Bruce Stark, MD

It must be illegal, if not at least immoral, for a doctor to prescribe a controlled substance for anxiety and then deny a refill without warning.
This happened to us, when out of town for 6 days — pharmacy requested a routine refill a week before the trip, which the office ‘did not receive’. We called multiple times for an update as the current RX was running out — Dr Stark DENIED the refill request until he was able to see us. … knowing we were out of town AND had an appointment within 2 days of our return the following week!!!
It’s shocking that Dr. Stark denied a refill for a medication that he 1) originally prescribed, 2) has consistently approved refills for 2+ years with no question, 3) gave no notice or opportunity to come in (ie, «I will refill for this cycle but you have to come and see me within the next 30 days»), and disregarded the existing appointment within the next week — for a drug that, by not continuing as prescribed, is very serious and can cause seizures and hospitalization. !! What? That is truly pure negligence.
He didn’t even call to discuss his decision or our options, despite our multiple phone calls. His actions mean a very expensive trip to the E/​R in a different state, fingers crossed that the medication will be prescribed. The consequences of his denying the refill, which he was well aware of.
That said, be wary if you take medication that needs to be refilled each month. Staff doesn’t ‘get’ refill requests from pharmacies so it often takes a week + to gain approval for refill (not to mention they are rude and not helpful).
Do I trust Dr. Stark and his staff to care for your physical and mental well being? Based on our experience, absolutely not.

If you want to beat addiction and get out of or manage pain without without judgement or expectation that there is only one way every person reacts to substances then you should go see Dr. Stark.

Great doctor, saw him many years ago. Recently went back to him, he does care about his patients and always answers all my questions and concerns. Another great thing is that Dr Stark has it all in his office or at the center where he is located. No running around for blood test, MRI, Cat scans, X-​rays pharmacies, he has it all there.

I’ve been going to Dr. Stark for 17 years. It’s difficult to get an appointment with him, and his staff is rude and curt. Some are even incompetent. My lab results were lost twice. Once, ok. But twice? I waited a month (no exaggeration) to get my cardiology appointment scheduled by his office. During that time, I found another cardiologist and had a complete work up. While I like and respect Dr. Stark, I think there is much he can do to improve the quality of service, and he should start with his personnel. I am a loyal patient, but not when I’m dealing with mediocre and unfriendly office personnel, assistants and medical technicians.

I saw Dr. Stark for the first time last week when in need of finding a new internist. I was nervous changing to a new doctor but I liked Dr Stark from the moment I met him. He has great energy and a friendly bedside manner. Not only did he make me super comfortable, so did his nurse, Grace and his scribe, Helen. Grace knew by looking at me what kind of needle to use when taking blood and did so smoothly even when my vein was a PITA. Helen made it easy for me to share my history. Then, when needing help with prescriptions, Blanca, at the front was super nice and on top of everything. All in all, it was an excellent first visit. I am so glad to know I will be well taken care of by Dr Stark and his entire team.

I had a great experience. As usual, it took a little bit of time to go through the new patient process, but the staff was pleasant and helpful. Both the nurse and the scribe were intelligent and asked questions — and clearly communicated the information to Dr. Stark as he was able to come in with some understanding of where I was at.
Then, something I REALLY appreciate and have had a hard time finding happened. We talked. He asked about me, life and my ailments and listed to my response and personal history.
All in all — couldn’t be happier to have found Dr. Stark and his staff.

So heres the deal with this McDreamy. I have been a patient of his for more than a decade. He is a wonderful Dr., and human being. He is kind hearted and listens to you. For the complainers about waiting to see him, its because he is a good Dr. worthy of waiting for. He is NOT the type of Dr. Who will TELL YOU what to do UNLESS he feels what you are currently doing is not in your best interest. In my opinion his «specialty» above and beyond pain management & addiction treatment, is his compassion and understanding ability in «meeting you where you are» and being of service to you if he is able to help.

