Arete Family Medicine

Great doctors but extremely hard to get an appointment. It doesn’t matter how good they are, it doesn’t matter if I can’t see them. I’m so sick and tired of calling and hearing the receptionist tell me, «Unfortunately…» It doesn’t matter if I call a week ahead or a month ahead. I’m not sure what the issue is but either devote your time to skin care or medical care and not both or stop accepting so many new patients. I’ve been with her for a couple of years but after so and so many disappointing phone calls, I told the receptionist to tell her, «I’ll be changing doctors because I can never seem to reach my current one.» Her receptionist reply to me,“Well, it looks like you have PPO, so you can go anywhere.”

Dr. Stella Chen is best physician I have ever had!
Payment:
Accepts HMO, PPO, and credit cards.
Parking:
Street and rear of the office building.
Lobby:
Very clean, spacious, and orderly with lots of up-​to-​date magazines.
Office staff:
Quick, efficient, and very helpful.
Physician
Very concise, through, and extremely helpful. She uses a laptop to go through your medical history/​lab work-​up and does not pretend to know everything. Everything is told/​illustrated upfront and honest.
Dr. Stella will go through your lab results in detail and take the time to listen and reply to your health concerns. She will also prompt you to make healthier lifestyle changes and has a legitimate concern for your health and wellbeing.

Dr. Stella Chen is my doctor.
she made me feel comfortable during our conversation.
she is a good listener and very patient which is very important for doctor
Highly recommend!

The doctors here are great, it’s just the policies that are a bit annoying. They make you sign a paper with your credit card information, claiming that it is just in case your insurance does not cover certain procedures. I’m not even sure if this is legal. Who will take responsibility if my card gets hacked? Shady…
I had recommended someone to go here and she had to take a blood test during a visit but had to come back ANOTHER time to get the results. Isn’t that a copay each visit? For blood test, I would recommend the option they have of sending you to Quest Diagnostics for blood test. It’s more flexible for your schedule. Quest Diagnostics posts the results online for you to see. It is YOUR blood, after all.
Also, this group is not responsive to emails. My monthly prescription changed brands suddenly and I had no one to ask for help other than to wait forever on the CVS Pharmacy line. I would have liked to seek the answer from the doctor than the pharmacy but that’s just me.

Such a great experience with Stella and her team!
PARKING: Street
SERVICE: My HMO plan is somewhat limited on doctors, so I looked on Unilocal for the best in the area. I booked my physical in early January for a February date (they’re pretty busy!). The minute you walk into the office, you’re instantly welcomed by a clean, nicely designed waiting room with plenty of seats. The office staff was efficient and charming and help me get through paperwork in under 5 minutes.
My physical was one of the most thorough I’ve had, and Dr. Stella was very knowledgeable in everything I asked her and freely gave her opinion. She was confident in what my HMO did and did not cover which is incredibly valuable as health costs can easily skyrocket.
So glad to have found a great primary care physician!

I looked for a PCP last year when I had moved back down to Pasadena. While my previous PCP in Pasadena was a great doctor, he became too busy and it was impossible to book appointments with him. So I looked on Unilocal and decided to give this practice a shot.
When I look for a PCP, I want someone who is accessible, thorough, and personable. I usually find that most good doctors are two of those three. Dr Rosina Chen is all three. Whenever I call in last minute, the front-​desk tries to squeeze me in the same day or next. When the doctor comes to check on me, no appointment ever feels rushed, and she takes her time explaining everything. I recently had my general checkup and she explained every number and what each meant.
The front-​desk is very efficient and friendly, the facilities are clean. I highly recommend this office to anybody looking for a new PCP.

I decided to see what the fuss was all about. I had found them through my insurance, and I needed to establish care, so I figured why not?
They had this shady policy where they asked me to sign over my credit card information saying they would charge me if my insurance did not cover the ordered procedures. And that had already rubbed me the wrong way, but I know what it’s like to deal with people who don’t want to pay, so I cut them some slack (even though their front desk was extremely inhospitable).
So they take me into the patient room and get my vitals. Wait a few minutes, then the doctor comes in. She’s friendly and all, but what business person wouldn’t be? So I go along with it. We’re talking, and we finally get to talking about my issues. Long story short, the doctor had promised to take a look at my throat, but she leaves me with a «hold on, I’ll be back» and transforms into an MA. So I tell the MA that the doctor hasn’t looked at my throat yet. Again, I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt. I’m trying REALLY hard to have a good first impression because I needed a PCP. The doctor comes in, glances at my throat, tells me I’m fine and walks me out of the room with my imaging order in hand. Don’t let the door hit me on the way out, I guess.
So I go to the requested imaging center to have it done ASAP. A month later, they still haven’t called me back with the results. And this is where I’ll cut them some slack because I could have taken responsibility and called myself, but I honestly forgot 2 weeks later… I’m not as mad about them not calling me because I’m still young, but had they neglected to report on a more serious case, like an abnormal ultrasound of the liver, then what? This is supposed to be a FAMILY practice.
I hope this review helps them improve their practice though! I think it has great potential, they just need to train their staff better. As far as practicing medicine goes, I don’t think I’d rate them that poorly. Maybe a ⁷⁄₁₀. I was only there for one visit after all. Bedside manner was definitely great until I was rushed out of the room. But the staff is really what pushed me to give them 1 star. Forget about customer service… What about plain kindness? Guess that’s a lost skill.

