Berkeley Family Practice Medical Group

Great expertise and friendly doctors and staff. I will hold off the star for the horrible horrible music they torture you with in the waiting area.
Please stop the awful music.

I’ve been visiting Berkeley Family Practice Medical for at least 25 years, having lived nearby. Dr. Fitzer, I like him. One doctor seemed competent but asked me ***with a sneer*** if I’ve ever heard of exercise (well, yes, until I damaged my achilles. I don’t think she’s with the practice any longer). At one point, Dr. Mehta said, «You should see the same physician regularly» rather than seeing whoever in the office could see you, which was typically on the same day as needed (my usual style). So I switched to seeing only her, then discovered she’d left, only by making a new appointment. I’ve now seen Dr. Julie Goo several times. I think she is the one who cured my vertigo in 10 minutes, much to my amazement. She is caring, gives you ample time if you need it, and is the only doctor I’ve had who gave me a big hug when I was having some hard moments. I plan to continue the relationship, unless I come to the point where I’d prefer a primary doc who specializes in geriatric stuff – yep I’m headed that way. The waiting room is nothing fancy – ok, it’s a bit shabby – and the staff is crammed into a bit of a triangle, but I’ve always had absolutely reasonable service. Neighborhood parking is easy enough.

I recently had the good fortune to come to this wonderful group for my primary care. My doctor, David Fields, is everything one would want in a caregiver, and more. He is kind, thorough, knowledgeable, and VERY present. With each visit I have had, he has taken the time to hear my concerns, answer my questions, give encouragement, and even add humor when appropriate. He is a gem. I also want to compliment the very well organized office staff, the Physicians’ Assistants, and everyone in the office. I have been made to feel that everyone there cares about the welfare of all of the patients. To make it even better, all of my records, lab tests, etc. are now available to me online, so that it is very simple and clear to make appointments with any doctor or specialist, or for any lab tests. This group puts the «CARE» in health care.

I have been going to Berkeley Family Practice for the last 10+ years and find Doctors Goo, Fields, and Fitzer to be very competent, with good bedside manners, and the ability to diagnose odd medical problems. I’ve been seen when I was truly ill and had no appointment. This staff of doctors goes the extra mile to see that you get the best care and referral as needed. The office staff has always been polite to me – I’ve never had a problem. The PAs and medical assistants are kind and do their jobs well.
If they replaced the distressed furniture in the waiting room and and doctors’ offices, I would give them a 5.

Starting with the good: I saw Dr. Goo and I really liked her and she’s great. I’d give Dr. Goo 4.5 stars for sure.
The end.
It took 6 weeks for an appointment here (though they did offer to have me see an RN or PT or something). While waiting for the doctor I saw that they recently stopped offering yearly ladybit exams which is unfortunate because I was hoping to not have to seek out yet another dr. for that. I had to play phone tag for days to get my referral faxed over, partly because they frustratingly have no way to leave a message if you call after business hours and I often didn’t have a chance to call at other times.
Touching on some of the other reviews:
–I’d say ‘outdated’ is a very generous term for the office. It’s dim, dingy, disorderly… it looks like the house of your significant other’s relative that you’re uncomfortable visiting. Honestly, if they spent a few $$ at ikea and added better lighting, it would be so much better.
–It’s not just the office. My exam room table was so old it was torn in several places and yellow foam peeked out. It’s not the biggest deal but it certainly hurts my sense of comfort and faith in their abilities.
–I’ve not had any problems with billing, so there’s that.
I mean, listen. Maybe it’s unfair to knock a place so much for cosmetic problems. Or maybe it’s unfair that my insurance doesn’t cover offices that have transitioned to 2015.

