Scripps Coastal Medical Center Carlsbad - Carlsbad, California

Pamela E.

The best healthcare I've ever received in my life has been at Scripps. My kids' doctor at Scripps is also amazing. Dr. Michael Varon in particular is so thoughtful and knowledgeable; I never feel rushed out of the room and he's very empathetic. Same for Dr. Randi Rupp (at a separate Scripps location). I've also had great experiences using Scripps' urgent care and labs at this location. Overall very grateful for quality care from a not-for-profit health system!

Walter D.

I had to do a series of X-ray for upcoming surgery. I tried Scripps Hospital Encinitas and it was extremely busy and I found that they do not take appointments. I asked if it was always so busy and was told hit and miss. It seems it would make more sense to take appointment so they could control the flow better.
If you were getting blood work at most Scripps facilities they do appointments or walk-in. I always make an appointment because even as retired I am pretty busy.
The person at the desk gave me a list of other facilities Scripps had for Radiology and noticed there was one in Carlsbad on Salk Av which was actually closer to my house.
While they do not take appointments there were only two people in front and I only waited 10 minutes.
The tech was terrific being very careful to keep my discomfort at a minimum seeing I was in pain.
I feel this is a great option as there were very few people waiting but really think they could control flow better making appointments, as I realize I actually lucked out arriving at a slower than usual time.
Beware of one thing. The address is 2176 Salk Av Carlsbad CA and both my car GPS and my phone showed I had arrived. While I could see the large building on the hill to my right there appeared no way to get to it. I had come from El Camino Real and found you need to keep going a 1/3 of a mile and you find a road that winds up to the building on your left. There is a large sign but you need to keep going after the GPS says you have arrived. At first I made a U-turn but found not way to reach the building. I then headed back on Salk Ave and found the entrance.
In the waiting room I asked those waiting and everyone who was there for the first time said they had the same problem find it.
The people at the desk were very polite and helpful. While I saw complaints about this location I feel they were very professional and helpful. I just wish I could book an appointment like you can for other tests at Scripps locations.

Brianne E.

I have come to get all my labs here for a few years and have not had any issues, but I have had two unfortunate situations recently so I felt the need to write a review. I am 28 weeks pregnant and had to come in for a 3 hour glucose tolerance test, the nurse, Arlene, had me drink the full 100g glucose drink and forgot to take my fasting blood prior to me drinking the drink, so I was sent home with no apology or acknowledgment of the mistake by not only her, but also the front office where I tried to reschedule an additional appointment. I had to take time off of work to get in for this test and would have expected the care team to at least apologize for the mistake, not to mention, if you have ever done a glucose tolerance test, they are less than ideal or comfortable so to get through the entire drink for nothing was disappointing.

Darius H.

Doctor was late by almost 45 minutes.

They successfully tricked me and charged me for a service that I explicitly requested for no out-of-pocket charge. They claimed they had an internal tool that can check your insurance against what services are covered.

I explicitly asked to only have services that are covered under insurance and do not cost me anything out-of-pocket. They will use deceptive and careful wording to avoid a lawsuit saying that something that is "covered" just means your insurance covers it, but not that there won't be an out-of-pocket cost. However that fails under investigation because I explicitly also stated that I do not want services rendered that cost anything out-of-pocket.

C

My experience yesterday was the final straw with Scripps Coastal in Carlsbad. I have never been able to see the same doctor since becoming a patient in 2019. I came in yesterday after having been sick for approximately 7 days. I went to urgent care on day two of my sickness to test for flu/COVID-19 and those tests were negative. The urgent care doctor informed me that I had a viral cold that was going around and that it would peak on day 3 or 4 and return if symptoms got worse, which they did. I go to urgent care whenever possible because of the lack of care I receive when coming to Scripps. I presumed that I was feeling unwell because my cold had transitioned into a sinus infection due to the obvious symptoms. Claire, the PA, and MPH, that I saw was patronizing from the moment she came into the room. I told her how ill I felt, and explained the symptoms I was experiencing. She seemed to be irritated upon arrival and was very dismissive. She began shaming me for not having current bloodwork and a physical for over a year at this practice. She was looking in my chart and questioning me about an appointment with a different doctor, regarding something completely irrelevant to this appointment. She asked if I had scheduled an appointment for that matter, to which I responded yes. She didn't believe me because she then responded with "Well, when is it then?". When I responded with "It is upcoming this month", she responded with "Well what day is it". While I was searching my calendar, she finally found the date in the system but made sure that I told her the exact day I had scheduled as if I was lying. Then, I continued trying to explain how bad the symptoms had got and she started commenting on how I needed to stay after this appointment so that someone could come in and give me a physical and a breast exam since I was too past due. I responded by saying "I'm not doing that today because I do not feel good". In my mind, if someone comes in presenting sinus infection symptoms it is not appropriate to insist they stay even longer to get a routine physical and breast exam while feeling ill. She then went on to shame me for seeing a different doctor at a different practice, for an entirely different issue because the labs that they had taken were not up to her standards. She made me pull up the Scripps app and stand directly over me so that she could see that I emailed her a copy of the labwork that my other doctor had ordered. After her interrogation regarding the other issues, which I did not come to Scripps for in the first place, I continued to try and explain how bad I felt. She eventually told me that she was prescribing me antibiotics but not to take them for an additional two days. Later, I called the pharmacy and they informed me the prescriptions were not received and to contact the doctor to make sure they were sent. I emailed her and never got a response. Her "care" was unprofessional and her bedside manner was terrible. I went to my car and sat there and cried because this is the reason people don't come to the doctor. They are made to feel bad about themselves and completely dismissed. I will be finding a new practice for primary care to move myself and my family to because I am fed up with this treatment every time I go to this office. Claire is very pretentious and would benefit from getting off her high horse when a patient is trying to explain how they feel.

Holly W.

GREAT staff: receptionists, nurses and doctors! Professional, friendly and take time to actually listen.

Gladys P.

My primary doctor Stacy Ly is amazing. And I'm very impressed with Christine Pritchett NP she's awesome. She's very smart and caring. I'm very happy with both of them. Thank you so much to both of you.

Jane F.

I see Dr Shapero and he is phenomenal, very knowledgeable and to the point. He genuinely has your best interests at heart.