At Arête, your experience interacting with the medical staff will likely be great!
Whenever I am there for an appointment, I haven’t seen 5 patients (2 was like the max) sitting in the office’s waiting room. Monica (rockstar MA!) and the support staff have always been welcoming. Dr. Rosina Chen and Dr. Stella Chen are awesome! I have seen both doctors. I like how they both do not rush through an examination and/​or office visits. I also like how they take time to answer my questions and make sure I comprehend their responses. Added bonus: Dr. Rosina is a fluent Mandarin speaker!

Usually I hold back on posting bad reviews especially if I know the business/​establishment is really trying their best. But the experience I just had this morning in this doctor’s office warrants this one-​star review. This review is based on the way this doctor’s office conducts their business. I’ve been a patient of theirs for 1 – 2 years. I recently got in to a car accident and decided I wanted to visit my primary care physician to get myself checked for occasional headaches I’ve been having. I check-​in on the front desk and after paying my $ 15 co-​pay, was asked to put my credit card information on a piece of paper so that they can charge me for anything that my PPO insurance doesn’t cover. This is the first time ever in a doctor’s office that anyone has asked me to do something like this. They said this is their new policy. When I questioned and raised concerns about this this new policy, they said «We don’t have to see you if you don’t want to give us your credit card information». REALLY??? Putting credit card information on a piece of paper and just handing it over? I’m NOT convinced that it’s a rather secure way of handling credit card information. I mentioned to them that they should bring this up when scheduling someone, since it is a dealbreaker. I even pointed out the urgency of my visit since I wanted to get myself checked after the car accident that I was recently on. The response I got was «We’re not required to tell you anything» and also added that they’re busy. Really? This is the type of attitude I have to deal with at 8:45 in the morning. So basically, I was put to a situation where either I give them my credit card information (even after paying my co-​pay) or I wont’ get the medical care that I need right now. I’m not just going to give them my credit card and have this doctor’s office charge me for their services without even knowing how much they are! I stood there for a few minutes with the pen and paper on my hand and decided not to go through with it and to see another doctor instead. What a waste of time. I’ve asked family and friends after this experience if any has gone through something similar where even after paying your co-​pay, they will ask for you to give them your credit card information EVEN BEFORE seeing the doctor (and just listed on a piece of paper and handed over), and NONE of them had this experience ever. All of them pointed out that this practice is NOT NORMAL. DON’T TOLERATE THIS SHADY PRACTICE! DON’T GO TO THIS DOCTOR’S OFFICE! I think this experience clearly shows that they care more about $$$ than a patient’s well-​being (especially when factoring in the reason of my visit).

Dr. Stella Chen is the best doctor I’ve ever had. I’m in my 20s and pretty healthy so most if not all of the doctors I’ve been to in the past usually just rush and try to get me in and out of their office as quickly as possible. I mean I get it’s just an annual check-​up that’s covered by my insurance, but can’t you at least pretend to care? That’s what makes Dr. Chen stand out. I’ve only seen her twice in two years for my annual check ups but she’s spent roughly an hour with me each time. She actually got into my health history and asks me about my lifestyle and inspected me for a full check-​up exam. Gave me a few suggestions as well as things to keep an eye out for. You know, preventative medicine. Like what a doctor is SUPPOSE to do. Maybe I’ve just had shitty doctors in the past?
Anyway, in closing, I would recommend Dr. Chen to anyone. In fact, I’ve already referred two of my friends in the past who both had thanked me afterward for the great recommendation. I actually feel like my annual check-​ups with her are a good use of my time rather than just something that I’m «suppose to do» with my health insurance coverage. I will be dropping by again early next year for my annual check up.

Dr. Rosina Chen is absolutely wonderful.
Unfortunately, my wife and I have had a lot of bad to mediocre experiences with doctors in the past year and a half. This finally changed significantly when we started seeing Dr. Chen. Dr. Chen is extremely thorough, very patient, and very nice. We have had the opportunity to see her on more than a few occasions, and each time our issues have been thoroughly and well treated. We feel great and finally feel like we are in very good hands.
Also, the office staff are very friendly and accommodating.

