Ed Becker, MD

I have been going here for medical treatments, facials, and skin care products for a few years. Am satisfied with their service. Have seen Christine (physician’s assistant) who is excellent and work with Dorice regarding facials and products. Dorice goes out of her way to follow up and send info by email as well as in person. I appreciate her emailed step by step directions for skin product application. On one occasion a few months ago there was a confusion about my appointment and I had to wait a long time, but that was corrected and apologies were accepted. My insurance covers all medical and its great to have just one location with free parking for all skin care needs. Park near and use the West Entrance of the building @ 2255 Ygnacio Valley Rd. — which is near Dr. Becker’s Skin/​Laser office entrance.

I met with a nurse, not the doctor, but she was great!
Office was very busy and the front desk kept messing up peoples names. (Awkward) The wait for really long for having an appointment, but once I was in, procedure was quick and easy and the nurse was fabulous and professional!

This practice is mainly selling cosmetic services. Every room has a TV running ads for their surgical services. OK, fine, but if the doctor’s good, who cares. Well Dr. Becker may know his stuff, but he’s rude, dismissive, and insensitive. As others have said, he wants to be done quickly, and gives you no time to consider if you want that big scar on your face! For medical dermatology, go elsewhere. Hint: Dr. Raskin in Concord is excellent.

Dr Becker is perfect— experienced, cool, calm, sharp. I trust him with identifying potential skin cancers– but he is also excellent when it comes to Botox– delivering a result that is natural and long lasting. I would go nowhere else. His heart is in the game and that professionalism makes this practice the very best.

It was a few years ago that I took my daughter to see Dr. Becker as he was the one in our network. One visit was enough and we never went back. He was quite rude and seemed very insensitive to treating a teen girl for acne. Left feeling like her issue was beneath him. And when you call and are on hold you have to listen to an endless supply of advertisements for costly procedures.

Initial impressions: not excellent. Bulding is the size of a large motel, and has four entrances — N, S, E, W; none are marked with which doctors are at which entrance. Only one handicapped spot per entrance.
Accessability problems: All chairs have arms. I could not sit down without getting stuck and bruised. A plus — the staff brought me an armless swivel chair after I requested.
Waiting room is full, and our 1pm appt was seen after 1:30. The PA who attended, Melissa, arrived quickly, was friendly, and willing to answer questions.
No armless chairs in the patient rooms.

I had my first appointment with Dr. Becker today for an allergic rash. I sent an email after hours last night. I received a phone call first thing in the AM. They had a cancellation and I saw him that day.
Although the office was busy, it was very efficient. I filled out the paperwork and was seen promptly. My insurance cite listed Dr. Becker as an «in network» provider. It turns out he is not.
However, I was quite satisfied that the office was prepared to submit my claim.
Dr. Becker himself was friendly, (though not to the point of over-​solicitousness), knowledgeable, and efficient. He answered all of my questions without judgement. In this day and age, we all need to be our own advocate in terms of healthcare.
Unlike what some other reviewers seemed to hint at (my take), I felt no heavy hand towards «cosmetic procedures». There were brochures on the topic, along side dermatological condition brochures. He and I discussed my skin condition only.
The prescription medicine company that this practice uses saves me quite a bit of money. I am grateful, as I have a very high deductible.
I was very impressed and just made an appointment for my son.

Heavy on advertising cosmetic procedures/​products, light on the medical part of dermatology. Basically an expensive aesthetician.
Updated review:
Went in to see a different doctor in the same practice, Dr. Zimmerman, and was given very clear and thoughtful advice about sun damage and adult acne. This visit was a five star visit, but my average experience here has been about 3 stars.

