Irvine Medical Center Pharmacy

I was a loyal patient of Dr Gersh and then with the switch from taking insurance to cash, the place when downhill - fast. I went once after the chance and there was no one waiting. I asked the nurse if this due to the change, she said it was terrible, no one was making appointments. I found that service suffered too. I was seen my a doctor who could barely speak English and then I was charged $340 for a 5 minute exam. I tried to claim back on my insurance, but I was told that the charges were far in excess of what was allowed. I tried a second visit, but I left after waiting 40 minutes after the appointment time, despite being the only person in the waiting room. It's a shame, but when Doctor's get greedy, its the service to the patients that suffers. more

I have been a patient with WMG since it's inception. I've watched a gradual reverse metamorphosis from the butterfly back to the cocoon. Dr. Gersh writes a beautiful newsletter suggesting that perhaps its time for her to focus her energies on journalism rather than a medical practice. Over the years in good faith and without reservations I referred at in excess of 10 individuals because I truly believed in the quality of their practice. To the last one each of my friends has become equally disenchanted by the "new" profile of the Group. Sadly I join the ranks of the "been there done that" in search of the elusive butterfly of caring female medical practitioners. more

Each time I go it's more tests....when I questioned the amount I was billed I was told that the decision to have the testes where mine...and I was not obliged to do the testing!!! I was speechless. When your dr. sets you up for tests...don't you do them.... Interestingly all tests came back normal..and I've heard this is how they "pay the bills". I have moved to another Dr. in town and just love their caring and professional manner. No more Woman's Medical group for me. more

I was shocked to see what people had written about this practice. I have been going there for years - yes I even survived the switch to cash - and I have not had a bad experience. Far from it actually. On many occasions I have even been able to make appointments on the same day or for the next day. They are always really accommodating and answer all of my questions. I have never waited for more than 15 minutes and then got to spend an hour with the doctor! When they first switched over to cash I tested out an in network office and ran screaming from the office (not literally of course!) when I waited for 45 minutes and then was sent away after a ten minute visit! I will never doubt WMGI again. The financial problem is minimal and not really a "problem". The quality of care definitely makes up for any paperwork inconvenience. I think that anyone who had a bad experience should give the office another shot and new comers should not be deterred. The office is really great. And no... I don't work there (since other people are so suspicious). more

Just not the place for quality medical care. Their prime interest is the $$ and how many tests they can convince you to take. This practice used to be wonderful.....it is more interested in giving botox and skin rejuvenation then tending to the womans medical needs. With so many fine Drs. located here in Irvine...I can't help but think any practice would be better than this one. Dr. Gersh has lost her way Rose R. more

The Becky M. sure smells of somebody who works at Womens Medical Group. I went to another local Dr. and she said Dr. Gresh should be ashamed of herself for the way she has treated patients. Sharon more

i agree with M.L. unnecessary tests and re-visits suggested (verging on harassment). what should have been a small bill is now enormous. very disappointed. more

I have been a patient at this practice for several years and believe that it is the best medical practice in the area. I get amazing personal attention and fabulous care. Dr. Gersh and the other doctors are the most intelligent and up-to-date physicians I have ever seen. If saving money is your only concern, don't go to them as they do charge for their services (fairly). But at least you can get in (even Saturdays) and get great treatment and personal attention, and for me that is worth a lot. more

Oh My Gosh..... This practice has gone from bad to worse. It's disappointing..because they started probably 17 years ago in the right direction..and took a WRONG turn. Accounting is a mess....had to straighten out my daughters bill twice!!!.and was even offered a job to help fix accounts. If you want Botox..that;s probably the place for you..if you have medical needs..there are other fine Doctors here in IRvine....with terrific practices. Nancy J. more

I had been going there for many years and was happy until they cancelled ins. The costs x3 up . Also they claim less waite time and more time with pat...not true. They actually called me to ask if I could come in 1 hour later I said no because I couldn't change my work schedual, well when I came in they just made me wait an hour! They push cosmetic pro. Mult. visits & unecess. tests. the good thing is I found another good DR. in the area and she has been getting Gershs ex-patints and finds it disgraceful more

