Bryson Lawrence MD

You’ll go in for a cough and they’ll run a battery of tests that you don’t need and that aren’t covered by your insurance company and make you sign a waiver that makes you responsible for paying for any tests not covered by insurance. Their billing department is a few people with no experience who are just told what to do. A 25 year old doesn’t need an EKG and a pulmonary function test and a stool test to check for blood. Those tests are not even covered until you are 50. Beware of what tests they make you get. Greedy, greedy people who don’t care about your health and well being. They treat their office staff like crap, and fire anyone who is smart enough to question their unethical practices. Please don’t go here.

Unlike other experiences, I have had no problems at all with the office billing practices and staff. Nor do I anything but praise for Dr. Bryson. I found him to be personable and with a pleasant, efficient manor. He has taken care of my medical needs and I definitely would recommend him. Maybe the previous Unilocal reviews worked to have the office staff improved and the doctor take a more careful and thorough approach with his patients. My significant other, who is very particular about her medical care, feels the same way.

horrible service. felt like a processing plant. i was double charged for going to get a blood test, charged for when I went to get my results, and i was lucky enough to get another bill in the mail by lab corp for getting my test results. this was a simple blood test that required 3 separate payments.
Do not see this doctor unless you’re willing to be pay multiple times through every single possible outlet and subsidiary that this doctor is connected to. Read the other reviews, and they’ll confirm MULTIPLE billing invoices for single time visits

Serious billing/​administrative issues here. Consistent with the other reviewers. I just received my 3^rd invoice for the same visit. All 3 should have been covered by my insurance. Each one getting more expensive. I paid the second invoice of $ 30 even though I thought it was duplicate just to avoid the hassle of trying to correct it. A couple weeks later and I received a 3^rd invoice for $ 60. Standard office visit for a cold.
Aside from the shady billing issues, Dr B was a very nice guy. The office is outdated.

DO NOT GO!!! EVER!!! Can I give negative stars? This was the WORST experience at a doctors office I have EVER experienced. Seriously this man is trying to suck money out of anyone who walks through his doors by LYING about costs and how much the bill will be in the end. I came to this travel clinic for 5 immunizations I need for Peru. My insurance covers 100% of my immunizations, this clinic was listed on a list at work as eligible clinics to receive these shots FOR FREE WITH OUR INSURANCE. I called, explained what I needed & asked for the cost breakdown. I was told that with my insurance, there would be no patient responsibility. Fast forward one month, I receive a bill for $ 250 for two items that are listed under the «description of service» as «not covered» on the explanation of benefits letter I received from my insurance. I am ABSOLUTELY APPALLED that this man is allowed to practice medicine. I was over a 2 hour wait, numerous unnecessary forms to complete about my health background… All to find out that you can actually just go to Wallgreens and get the same immunizations 100% free (AS IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN)!!! (To elaborate, $ 243.10 was paid via the insurance company to this man… The $ 250 is the patient responsibility… SO BEYONG WRONG TO CHARGE THIS AMOUNT!!!) Bottom line, DO NOTTTT GO HERE!!! Dr. LAWRENCE BRYSON should be banned from practicing medicine.