Amazing Doctor office. Very quiet and peaceful. Nurses and doctors explain everything that is happening in detail and leave nothing to question. Clean facility and very comfortable rooms and lobby. Was a great experience even for me which usually hates going to any doctor office or hospital. Will not be changing doctors again.

Great staff, friendly, doctors are nice as well as the front desk staff.

I came here for a physical and I never had one before so I was definitely nervous because I didn’t know what to expect. The interior was so clean and modern. Dr. Stella made me feel so comfortable and right at home. The process was so fast and didn’t even hurt. She was really knowledgeable and concerned for my health. Most doctors really just try to rush you out but she made me feel like she actually cares about my well being. I might as well add that she is gorgeous! Definitely going to stick with her as my primary family doctor now after being with my previous one since I was little.

Beautiful office! The staff is great at what they do. Dr. R. Chen is very thorough. She didn’t rush through my appointment and answered all of my questions. This was my first visit and she spent almost 45 minutes with me. Not to mention this is a one stop shop. Laser, dermatology, family medicine.

In search of a new PCP and I found an amazing one!
I’ve never been to such a beautiful and calm doctor’s office. That was great in itself, but when I met the doctor… she was equally gorgeous and personable. She speaks really fast, but that ensured me that her English was superb and I could easily communicate with her. and she would hear and understand all my concerns as well. And that she did… she WANTED to stay and talk to me, where other doctors always seem like they want to leave and see the next patient ASAP.
The office staff is also very kind and informative. When I got my height, weight, BP and temperature taken, all the equipment were clean, modern, and they even put a paper towel for you to stand on the scale! I love it! Finally, a doctor’s office where I don’t feel like I might get more sick!

Like the drs but the office is now requiring a credit card to charge what doesn’t get paid by insurance. This is very insulting and is open to fraud.

Great doctor office with wonderful hours!
Open late night on Wednesday and open Saturdays
Very clean office. Staff is very friendly and helpful
The doctors are very thorough with check ups and spend more time with you then normal doctors do.
One of the best doctor offices I have been too!

I, like many other Unilocalers, am so, so happy and grateful that I stumbled upon Dr. Stella Chen about a year ago. She to this date is the only doctor who has ever made me feel completely 100% safe, comfortable, and happy.
Dr. Stella is an EXTREMELY knowledgeable woman who immediately makes you feel like you know her – and you like her! I’ve come to her for blood tests, screenings, shots, and more. She’s solved my problems literally every time, and has even sat down to go over my fitness goals when telling her that I wanted to lose a few pounds in the healthiest way possible. She’s SO good with patients that I pretty much refuse to go anywhere else for pap smears (TMI? TMI? Sorry…)
The staff here (especially Monica – hey girl!) is the most amazing and caring staff you’ll ever meet. The facility sparkles and is always clean – very modern, and it never feels like you’ve stepped into a doctor’s office of the 1940’s. They really know how to upkeep the place.
I love Dr. Stella, and so will you! Please, please, please give them a try – you won’t regret it.

This is the one of the most aesthetically pleasing doctors office I’ve been to with the sweetest staff. I’d never imagine going to see the doctors would be such a pleasant trip. Upon entering Arête’s lobby I thought I entered a lavishly decorated home. Props to the two twin doctors for doing such a great job in the waiting area.
The front desk lady which I believe was Heather was very friendly and so was nurse Monica. It took me about 20 min to see the dr which was super fast.
Monica the nurse was super helpful, warm, inviting and made me feel at ease taking my vitals. She answered most questions I had and never did I feel rushed.
I saw Dr Rosina and omg she is hot. I haven’t met Dr Stella yet but I’m sure she’s equally as hot. These are like the hottest female dr I’ve seen. Dr Rosina was very friendly and warm. She made me feel very comfortable about my issues and basically explained everything to me in a language I could understand. I never felt rushed and I didn’t feel like there were questions I couldn’t ask. On top of that she had blinged out gel nails with 3d designs on them which told me all I needed to know; she’s awesome.
So I did some blood work and Monica’s light hands didn’t even make me feel a prick. It wasn’t scary getting poked! She could’ve poked me several more times and I wouldn’t have felt it. This nurse knows her stuff! And she’s super friendly!
I’m switching my family over to Arête. I even scheduled a physical for my husband because what male wouldn’t want a hot doctor probing and poking them!!!
I also heard the Drs are really good with little ones too so most likely i will also switch my toddler over too.
They also have a medical spa in their clinic too that does Botox, laser, ulthera, fillers, etc. This clinic is the whole package!