I’ve had continual issues with this office and they’ve showed a degree of incompetence that frankly seems as if it were straight out of a comedy.
They’re late in responding to basic requests from my pharmacist for a refill, they rarely answer the phone, and they’ve refused to refill my prescription without offering a reason why on multiple occasions over the past several months. The first time that occurred, I was told that I was late paying a bill I’d never received because it was not only sent to the wrong address, but it was also addressed to the wrong name.
After resolving that debacle, which took weeks and during which they also mistakenly sent exam results to the wrong address (showing a disregard for patient privacy and a lack of any sort of attention to detail) I’ve now found out that, yet again, my prescription cannot be refilled. This was after my pharmacist, who also became quite frustrated, contacted them 2 – 3 times last week with no response before finally receiving a refusal to refill. And again, I’ve not received any contact or information about this from the Berkeley Family Practice Medical Group or my primary, Dr. Fields.
I’ll be looking for a new doctor.

I’ve been going to Berkeley Family Practice for about a year and a half now and have had a great experience there thus far.
Their office is a bit outdated (old carpets, thin sliding doors, and paint colors that look to be from the 80s when pastels were in) but their office staff, nurses, and doctors are attentive and sharp. I’m currently a patient of Dr. David Fields who used to work at Kaiser Permanente. He is well-​versed with their computer system and is open to communicating with patients via the Sutter online system that’s secure and confidential — which makes asking questions easy. He’s even great at following-​up after test results have come in or if you’ve seen a Specialists within the Sutter network.
I’ve had a long and winding health history and have been prescribed many drugs and treatments for ailments and illnesses. Dr. Fields has always been thorough when I come in for a visit and asks a wide range of questions and allows me to also do the same. He’s open to alternative forms of treatment and has even encouraged me to seek natural treatment like taking vitamins, etc. instead of loading me up with prescriptions.
I’d give BFP 5 stars if their office was updated and if they took walk-​in appointments. Overall, great experience and great doctors and staff!

Shady billing practices, said they were in network for my insurance but were dishonest. Also, Dr. Fields is the worst. Especially for transgender patients. Not recommended.

Grandma & grandpa used to see Dr Julie Goo at this clinic. They liked the doctor & her care but the staff & billing is absolutely horrible! Grandpa was sent to get a specific x-​ray & the insurance staff person at the front confirmed that it will be covered by insurance & to our surprise it wasn’t & grandpa was billed $ 800 for it. This is more than what he gets a month! Not only did they mess up then, they also charged both grandma & grandpa for a missed doctor’s visit, charging each close to $ 100! They didn’t even call them to remind them about their appointment (mind you these are people in their 80s) but were quick to charge them for not showing up. My husband has called multiple times & left messages to the billing department about this but no one has bothered to call back. I DON’T recommend this place to anyone! And if you have family members who are senior citizens please keep track of their billings, it’s really sad that they do this to old people.

I’ve been going to Berkeley Family Practice for approximately 30 years. One doctor and nurse practitioner no longer there misdiagnosed me and the other failed to tell me that I had strep. I found out 3 weeks later. The staff in the front used to be so rude and not helpful at all.
After Dr. Fitzer took over everything changed for the better. I highly recommend Berkekey Family Practice now. Dr. Fitzer is a great doctor. He’s kind, has a good sense of humor and goes out of his way to help me. The staff in the front are so helpful and understanding and know what they’re doing. Thank you Dr. Fitzer and Stephanie and Rochelle.
Berkeley Family Practice gets 5 stars.

I’ve had 2 physicians leave suddenly from this practice; no one bothers to tell the patients.
I called today to have an emergency Rx filled, and was told it would take a day for a doctor to write his/​her signature. Hours. That’s some sloooow signature writing.
The clinic looks old and dirty, the doctors wear dirty coats and look somewhat homeless sometimes, or like they’re going to a disco.
Weird place, terrible office management.

All of their equipment is old. The doctor came to see me in dirty scrubs. He didn’t read anything from my chart, and therefore didn’t know I was on medication and running a fever. He asked me «why are you here» and then continually asked about drug and alcohol use even though I had already filled out «No» on those sections in my paperwork. Do not go here

I’ve been a patient here for years and have generally had good experiences until recently.
In 2014 I think their service dropped in quality considerably — communication has been very poor and they’ve changed practices and policies without notifying me.
For example, recently I found out from the pharmacist that they’d put a hold on one of my meds because they want me to do bloodwork — did they tell me? No. Did they send me any kind of reminder to do bloodwork? No.
When i called them, they said they’d send me the paperwork to bring to the lab. Now they’ve left a message on my home phone (rather than call me at work, so now it’s too late to call them back) saying they’d sent the authorization «to my lab»??? I’ve used a different lab each of the last several times, so where did they send it? I thought I was allowed to choose?
VERY POOR COMMUNICATION ALL AROUND!!!