This review is for Downtown Medical, which bills under Dr Bryson.
I should have searched for reviews before I went to Downtown Medical, after seeing Dr Hall and Dr Law, I’m feeling the same way as many reviewers. Please stay away from this practice. I visited them twice, because it’s very close to work.
One time was to get a TDap vaccine. My vaccine was covered by insurance, but I HAD to see a Dr to go over my medical conditions before the shot. Understandable. I’m very healthy and the convo with Dr Hall went on for about 5min at the most. Charged me for $ 170… for 5min.
2^nd time I went for a physical. The receptionists are nice but are not knowledgeable of anything. When I scheduled the appt for a physical, no one told me to fast the night before. So I ate a big deal before I showed up for my appt, and they let me go through with it anyway. Dr. Grenier saw me and I confirmed with her that if anything is wrong with the tests, she will give me a call. I thought this was standard practice as all my previous doctors called if a test was abnormal, and did not call if it was all good.
Never heard anything from them, so I assumed all was good. 4 months later, I called to obtain a copy of the result for my record. The receptionist said a Doc needs to go over the results with me before they can send me the results. I talked to Dr Law who was completely rude and unprofessional. He simply said I had alarmingly high cholesterol and need to make an appt ASAP. I was confused as I get a physical every year, never had any trace of high cholesterol. I tried to ask him for more information, he was extremely impatient and said I should have come on for a follow up appt 4 months ago. When I asked what else could have caused the high cholesterol as I have always been healthy, he was getting agitated to say it could be anything and that he was just relaying the message. I said I was surprised no one called me if this was so serious. He was extremely rude to say, we can’t be calling everyone, we have so many patients! It’s your own responsibility!
I was very upset thinking that I was about to have a stroke as Dr Law warned me if I don’t come in or get on medication I have a high chance of stroke. My bf said, did you eat anything before the physical? I was like, OMG, I had a huge meal! So apparently, NO ONE marked it on my results or maybe Dr. Law did not read my results carefully.
So in summary, they wrongfully gave me my test results, blamed me for not scheduling a follow-​up appt with them, and was extremely unprofessional while delivering the message. How can someone so rude, unsympathetic, and unintelligent be a doctor? I am baffled. So as most other reviews suggested, stay away if you can!

Terrible office. Completely disorganized and they don’t follow through with insurance instead they harass you for payment and immediately report you to credit agency. Office is also not very attentive and looks like it hasn’t been redone or updated since the 80s. He is very short with you and doesn’t really care about your health issue.

My experience was like many others. Horrible to deal with and mis-​billed insurance, causing me hundreds and a ton of time. Be warned.

Disclaimer: The following is my personal opinion based on the so-​called professional service I received
This place is still in business?! Unilocalers, are you not doing your homework and Unilocaling this place before you go here. Unilocalers don’t let friends and family go to doctors without checking their reviews on Unilocal and whether the doctor has been reported to the Medical Board. The latter may involve more legwork but the former is easy!
Are you expecting a pleasant bedside demeanor?
A hassle-​free experience?
No impact on your credit rating?
If so, do NOT come here!
Like that one night stand that led to that recurring STD virus that pops up at the most inconvenient times, this visit will live on and have repercussions on your life that you can’t imagine.
THE PREPARATION
I came here several years ago for my annual physical as I had switched jobs resulting in an insurance change from Kaiser Permanente to a PPO. I called my insurance company to ensure that the physical was 100% covered and that the doctor (Dr. Bryson) was too; I called the doctor’s office immediately afterwards to confirm that the doctor was in network and that the cost of my physical was covered and I wouldn’t have to pay anything as they had taken my insurance information and confirmed everything with the insurance company since I was a new patient. Everyone I spoke to confirmed that my physical was 100% covered when I went to go see him.
THE VISIT FOR THE ALLEGEDLY 100% COVERED PHYSICAL
My physical was like any other except unlike my other doctors that I had at Kaiser Permanente or at other PPO doctors in other areas I had lived, this doctor’s office refused to give me the results over the phone or mail me the results. They insisted I had to make another appointment to meet with the doctor to go over the results of my physical.
During the 2^nd visit, the doctor told me that everything was fine, Since I have a family history of heart disease and diabetes, he told me to watch out for that. Since I am reasonably well educated, I was well aware of that. He asked me if I had any concerns, and like an idiot I told him that even though I exercised a lot I’d like to lose more weight. Woman, thy name is vanity! He told me to eat less food. Duh!
THE BILLING — NIGHTMARE REQUIRING HOURS SPENT ON THE PHONE
Not only did they misbill my 1^st visit for the physical, billing every single lab test and procedure separately in addition to the doctor’s visit itself rather than under the overarching physical billing codes (my bill came out to ~$ 1K), I was billed for the 2^nd visit where I got my results separately. I spent hours on the phone during my lunch hour going back and forth with both the insurance company and Dr. Bryson’s office about the codes. The insurance company refused to cover the 2^nd office visit because they said that the normal procedure for doctors is to provide the results over the phone and to mail them unless there was anything abnormal about my results. When I was making my initial appointment for the physical, the doctor’s office never told me that I would require 2 visits and they always said that I my physical would be fully covered by my insurance company and I wouldn’t need to pay anything. I would get both entities on the phone to straighten out the billing codes and finally it got so bad that my company had to get involved and escalate it — which doesn’t really make me look all that great to my manager as a problem solver. Whoever my company health care contract person contacted did the trick because the insurance company somehow got through to Dr Bryson’s office and billing company and got them to resubmit the bill with the right codes and a smaller $ amount as a physical. Nothing could be done about the 2^nd office visit since Dr. Bryson’s office claimed that they ‘counselled’ me and they said even though this wasn’t covered under the physical, it should be by the insurance company. I didn’t need Dr. Bryson to tell me based on the family history I filled out that I need to watch certain health factors or that if I’d like to lose weight, that in addition to working out, I could eat less! For this, he charged me ~$ 300 for a couple of minutes of his time. Afterwards, I switched doctors they just update me over the phone and/​or mail if it’s just a routine test.
THE COLLECTION AGENCIES — NEED I SAY MORE?
Within a couple of months of my insurance company not having paid any of the bills due to the bad billing codes used, Dr. Bryson’s office sent the bills to collection agencies who put this on my credit report as soon as possible.
Since it took almost 2 years for Dr. Bryson’s office to correctly submit the physical and countless hours on the phone, I still ended up with a ~$ 300 charge on my credit report. A couple more months to go and this bogus charge is gone!
SUMMARY
SAVE YOURSELF!
— Don’t come here. There are many better doctors in SF. Your credit, manager/​co-​workers, and sanity with be grateful!

