Santa Clara Valley Medical Clinic

I just booked an appointment for my son here. I was expecting a long agonizing wait like I have had before at the bascom location. To my great surprise, the operator answered quickly and with the best attitude.
Her name is Naomi and she deserves to be recognized for her outstanding customer service.
I offered to call back when I had all the information she was asking me (insurance#) and she did not want me to be put on hold so she did the looking for me.
Thank you Naomi for your awesome customer service.

I received the worse service ever at this clinic, doc Perla was so unprofessional, and showed zero empathy or concern about my issues. She made no eye contact, she spent all the time asking question that have already been registered in my profile, she did not care or listen to what I said about myself, and she seemed to think she knows more then me about myself after talking to me for 15 minutes about routine info like where I live and my phone number, I mean why did I show up so early to fill out papers that have all the info she was asking me about?

This place is terrible. I tried to give them a chance, but ended up switching doctors and clinics, and I’m significantly happier.
The front desk staff is like a bunch of parrots, yapping the whole time to each other, ignoring me. Once they were literally yelling to each other, about how bad it was to work there. That’s beyond unprofessional.
Dr. Radhika Yarlagadda: This doctor wouldn’t even hear me out about anything. I was constantly interrupted when I’d speak. When you talk, she constantly goes «yeah, yeah, hmmm, yeah… yeah…». It would be nice if she shut up and listened. But instead, she actually discounted my pain. She said «my MRI looks worse than yours and I’m not in this much pain». She was almost competing with me, trying to prove that my pain isn’t that bad. That’s the opposite of compassion! If I wanted to be told I’m wrong, I’d talk to my mother. I came to you for help, and you wouldn’t even hear me.
It took me breaking down in her office, for her to help me. Should it be that difficult? Did she actually cause me harm, by letting me be in more pain, because she didn’t listen to me?
The pharmacy: Is incompetent to say the least. They sent my refill request to the wrong doctor, after being told multiple times that I’ve changed doctors. They were well aware of the new doctor, they just didn’t think. This is a job that requires more thought than your average job. When you don’t think first, people are in pain. Real people! Not «patients», not «medical record numbers». Humans who are suffering because you WON’T do your job properly.
Avoid this hospital/​clinic. At all costs. People probably die here because they’re inept.

This place is a SCAM. Medi-​Cal will give you this provider because they have no services available. You can only get basic appointments.
You need physical therapy? Too bad; they’re understaffed. You have to live in pain, unable to do even simple tasks.
You need nerve block? Too bad; after 5 months of waiting being told you will receive this pain relief, they’re understaffed. Actually; they never even submitted authorization on it. They gave me a paper saying they did but they never even attempted to get me the only relief I needed.
Even the X-​Ray tech is incompetent and injured me. The neurologist I was referred to is incompetent. He could not even read my past medical records correctly. My last nerve block was in 2011 and in his mind it was «a few months ago». It’s 2015 now, buddy. I’ve been waiting 3 years to get into Medi-​Cal, get a primary provider appointment, get a referral, then another 3 months just to see this terrible neurologist. Then he poked on a major deformation in my spine and told me he would not request an MRI because it might make it so I couldn’t get my nerve block. They didn’t even submit the nerve block… WHAT NERVE BLOCK? I left his office in more pain than I came to him and received NO CARE… NOTHING for my debilitating pain. I’ve spent months here being ran around in circles as my health declines even further and people just tell me it’s my fault for being on Medi-​Cal. I wouldn’t be on medical if I could get the nerve block and physical therapy. But for some reason I’m not worth it as a human being.
It’s pointless to have this provider. Complete scam. No appointments available for months then you wait 3 months for an appointment that they cancel. Having this health care provider is like chasing a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