I have been going to Dr. Gersh since 1990 and she was a wonderful Dr. I had a couple of surgeries and had complete faith and trust in her. Since they cancelled ins the waite time is still long, they mislead you about the costs, a $15. copay for me turned into a out of pocket $150.bill. They are more into the cosmetice proceedures than medical issues. Also the claim that their charges are the same as what the ins allows is not true. After reviewing my statements she actually raised her fees! more

This medical group so claims they care about their patients and provide excellent care.. I totally disagree with the claim and i believe although "the office staff are very friendly so is everyone else in the country" this office only cares about collecting money from patients. Good customer service isn't about keeping a smile on the staff's face it's about keeping the smile on the patients' face and they can't really do it. They are very poor at problem solving and I do not recommend this office to any woman that's looking for good customer service or excellent care. First, charges weren't clearly explained second, i was prescribed an med. that's been discontinued and the cost of the med. is $300 thank God it was discont. coz the alternative was $10 .. the target pharmacist was shocked!!!!!!!!! Third, it takes forever before i can speak to someone who knows what she's talking about finally, they send lab works to different labs without the consent of patients then I start receiving bills from total stranger and the justification is "health care is expensive and it's the case with everyone.. sorry there's nothing we can do." WORST SERVICE EVER I am very disappointed at the service and the staff and i don't recommend it to ANYONE more

It's true. Dr. Gersh and her partners at Women's Medical Group of Irvine are now seeing patients on Saturday!! If that's not attending to the patient's needs, I don't know what is! And not only am I able to schedule my appointments on the weekend, the care is unbeatable. I've always hated visits to the doctor, but going to WMGI feels more like pampering that prodding. I got to spend nearly an hour with Dr. Gersh and she was so patient answering all of my questions. I've been going to Dr. Gersh since I moved from the East Coast three years ago. All of my doctors back home were cash-only, so I wasn't surprised or upset when the practice canceled its insurance contracts. The cost differential isn't that huge and the paperwork takes a few minutes. I suppose that it might seem like a headache for people who've never had to send in their own superbills, but it just doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me. When I choose a doctor, my priority is excellent care and that's that! I highly recommend Dr. Gersh and Women's Medical Group of Irvine. You won't be disappointed!! more

I loved my visit to Dr. Gersh's office. The staff are all so friendly, the waiting time was minimal, and I got to spend 40 minutes with the doctor (unlike other offices where I've waited for over an hour to be seen only to be rushed out after a few minutes!). I also just received their monthly newsletter and learned that they're now offering Saturday hours! This practice is really tailored to meeting the needs of their patients. Recently Dr. Gersh canceled the practice's insurance contracts. Yes, it meant that I had to spend an extra 5 minutes of my life mailing in my own paperwork, but it's not a big deal! The cost of my visit is going toward my out-of-network co-pay and it wasn't even that expensive! I pay more on utilities and I care far more about my healthcare than I do about my cable tv access!! Plus, even if they were in-network, I'd end up paying the same for multiple visits and time off work. This way, I can just come in and take care of everything all at once. People on this message board seem really upset about the insurance issue, but it's really not a big deal. For excellent care and wonderful people, I'd pay an extra couple bucks!! I've recommended this practice to my sisters and all of my girlfriends. more

I have been a patient with Womens Med Group for many, many years. I have seen it deteriorate to the "salon medicine" it is now practicing. They are all about the money...no question about it. All of the "long" time Doctors, as well as at least one NP have moved on. After it was suggested that I have a costly test, I was told by someone in accounting (she was a personal friend) that the Drs. and NPs have been advised to bring in more revenue by having patients tested for things they could test using in house equipment. I was advised to remember that just because it's suggested....doesn't mean I have to do the testing..which btw, was NOt covered by my insurance. I have been trying to get a reimbursement from them for over eight months. I paid cash when they told me my insurance would not cover a procedure. I submitted the bill, which I had a difficult time getting, to the insurance company and they paid the Dr in full. THis all transpired BEFORE they dropped their insurance contracts. To date I have not received this payment...but have a call in to let them know I will be there in person to pick up the check. That has worked in the past!!!....They don't want upset patients letting others know how business is being conducted. There are so many fine Drs in this city....this group is NOT a place I would recomend. Jeannie O. more