The reviews don’t lie. Kept me waiting for almost 45 minutes on my first appointment. Didn’t even see my assigned doctor. When I came back the following week to get my blood test results, my assigned doctor actually showed up and breezed through the results in less than 90 seconds and was trying to usher me out quickly. («Doctor» Law) Zero bedside manner. I had to force this guy into having a conversation with me about my health. It’s almost like… they don’t even care here… and just want to collect that insurance money. What a shocker.

DON’T GO HERE, EVER! Horribly rude, unprofessional staff and disgusting, dirty office with outdated equipment. They couldn’t help me at all and I never ever got to see a doctor. To make matters worse, they’re trying to charge me $ 95 to transfer my records to my new doctor who requested the records — that’s illegal. STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS!

After many years of coming to this clinic, I am comfortable with upgrading my previous rating. A lot of doctors offices can be hit and miss, often they are overwhelmed and understaffed. There are mistakes made and sometimes never corrected. After my first issues with this clinic I have found that overall they aren’t that bad. The patient care is fair. It is not extraordinary but it is decent and merits more than 1 star.
Dr. Law is my primary here. I no longer see Dr. Hall and I have seen Dr. Bryson (a really great guy) once or twice as well because Dr. Law was only working once a week and I needed to come in sooner than later. I really enjoy seeing Dr. Law, as previously stated: he is very nice, kind and respectful. A bit rushed at times but that is more a scheduling issue than his own preference I believe. Regardless the service and level of care is decent.
I should also note that I did end up getting my insurance to overturn the ruling that was denied due to Dr. Hall’s suggestion of treatment. I ended up being referred to a wonderful neurologist (Dr. Belaga) who has since made a lot of my issues clear cut to me. I have cervical dystonia and that is my «trigger» for my cluster headaches. I get great care from him and would never have found him had I not been referred by Downtown Medical.
Downtown Medical (Dr. Bryson’s practice where both Dr. Law and Dr. Hall practice medicine at, along with one other doctor I cannot recall the name of at the moment (a female) is a efficient clinic which offers folks who travel same day immunizations and needed services. They have worked with me when I was out of work and needed a flexible billing schedule, and they are very kind in general to their patients. Some staff can come across a bit stern but I will be honest in saying they are very efficient and helpful and really do care about their patients.
To end my review, I have had some communication issues with Dr. Law but nothing I am not confident could be managed and rectified at the end of the day. I would recommend with reservations but I would still suggest this clinic to family and friends.
As to the billing, please ask up front what things will cost and how you will be billed. Anytime you have an office visit (even to just refill a Rx) you will be charged an office visit fee. If you have blood drawn that is another charge and you will also pay for lab fees and they do not do their own lab work at that site. They are NOT a scam, any doctors office will do the same. Ask questions and before you sign any statements agreeing to pay for services, request a full detailed bill for what the doctor wants to treat you for. You can always refuse, pay the office visit fee ($ 135 without insurance) and leave. That is your right as a patient.