I have been seeing Dr. Stark for 18 yrs and I couldn’t ask for or find a better doctor

I love Dr. Stark, I’ve been seeing him for almost 4 years. I was referred to him after my primary physician died, I work in Santa Monica and have a PPO so I can go to anyone I want, I recently tried to find a primary doctor in Santa Monica so it would be more convenient but after three attempts of seeing highly recommended dr.‘s I was back fast at Dr. Stark. I love him b’c he does not push drugs, if your looking for your pain killer hook up look elsewhere. I also love his laid back demeanor, (which some people complained about, to each his own) it makes me feel more relaxed but that’s just me. Some of these reviews made me laugh when they were talking about his GQ dress or him wearing a bracelet, are you people serious, it’ s 2013, what he can’t wear a bracelet?! And he dresses normal, I work in entertainment so maybe I’m used to a little more flair, but people please, oh well again to each his own, but he’s a really good doctor

I was referred to Dr. Stark for my allergies. However, even though his office tests for allergies, he is NOT an allergist. Dr. Stark primarily deals in addiction and pain management.
My first couple of visits, I only dealt with his assistant, AnneMarie. She’s great. She would get a 5-​star review. She should go to medical school and open up her own practice.
After paying for a «super-​accurate» test, out-​of-​pocket, (because insurance wouldn’t cover it and I was desperate), I got results that were just insane. So I made an appointment to talk with Dr. Stark.
The doc is a totally laid back type of dude. Seriously. When I questioned the results, he told me that oh, yeah, the reason other doctors and insurance companies don’t accept that test, is because it’s totally not accurate. WTH? Why didn’t anyone tell me that BEFORE I spent two hundred dollars on it?
When I tried to discuss it further, he said he didn’t really know much about that test, and suggested that I go to a real allergist instead. When I mentioned that he was supposed to be the allergist, he told me he only dealt with addiction and pain management. Somehow, I wasn’t surprised. He reminds me of a grown-​up version of Jeff Spicoli.
He suggested I take the test again. When I balked at paying another $ 200, he told me that I should call the lab and talk to somebody there, and maybe they’d send me another test for free. And wouldn’t that be cool, to do the test again and compare the results.
Yeah, you know what would have been really cool? A referral to a «real» allergist to begin with. That would have been cool. Not wasting $ 200 on a useless test would also have been cool. A freaking refund of my money would be, like, triple cool.
The other thing he does is vitamin drips. So, I asked him if I should get one of those, figuring that least he should be able to give me some coherent input on that. He told me, nah, they’d have to poke me like, ten times, to get the IV started and I’d hate it, and he left.
If you’re dealing with addiction or pain, this is your dude. But if you’re looking for an allergist, keep on looking. Because it’s not Dr. Stark.

Do not go to see Dr. Stark if you depend on any perscriptions at all. His staff is incredibly rude when it comes to refills and takes upwards of two weeks to approve refills. I have been without my medication for 5 days because of him and when I called to figure out the hold up I got told that my presciption was «denied.» when I mentioned my withdrawl they seemed to not be concerned at all. Terrible medicine.

I have been Going to see Bruce for close to 15 years. I have watched his business grow and he has a passion for medicine. I trust his work and he is a cool guy. My only point of critisism is that he has gotten way too busy he may have lost a bit of that personal touch but over all he always comes through for me.