If I could rate 0 out of 5 I would. I dont even know where to start. Let me say I never write Unilocal reviews. But my experience here has been so terrible that I’m inspired to write about it to help anyone who considers going here. PLEASE DO NOT GO HERE. This is a total case of Caveat Emptor.
To sum up my experience, I found the 2 doctors I saw at this establishment to be seriously incompetent, scatter brained, unorganized and unqualified. I also found the medical assistants and receptionists to be twice as incompetent (i.e. losing track of test specimens, unknowledgeable about insurance billing practices, and WORST OF ALL giving incorrect LabCorp locations. My medical treatment at this point was very time sensitive and specific (which is the case for many illnesses, possibly yours as well) I had to have immediate testing and medication. Instead of telling me there was a LabCorp location RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET I was given a sheet of paper that listed OUTDATED Labcorp locations that either didnt exist or had relocated elsewhere. I know this because I spent over an HOUR driving to Oakland and Albany during rush hour for nonexistent lab offices (instead of these geniuses telling me I could have just walked across the street) This delay forced me into a position where I had to take my medication before I got tested, which resulted in the tests essentially being inconclusive since the medication affects the results.
I found the medical assistants to be extremely ignorant and either inexperienced or plain incompetent. I got a call from one of the medical assistants, Stephanie, telling me the lab «lost» one of the test specimens. I inquired what she meant by «lost» and she said she would double check to make sure she «called the right lab»…I then get another call from her in which she tells me, «Oh actually yeah I found the right lab and turns out the sample isnt lost, your results are negative.» …Ok great… my question is, how the eff do you not know which lab my specimens are being sent to? why are you so disorganized? are there not internal controls that prevent this level of incompetency? Stephanie please get yourself together and do your job. Also, please learn your Celsius to Farenheit conversions as I know you mentioned during our consult that you dont know them… seems like a basic skill every medical assistant should know right? Maybe I’m just crazy.
Now, regarding the doctors.
I went to see 2 doctors at the practice, Doctor Aysha Zaman and Anup Desai at the last minute out of desperation because I didnt want to wait at an endless line at the hospital and I had just moved to the area so I didnt have a local primary care doctor. They had significant availability on short notice. This should have been red flag #1 to me. However given the circumstances/​symptoms I wanted to see a doctor, any doctor asap. As a future lesson I now know to see a doctor via referrals from friends and family ONLY.
Their office looked like a messy home, old furniture, and open boxes sitting out in the waiting room… this was weird. And unprofessional.
Doctor Aysha Zaman: I found her to be polite with good bedside manner though I seriously question how good she is at her job. I’ve done significant research on my potential diagnosis. The window for false-​negatives of the illness I was worried about is very specific. And the type of tests that she ordered generally take a long time for results. Which prompted me to ask about a taking a preventative medication that can prevent infection instead of waiting for the test results to take it… she didnt seem to know about this medication until after she excused herself from our appointment to «research it» Upon her return she tells me «Yes this is a good idea, I will add this to your prescription.» Dr Zaman, why did I have to tell you this? You should know this. I’ll say she did go to medical school in Pakistan… this combined with my direct experience with her make me seriously question how astute her medical knowledge really is.
Now onto the real failure of this so-​called medical establishment, Doctor Anup Desai. I found him to be without a doubt the worst doctor I have ever seen in my life. There’s a reason this practice was so easy to get an appointment at. NOBODY WANTS TO GO HERE. His lab coat was stained and his bedside manner was horrible (he went as far as cussing during my consult with him, saying word for word «Well as far as «ABC“disease, I dont know what the fuck to do about that» I find him to be mediocre but to his credit slightly better than Dr Zaman. Regardless he’s the type that doesnt really care about medicine, he’s in it for the paycheck.
I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH, go to a different medical practice, see different doctors. Only see doctors that you know through friends and family that have a solid reputation LESSON LEARNED.