This practice is horrible, and I am not surprised at all about the negative reviews of Mr. Becker and his staff. This goes back to February 2011 when I went to get check an encapsulated cyst on the top of my nose right between my eyebrows. I waited for over 30 minutes when finally Mr. Becker’s «medical assistant» walked in with such a snotty attitude, and looking like she was already fed up of being there, really unpleasant and pushy. She immediately told me that they can’t do anything to remove it but they would refer me to a plastic surgeon, all that took less than a minute and Mr. Becker NEVER showed up. On my way out I was given the name of the plastic surgeon and the receptionist said «you’re all set» and wasn’t asked to pay anything before I left. The office had my insurance information, and I assumed there was no charge for the visit, after all they couldn’t do anything but refer me somewhere else right? Wrong, they bill me weeks later for the office visit !!! ??? I called their billing department and a very rude woman told me that I had to pay for the entire visit fee regardless of who saw me at their office, we argued on the phone to no avail. Weeks passed by without more communications and they send the bill to collection without any warning. Now they say they tried to contact me many times about this bill, and I NEVER receive any written communication from their billing department again.
First, I was not seeing by Mr. Becker (sorry for not calling you a doctor, but I NEVER met you, so I can’t say for sure you’re one), and only by his assistant, and I think charging me for this visit was unethical and abusive.
Second, if they really needed the fee, they could’ve asked me right there to pay my co-​payment, but instead waited weeks to bill me for the entire visit.
So, I ended up being charged for a service I NEVER had, and with a collection bill, nice!
Well, the positive is that after reading how bad Mr. Decker treat his patients, I consider myself lucky he didn’t touch my cyst.
I do thank them to recommended me Dr. Michele J Place, she is very compassionate and has great soft hands + a very nice pleasant and WELL TRAINED staff.

I recommend going to Irene Brandle, Medical Esthetician, for a derma scrub. She is so sweet and a real professional. She evaluated the condition of my skin and made recommendations on proper care. Overall had a great experience.

I decided to sign up for Unilocal just so I can leave a review on this office. I can’t remember if I seen Dr. Becker or Dr. Zimmermen but it wasn’t a pleasant visit. I came in for acne issues. The wait time was extremely long as if they over booked (45min wait). When registering there was an issue with my insurance but I still agreed to continue with the appointment and signed the appropriate financial paperwork (which I called and cleared the problem before I was see by the doctor.) When I was finally seen by the doctor it’s was literally a 5 minute appointment he came asked if I had oily skin and I guess that was enough information for him. He left the room and came back with all these sample tubes and his exact words «Since you don’t have insurance you can use these.» After I told him I do have insurance, he left the room to confirm the information and then came back with a prescription to another type of topical medication. I feel you should treat you patients equally with or without insurance, not giving them medication based on their finances if they stated it wasn’t an issue beside the money issue I didn’t feel he took the time out to get to know me or understand my acne issue before he came up with a solution and he didn’t tell me to have a follow up appointment just sent me on my way.

I highly recommend Dr. Becker and Dr. Zimmerman! I was given red carpet treatment upon my visit and the tattoo removal was fast and easy. Thank you!!!

Every time I have to call this place I dread it. Today is one of those days. I called an hour ago and was told I was first in line. I waited for about 3 minutes to be asked, «Can you hold»…which I did. I was on hold for another 5 minutes or so and then disconnected.
I now am trying an hour later. (hoping they;ve got it together enough to answer phones.) WRONG. same thing happened.
I don’t know why I come back to this place. Every time I go here I leave frustrated.

Dr. Becker is the only dermatologist I trust. I have had other doctors write off my skin conditions as not being a big deal. Dr. Becker understood my concerns and gave me options for treating them. He has also been super helpful in treating my family too. He is the only person I will go to for my skin care concerns.

I went to Dr. Becker to have him look at a mole that seems to be getting bigger. I wanted to have it checked and potentially removed. But figured getting it checked first would be the smart thing to do.
His ‘biopsy’ of the mole was actually to do a scrape removal of the thing in a slap-​dash fashion. Even though I told him I don’t scar well he just trucked along and I kick myself for not slamming on the brakes and just getting out of there.
While my results came back negative, I now have a lump of a scar the size of a bullet hole where the mole had been.
My other question about something was just written off as general aging and a condescension that was not even hidden. I guess I wasn’t going in for any of the big money making procedures so I didn’t matter.
Because you know what happened after I saw him? Even though when I signed up saying I didn’t want any communication from the office. Yup. Email spam for a whole bunch of expensive procedures.
If you’re looking for a dermatologist, do not see Dr. Becker. He’s well past his ‘sell by’ date.