I’ve had health coverage under Medi-​Cal (now Santa Clara Family Health Plan) for the past 2 years. I’ve had good AND bad experiences here, so I figured it was time for me to leave a review. I realize I am at a risk for being targeted upon my next visit by doing this, but I feel very strongly that people need to know what to expect. Excuse me as I write a short novel…
The facility feels much more welcome and inviting than anyone new to Medi-​Cal could imagine. There is plenty of parking, an on-​site pharmacy, on-​site lab, plenty of restrooms, and usually a helpful security guard willing to direct you to the appropriate place for your appointment. I like that this is a small-​ish clinic. It’s a little less intimidating than going all the way to the main campus in San Jose. However, that also leaves a person fewer options when it comes to their staff.
The phlebotomist-​I have only had my blood drawn by one woman at this clinic: a buxom Asian lady with a disgusting bad attitude. I could clearly hear her talking smack about patients with the other staff members. She called me «a baby» because I asked her to count to three before poking me. I have a nerve disorder, and I didn’t want to jump or flinch when she put the needle in. My disorder causes involuntary movements. If they are only going to hire ONE phlebotomist, please make it someone who has a better personality, who doesn’t act like they hate everyone. Why she is still there? Get your blood drawn at the Bascom lab instead.
The check-​in staff-​I am by nature jovial to anyone in a customer service type job. I’ve been helped by one woman with huge dragon lady fake nails and a permanent scowl, and one woman who had awesome glasses and a great personality who made me laugh. I am sure these people put up with a lot of crap. I get it. But sometimes it’s important for the check-​in staff to remember that just because someone pissed them off, they don’t need to carry that kind of attitude into taking care of the next patient.
Adult/​primary care doctors-​Please shop around before deciding on one. Don’t write the whole clinic off just because you didn’t like just one doctor. I have learned that if you don’t like one doctor within that team, just designate a different one as your primary, and see if that works better for you. It took me one year before deciding whom I wanted as my primary physician, and I’m glad that I waited.
OB/​GYN-​I won’t lie, my gyno talks A LOT, and sometimes you have to interrupt her to get her to let you talk. I think a lot of doctors in general forget that they need to pause to let the patient speak. BUT she has never disrespected me or embarrassed me. She took my concerns seriously, called me directly to discuss appointments and test results, and had a sense of humor, which helped while I was uh, *in the stirrups.*
Follow-​up staff/​CNAs & RNs-​Bring all of your medications and supplements to all appointments here, or you will receive a MAJOR lecture on why it’s so important. I once dealt with a male nurse who seemed really annoyed by me as soon as he met me. But he took care of me with great detail by taking the time to color code my list of appointments and scheduling phone numbers into a pretty little chart. On a separate occasion, a different nurse even tried to expedite scheduling an appointment by calling one of my specialists directly, which is not a common practice, but I appreciated it! I have tried not to name any names, but Shawnte (forgive me if the spelling is wrong) has by far exceeded my expectations in care. She shows a great deal of consideration for others. She’s helped me about 80% of my visits.
Appointments/​messages-​Just don’t use the automated phone system if you don’t need to. Use your MyChart account. It’s better to schedule appointments that way. Periodically check the site to make sure your scheduled appointments haven’t been moved without prior notification (which has indeed happened to me… rude!) Also, don’t bother sending snail-​mail letters to your doctor with any information from your previous out-​of-​network clinics because they won’t read it.
I believe that the good usually outweighs the bad here. I have rarely had to wait very long, except for the one time I arrived 15 min early for my appointment (as directed) and noticed that absolutely everyone in the clinic was on their lunch break until the time of my appointment. I have generally felt well taken care of.
Any other issues in my mind are due to Valley Health/​Medi-​Cal/​Santa Clara Family Health Plan, and their lack of communication, policies, and insurance coverage as a whole. There is a lot of difficulty in getting certain preventative services scheduled and covered if you come into the program with any prior or existing conditions which were treated elsewhere. It’s difficult to get VHC doctors to vouch for such services being necessary, so that insurance will cover them. Overall I can see that this is one of the better clinics within the network.

Been here since a newborn and now I’m bringing my kids. Front desk staff so rude. Wait times are ridiculous. Trying to get my kids or me seen with our dr is literally impossible unless it’s a routine yearly appt. MAs and Doctors so nice and always makes sure your comfortable. That is the only reason why I still come here!