This clinic is a total ripoff. They hand you a blurry photocopy of your options, end up making them for you and then CHARGE YOU AN ARM AND A LEG. The bills kept rolling in for things that were never explained. Took your blood– bill. Listened to your heart– bill. Shook your hand hello– bill.
AVOID THIS SCAM OF A DOCTOR!!!

I went here for my check up and it was a good experience. I didn’t have to wait, they took my insurance, office staff was professional. My only suggestion is to check first if LabCorp is covered by your insurance, because they have a blood draw station in office. A good thing about this office is they take insurance and you can get an appointment in a reasonable amount of time.
The office staff are really nice but the doctors are pretty terse. Still I recommend this place due to the ease of making appointments, insurance accepted and office blood draw. Very convenient!

Quick and efficient care for travel vaccinations and medications. Dr Bryson and his team are pros at providing great service for the basics. Esp if you work downtown/​SoMA and need to get in and out during your lunch.

Extremely frustrating to deal with. I’m covered through military health insurance with tricare prime. I spent 2 hours trying to get an appointment here since Abraham Law was my primary care physician. All I was trying to do was go to the doctor to see about a cough I’ve had for a month. I had to go back and forth between their office and tricare. Tricare reassured me 3 different times that I had coverage through this doctor at this office, but when I called the office to setup an appointment, I was first turned away, then I got an appointment, then a few hours later I got a call saying that I didn’t have coverage with them. Overall extremely frustrating and very rude over the phone.

Nice doctor but they sent me a bill for $ 4k one year after i saw them and then called in a collections agency. They messed up the paperwork with the insurance company, didn’t notify until a year later, after i had switched insurance and then told me that even though they messed up, i would have to clean it up. What was the $ 4k for… an EKG, blood test, and physical. What a scam! Now i have it on my credit report but fortunately i fought it and it will be expunged. Not the kind of experience you want from a doctor’s office. My suggestion… One Medical. They are awesome!

Worst bedside manner ever. I went in for something mild and the doctor tried to get me on some crazy ridiculous drug regimen. Very pro-​drugs. His bill for my one office visit was in dispute with my insurance and he sent it to collections after a few short months of back and forth with his office trying to resolve the issue. I now have a negative account on my credit history. DO NOT GO HERE. THIS DOCTOR JUST WANTS YOUR MONEY. Only a creeper would recommend dangerous meds for something as simple as seasonal depression.

Avoid. Made wait for 30 mins. Just went here as this was the only guy near work who did same day appts.
Lesson learnt — Unilocal reviews are accurate

Absolutely agree with every horrible review here. STAY AWAY!
This office is close to my work and one morning, had to make an emergency appointment. I told them exactly what the issue was over the phone and was quoted $ 150 for the office visit. The doctor was awful, the type you most definitely have to speak up and ask your own questions to get quality care or necessary prescriptions. Then once I reach the desk, I get slapped with a $ 350 bill! Why? Because of a «surgical procedure.»
I was in no rush to give them my money for such a ridiculous visit but now I’m being charged interest and yesterday, served a final notice before being turned over to collections. Criminals praying on people who need to seek emergency care in their provider network. Shame on you!