I have seen both Dr. Engel and Dr. Zimmerman several times and have been exceedingly pleased each time.
Both are extremely knowledgeable, thorough in their explanations and have a warm friendly demeanor about them.
If I had to choose between the two, I’d give the nod to Dr. Zimmerman.
The office is ran very professionally and efficiently. I did not have to wait more than 5 – 10 mins in my room after my scheduled appt. time. The girls that work the front desk are very pleasant too.

I have been a patient of Dr. Becker for over 30 years. I have seen him for everything from Melanoma to acne to cosmetic procedures. I first went to him because he was recommended by my doctor at UCSF as the best skin cancer doctor in the east bay.
My kids and extended family also go to various doctors in the practice and have always been treated very well. Yes, sometimes there are long waits. Yes sometimes Dr. Becker seems hurried. But more often than not he will provide thoughtful recommendations and careful procedures (both surgical and cosmetic). And yes, I’ve had many of both.
His office staff has always been wonderful to me and my family. Not sure why so many one star ratings. Over time, his office earns my 4 stars!!!

WHEELCHAIR USERS: Please be advised that Ed Becker’s office isn’t the most accommodating place to be. I never got a chance to check out the bathroom but please read on for other info.
I used to see another doctor in Dr. Becker’s office (Christine Jacobson) back in 2007 – 2008 or so. The waiting room and the exam room seemed crowded. Dr. Jacobson was very kind and knowledgeable but I never liked the way I was treated by the other staff. I just dreaded going to this place but since they have such a good reputation I decided to come back here in November 2013 as I have a new skin condition to address.
Be advised that the front door to the building doesn’t seem to have a button that operates the door. If you want to go here and have trouble with doors like I do, call them to see if there is a button for another entrance. Also, I would advise them ahead of time to make space in the waiting room and an exam room for you.
When I first got to this office the receptionist didn’t even acknowledge that I was waiting (I use a wheelchair) in front of her desk to be checked in, and then after checking in she told me to «find a seat.» This tiny waiting room is full of chairs, two end tables, a curio cabinet and a chest– no spot for a wheelchair. A *patient* had to move a chair out of the way so that I would have a place to be. Other than that she (previously mentioned receptionist) supposedly tried to help me locate my medi-​care number on the social security website as I’ve never received a card, but was unable to. Another employee told me that just to be seen by Melissa Pattee (the physician assistant working for Dr. Becker) it may cost up to $ 85.00 and then there may be additional costs if they have to perform a procedure. Twice while I was in the waiting room, two different sets of employees were whispering, making faces at each other and laughing. I found this to be fairly immature and unprofessional.
I told them that I would find a different office and without even being seen I left.

This place is awful! They screwed up billing my insurance twice now, and I have driven to the office because they are so horrible with answering their phone. Just got another call today… And they didn’t leave a message so god knows what they screwed up this time. I’m constantly worried they are going to send a bill to collections claiming they couldn’t get a hold of me. I will not be back to this place… Such a shame, I loved the idea of having all the cosmetic dermatology options in the office.

well, I wasn’t going to review. but here I am… My son has been to this office on and off for a few years, the office staff has consistently been rude and snobby. I agree with other Unilocalers, wait time is crazy, and once I was 10 minutes late and we called (we live in Brentwood) we were treated even worse than usual! The NP has always been efficient and rooms clean.
My daughter and I both need to get a mole removed, so out of simplicity, I asked our PC Docs to send the referrals to Dr. Becker, so we can all see the same MD. Well, after having to ask my doctor twice to submit the referral (because Beckers office couldn’t find), calling multiple times to check status of referral — final straw– being on hold for over 20 minutes, during that time, pulling up the Unilocal reviews — I decided — this is a sign, to hang up and go elsewhere.