Reschedule an appointment without telling me? Come on man. Very rude and unprofessional. Why do they have the right to yell at patients? Jesus help them.

dr. daniela costa was rude and unprofessional. went there yesterday and was checked in by a hispanic woman who never ever made an eye contact or smiled, then I was put in a tiny room with no windows that smelled like public restroom for one hour and a half. then a medical student came in and asked me if there was anything else about 10 times after pulling my eye lids down (which I thought was unneccessary and weird). I finally decided to leave but an asian mail nurse who placed me in that windowless room (thank you for that) told me, ohh no she is comming and went to the room next to mine that had windows and there she was, dr. daniala costa talking with the medical student (who saw me 30 minutes earlier and told me dr. costa will be seing me shortly). Door was open and I could hear her so I got up anyway and walked by their room just to see who she was talking to, when she saw me, she yelled at me in a very dominating tone «i’ll be right there, just wait in the room» I said «never mind» and left. How disgusting. How can you neglect a patient for so long? Is it going to kill your receptionist to crack a smile or make an eye contact? And I swear I’m not ugly. I guess speaking to a medical student was more important than seing a patient who was locked in a windowless smelly room for one hour and a half.
p. s. my regular dr there is dr fay who I thought was very curtiouse, personabe and professional but apparently he was on vacation that is why I was offered to be seen by dr. daniela costa who turned out to be terrible mannered. when I first saw dr. fay of course someone called me the next day from their rating services department and asked me give them good review by teling me over the phone that anything less than perfect would not be considered good for them hinting that I give them a 5 star rating, which I did but I sure did not have anyone call me after my last visit.
criticism alone is not very helpful so let me make a suggestion.
1. do not put patients in rooms that smell like fecis and if you absolutely have to (which you did not that day, because I saw several empty rooms, which had windows) check in on them from time to time to make sure they are okay, appologize and keep them informed.
2. do not send in a medical student alone who mumbles that he is a student. I dont think any one will mind helping your student but make sure they are supervised and bring in a doctor at the same time and if you can not, have someone ask the patient first if they agree to be seen by a student.
3. Doctors should speak with their customers (and customer is really who I am, I am not just your patient who can not get medical service elsewhere, I am your customer first and foremost and I should be treated with minimum a respectful tone) with respect, not «I’ll be right there» but «Excuse me Sir, I will be right with you» and apologize.
4. When you greet a patient for the first time, make sure you train your stuff to make eye contact but not too much so it does not look like an attept to dominate. Make sure they smile too.
Right now this is a place unworthy of my or any normal persons visits.
P. s. Another pet peeve of mine is that their medical stuff stare at their flat screen monitor while asking you questions. Imagine talking to someone and answering their questions while they are turning their back at you and facing their computer. Here is a suggestion. Look into your patient’s eyes with an intention to help and ask him or her a question you have to ask, then only after looking at your patient and asking them a question and receiving an answer only after that, turn towards your computer and enter your data, now that would be super respectful but I do not expect that kinf of service from this place, HOWEVER being treated humainly is something I would very much appreciate. Why are we treating one another differently than lets say we treat people we care for or want to suck up to? Treat everyone with the same respect, whether it is your boss or your customer. Equally well, the best you can. It goes around.

I wanted to try this facility… But I’v been on hold for over 45 minutes to get an appointment with a doctor as a new patient. The automated system voice is slow and talks way too much I gave up when I got to 55 minutes of waiting over the phone with no one to talk to… wow

I would go here for counseling and ½ the time I would wait in the office for about ½ hour with no one ahead of me. The psychologists/​psychiatrists usually give bad suggestions to improve your life you never asked for in the first place and will talk over you when you want to comment. There’s a reason why a place like this is low quality and covered by medical insurance.

I switched to this location because my family recommended it and said that they’re really helpful here and good with their patients. I originally was going to the location on bascom for my prenatal check ups. I thought the nurses at the bascom location were bad. But the ones here at fair oaks. Most of them are so inconsiderate of their patients and rude. All they do is talk. Even while registering a patient they’re all just chit chatting away. My first visit here I was rudely welcomed by a the receptionist but the lady in front of me wasn’t. I only gave this place three stars because my doctor is really nice and the custodians keep the place really neat and clean.

Been on hold for 36 minutes now JUST to get a medical number and register.
Update:
They answered after 42 minutes… ridiculous. Finally after 1 hour 19 minutes, I have registered kids and have medical chart#.

I go here for my Preggo Lady appointments :) The people here are very nice and the facility is cute and small. Very clean all around, but the parking garage is so terrible. It’s too small and hard to park because the parking spots are so small. Other than that, the facility is nice overall.