This is in response to Beck M. defending there choice to go "Private" - Consider the insurance premiums that we pay every month out of our paychecks to have insurance - There are quite a few families out there that pay monthly to have insurance. Not all companies pay for full coverage / or for families. So not only are they paying hundreds (Blue Shield for a patient in there 30's/single $200 - $300 ish) a month and lets not forget about the deductible and the prescriptions cost and the mileage and time off of work - now WE have to fork out another $120 (cost of office visit not including the other costs for blood work or what ever else needs to be done to make you healthy - upfront) only to get hassled by the insurance company and the doctors office for reimbursement. This is not a position that the average PATIENT should have to deal with let alone will know how to deal with it. The whole reason to going in to see the doctor is to feel "TAKEN CARE OF" - sorry but this is not being taken care of. It is really easy to write reviews on the internet because you don't have to identify yourself. I am in hopes that your response is out of being a true patient and not one of the administration staff defending her job (don't mean to offend you). I am a patient of actually 3 doctors in that office and I run the Human Resource department in my job and I also now how insurance works. You are correct about in network vs out of network costs and even when I received the letter to go private automatically grabbed the most recent bills to compare. The doctors and insurance companies have created this mess to suit themselves and lets not forget about insurance fraud - and now we (the ones that just want go about our business) are stuck in the middle. This is NOT the solution!! It is easy to raise you hand and say I don't want to deal with it. But who cares. THIS SHOULD BE ABOUT THE PATIENTS - If you found out you had cancer (GOD forbid) and now you have to deal with the insurance company on top of it - How would you feel!!!!!!! more

I have been coming to Women's Medical Group for nearly 10 years. Although the office has been busy, and appointments are sometimes scheduled out a bit far, I feel that the quality care I receive from the providers NP, as well as MD is well worth the little wait time. The office has always been very timely with returning calls and answering any questions I may have. They now have a new policy which requires rates upfront, but the new rates are competitive with the area. I've looked around and they are the most reasonable I've come across. Also, I read a comment on here about the insurance reimbursement rates, I work with insurance billing, the rates have been reduced to nearly what the insurance company pays, and since the doctor's are no longer contracted, they aren't contracted to the "preferred provider's" rate. So let's say that your insurance company reimburses a preferred provider at 90% and an out of network provider at 70% and the visit is $120.00 which is roughly $85.00 they will reimburse you, so you're only out of pocket is $36.00. If you look at some insurance plans, there are high deductibles which your out of pocket isn't changed by this. Could you imagine if you worked for two weeks, and on Thursday you went into your job, your boss said, "Oh, we've never received your hours, please be sure to include this this and this, and we'll reprocess your request for your paycheck." That ends up making you wait an additional two weeks, and at that time, the same miss-hap happens again. Wouldn't this frustrate you, especially when you remembered when you were paid in a timely fashion. Now waiting for 6 months for that one paycheck doesn't sound too reasonable does it? Imagine going through that, for EVERY claim submitted to insurance companies, it's not that Dr Gersh is money hungry, she has a very large staff to think of, as well as her providers. I have been to the practice since the changes to with the insurance contracts, and the ladies at check out provide you with everything needed to submit the claim, also giving you information on whom you should contact if a problem should arise. I think their quality of care provided as well as the loving-feel they give is well worth a little extra out of pocket expense. more

this medical practice is more concerned with taking every dollar of insurance or cash i have than providing care. they order unnecessary tests, unnecessary revisits, and code visits to allow maximum possible reimbursement. the billing office is rude. they pressure all patients to have a credit card on file so they can bill you if insurance does not pay within 5 days...ridiculous! i have had conversations with 2 nurse practitioners who told me they were leaving because they were asked to follow billing practices they did not think were "right". i will never return to this group. Dr Gersh, you should be ashamed of yourself for financially taking advantage of your patients and their insurance companies! more

This is the worst group I have ever been to. The doctors overmedicated me and could not solve my very simple issue, and their billing practices were terrible. I have found a new, much better place to go and will not be returning to Women's medical group of Irvine. more

This group houses many doctors, obgyn, general, endocrinologists, etc. Sadly, the group is one of the worst run medical groups I have ever seen. Getting an appointment is nearly impossible and they always try to get you to see a "nurse practictioner" instead of the doctor. Their new financial policy requires every patient to leave their credit card information on file to be charged within 5 days of contacting your insurance company. It's a joke. Plus, they have too many patients to get any type of personal care. Trust me, I won't be going back. more