broomberg, and though he was a terrific doctor, the front office and billing was a disaster during the time I was a patient of his.
Since Encompass purchased the practice, the front office has gone from horrible to great. When I walk into the office I am addressed by first name, and everyone seems really on the ball; from appointment scheduling, to resolving insurance issues, to getting things handled with the pharmacy, the team at Encompass does a fantastic job of taking care of things quickly and accurately.
Mena Mesdaq, PA, who provides care for me, has been exceptional. Though she does not (yet) have the benefit of the many years of experience that Dr. Broomberg had, she is caring, always takes the time to answer all my questions, and has provided sound advice. I like that she practices a consultative approach to medicine. She does have a busy schedule, but I would note that she does a good job of balancing time with patients with staying on schedule for appointments.
The office has started to get a much needed remodel, and the initial improvements to the facility have been nice. Parking could be an issue during peak time, though typically there is enough street parking within a block or so of the office.

WWW​.ENCOM​PASSMD​.COM
6515 La Jolla Blvd
858.454.7157
This Doctors office it HORRIBLE. Mena Mesdaq PA, who is not even an actual doctor saw me for the first time in an appointment I had set up. While we were speaking some guy from the office came in and asked her to hurry up because they were backed up so she cut my appointment short. She got online to google prescriptions and asked me which one I thought was best and would like. I could have just stayed home and got on WebMD for a better experience. Turns out I saw a new doctor who diagnosed me properly. The office always says they will take care of something and as soon as they get off the phone with you they totally disregard your concerns or issues. They do not do what they say they will. I also ran into insurance problems and being overcharged because they could not figure it out. They lost my blood work and wanted to draw more blood after charging me like it was not a big deal. I left that day knowing I would never return and called in plenty of times to speak with Mena Mesdaq who never returned my call. My appointments are ran short, they are not professional and if you are not feeling well I would highly recommend saving yourself the stress and anxiety and going somewhere else. Once they get their money they could care less about their patients. I am sure minute clinic at CVS can do 100 times better. They cause a much bigger headache then is needed and the office has not been the same since Dr Broomberg left. I only gave one star out of being nice. Please research other doctors before deciding where to go.