By now, I’ve had almost 4+ years of experience with many different pain management doctors — both because I had to switch insurance companies/​jobs at one point and, also because there are SO many incompetent docs in this field (as pain management is, admittedly, a very rough, complicated area of practice) Also, so many just want to load you up on pills, ever-​increasingly, instead of actually caring & seeking alternative methods or a long term kind of plan…
I went through that cycle more than a couple of times, was totally drugged up & throwing up constantly from the heavy meds, after being misdiagnosed for a herniated disc & arthritis that NO other doctor even previously found. So when I finally went to Doc Stark I was ready for change & for some help with the REAL problems. I’ve been seeing him exactly a year now, and I have literally been through hell and back… but: am BACK all thanks to him & his incredibly caring staff, procedures, attitude & alternative ways of thinking & getting YOU to change.
He looks at your pain holistically — not just in the traditional ‘treating the problem & not the cause’ coming from your injury or problem. Yes, you’ll probably have to wait a bit longer in the office, as he’s always packed w/​patients, but I’ve never waited more than half an hour for an appt. and that was just once. And yes, if you want some old, stodgy guy in a while lab coat who more resembles your grandpa — he’s not for you. Personally, I like that though — it makes me more at ease & comfortable & besides: so much of his clientele are artists, musicians (like myself) or in the ‘biz’ here in LA so he’s got a bit of that vibe going, but not in a negative, shallow way. To compare, I’ve also been to the LA Lakers’ pain management doctor before Stark, who was actually a lot older but really WAS the ‘bad LA’/cheesy Hollywood guy who was also a total quack (and, it literally was a 2 hour wait every appt.) because he would come out into the waiting room, see who out of us all was ‘most important’/wealthy/famous, and then proceed to take those actors (usually) or other ‘better than’ persons before me, right in front of me, and tell me that this person will only take 5 minutes… and keep doing it with everyone until I was the last person left! Even when I had a set appt… just a totally horrible jerk on top of a bad doctor who also told me he could heal my pain in 2 months (because I was still misdiagnosed, and he didn’t even want xrays or anything)…
Only relating that because you won’t get that with Stark, and I was very mistrustful at first. He might not look or act like your typical, conservative doctor which might throw you off if that’s what you’re expecting. He might come off as busy, ’cause he IS, but he’ll never neglect your needs & will totally listen to you, even if he’s running late — he has *never* tried to ‘shoo’ me out or cut me off or cut down my appt. time — I suspect that’s with everyone which is also why he is sometimes running a bit off schedule. And believe me: I’ve been in there crying from pain, or how rough it is dealing with stuff, general life issues etc. and he always LISTENS, suggests, is sympathetic, helpful. Because in the end: he CARES. He kind of reminds me of how a really caring, smart, attentive older brother might treat you — sure, we’ve butted heads a few times, but I’m glad. Because he’s open to my questions or opinions that I have too, and we still work it out.
After the hell I went through trying to cut down my meds (basically, detox — which he does too), get a holistic plan in place for de-​stressing, exercise, counseling, alternative healing methods in order to shy away from taking pills all of the time — I can honestly say that I haven’t been in such a better place in years, finally. He’s very multi-​dimensional and thorough in his approach (mind/​body/​spirit/​heart kind of thing) and he will always hold you accountable too, but with support.
As a previous reviewer said too: for me, he’s also funny & puts you at ease and has a casual approach that I personally love — because it helps you to focus more on the ‘positive’, even if you have to learn to live with your pain because its never going away, like I do, while still mapping out a plan of attack. His staff are also super lovely & sweet, knowledgeable persons too. Couldn’t recommend him more for someone long-​term, deeply caring, on the cutting edge of alternative methods, very experienced and a nice person on top of it all. His quirky personality & ‘look’ might not be typical or for everyone, and he does expect you to do *your* end of the work too… but, his methods are successful, he will always try to help you long term and/​or permanently (and not just send you away with pill bottles) and on multiple levels of your life. And when you get past any of the more shallow things that some others have commented on — isn’t healing & improving your life what truly matters in the end?

Waited almost 2 hours and I had to leave for another appointment before I could get in to see him. There wasn’t that many people there and two people who came after me went in before me. $ 200 for a routine visit isn’t economic at all either. It seemed to me like they are only concerned to get your money before the Doctor even gets the chance to see you. Not recommended at all.