I’ve been a patient here for years and have had nothing but great experiences. Waiting room time is always brief, the staff are efficient, the MAs are sweet and helpful, and the quality of care from the doctors is outstanding. My GP Dr. Zaman, an incredibly caring, kind, patient, and knowledgeable physician who always takes her time to ask great questions, really listen to the answers, and work cooperatively on courses of treatment. Highly recommended.

Update. Finally after a month of trying, I was able to get through to someone in billing. Despite the fact that the billing issue was indeed their fault I’m stuck paying a late fee, and probably getting my credit score docked since this has already gone to collections. This is a horrible business, and I can’t stress enough how far you should go to avoid them.
_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​
Dr Fitzer is great, but admin is horrible. Received bill for services not performed. Tried multiple times to resolve the issue, and never received a call back.

I have been a patient of Dr. Fitzer for over 5 years and think he is a wonderful M.D.
Much less is to be said about his billing office. I have been in good standing with his clinic and have never had issues with billing until now. Like reviews below, I too have had a horrible experience with Ferosa from the billing department.
I recently received a collections notice for Berkeley Family Practice and never received a bill from the office directly. I immediately spoke with a very kind women from the front office who tried her best to assist me, then transferred my called to billing.
After several left messages and visit to the office I finally came in contact with the office manager/​billing Ferosa. She is incredibly rude, aggressive, and unwilling to hear the reason for complaint. After finally interrupting and explaining the situation that a claim was never place to my healthcare provider. She promptly placed me on hold. When she returned she stated she would call me back before 5pm that same day.
Needless to say, she has still not called me back.
I am writing a formal letter to Dr. Fitzer in complaint and in hopes to clear up this billing mess.

I’m updating my review because the reason for the five stars was what I consider to be most important in a doctor’s office: always same day appointments and competent doctors. While I cannot say anything new about the doctors, that is because I do not know because they never have appointments available anymore. If you want an incredible urgent care/​Primary care experience, go to East Bay Family Practice Medical Group!

I don’t see why this place has such a bad rap. To me it is pretty good! I called early on a Friday not expecting to be seen until Monday at the least. They had an immediate opening that day with Dr. Mehta. Amazing! I head to the appointment, fill out the new patient paperwork, and waited for about 10 minutes. The medical assistant wasn’t anything to write home about, but really who goes to a doctor’s office for the medical assistants?
I see Dr. Mehta, who immediately orders a quick test and subsequent treatment (oh asthma how I loathe thee). I walk out with 3 prescriptions, AND a sample of the most expensive medicine because it has a coupon! I was thoroughly impressed with Dr. Mehta. She is thorough, knows her stuff, and puts you at ease with any issue. I do not hesitate to say that I would trust her with my life. I have been to a few doctors in my day, and she is definitely one of the best. Her bedside manner is impeccable. So, long story short, ignore the other reviews and see Dr. Mehta! She is worth any hassle you may (but probably won’t) have!

Heres the low down:
Appointment was for 12 oclock.
They asked me to show up at 11:30 to fill out new patient paperwork.
I finish that at 11:42 and they call me back into a room at 11:45.
Nurse immediately takes my vitals and at 11:50 the Doctor walks into the room.
ARE WE JOKING? THE DOCTOR IS EARLY?
I immediately told them they are gettting a stellar Unilocal review for something I have never ever witnessed in my life. I had booked myself out for hours thinking I’m going to be at the doctors and I was walking out of my appt at 12:15.
Doctor Mehtma immediately knew what was wrong (weird skin bumps from internal infection). It wasn’t like I had a cold. She was clear and conscise and to the point about what I needed to do and provided realistic alternatives. I love it when Doctors are so helpful and don’t treat you like a imbicile! She even brought out a book to show me exactly what I had and I could remember the name.
The front desk staff were helpful and friendly which is all I ask from someplace I never like to be– at the doctors.
Great job BFPMG. I’m now a returning client.