Happy Birthday Bruce! Your the only Leap year Birthday baby I know.
From Harry’s daughter
Stephanie Goldstein Wilson

I am so impressed with Doctor Stark. He was kind, helpful and funny. He put me at ease instantly. Maybe it was the lack of «better than you» attitude I had been getting from so many Doctors lately. He listened, he was concerned. He did what needed to be done. We also talked church, tattoos and rock and roll. He even had a book on the shelf with Led Zeppelin on the cover. When I opened it, it fell to a pic of Dave Grohl. BEST. DOCTOR’S OFFICE. EVER.
The only reason I took a star off is that the front desk at this medical group is not terribly impressive. They were constantly talking about personal stuff while I had a long wait in the waiting room. They’ve also managed to not get in contact with Prohealth where I did my MRI. I’m waiting for some fairly serious results and it’s been over a week because they can’t get their act together. My husband and I have been doing the leg work for them. That’s not so awesome.

Well, I have been a patient of Stark“s for about a year now and I wish the power of money didn’t convert people from there main focus of helping people and making a living to greed of the American dollar. Apparently he has stooped to this level. After seeing the photo’s in his office of his family to the informative library of medical info he has. I had the feeling of real concern from him. But the lack of patient concern has blossomed too a new level. As having him as a primary physician, I have noticed Bruce of moving though patients visits at a break neck time limit. He refuses to return any phone calls, limit prescription refills to every other month (more doctor visits) and order excess procedures (that are not needed). He stresses that you need purchase a special priority patient program out side of the insurance programs he offers. He is asking for extra money (thousands!!!) to get more personal treatment services, phone access, access to his e-​mail address and priority appointment booking (without it, it takes 3 to 6 weeks to get in). Why must we allow doctors make there own rules. I spoke with the Medical Board and they said that they never heard of this type of fee but unless it becomes wide spread and enough people complain that there is no law against it at this time. This is American Greed at it’s finest. He obviously is at the top of his practice and will weed out the poor people that he services. Only the money will enter his office.
As if health care isn’t bankrupting a ¼ of the country. Let our voice be heard!!! You greedy bastard!!!

The first time i went he was wearing a lab coat just like most Doctors. Then on the second visit he was all GQ and dressed super nice and fashionable. Almost showing off. He had a large silver bracelet dangling from his wrist. I’m not saying Doctors have to look poor or humble, but professional.
Then I told him about my issue. He kinda let it roll off his back and said that i must of pulled something. Basically it seemed that I was just there for pain medication, so X-​rays, and a huge bottle of 800mg of IB profrien. Finally when he scheduled an MRI, we found something. He was nonchalant about the whole thing. Like I was bugging him with this boring oh so common problem.
Never going to Mr. GQ, doesn’t care, again.

Dr. Stark seemed like a smart-​enough and friendly-​enough guy when I went to see him one time while I was looking for a new doctor.
After sitting in the waiting room for too-​long, I was moved to a too-​hot examination room where I was left waiting too-​longer. Before he came into the room, I heard him chatting in the hallway with a nurse … nope, not about a patient or anything medical … just about casual stuff, wasting time, not caring that a patient with an appointment was kept waiting. Did I mention the hot room?
When we finally talked, he was «okay» but he seemed bored with my plan to find a new doctor. Maybe he’s better when you have a major ailment for him to solve, and … if you don’t mind waiting.

I had my first appt. with Dr. Stark last Thurs. My GP (see review on the incredible Dr. Martin Smietanka!) was the one who referred me, as I needed a pain management specialist.
I was immediately impressed with and put at ease by Dr. Stark. Talking to him was like talking to an old friend… I never once felt uncomfortable giving him the (long!) rundown of my medical history & could tell he was really listening and not preoccupied with how much time we had until his next appt. or anything else.
He’s funny, down to earth and very caring! He brought me hope that I haven’t felt in so long, to the point that I was almost literally SKIPPING out of his office door!!! I would fully recommend him to anyone needing a doctor who specializes in pain management and headache/​migraines (my issues) although he has many other sub-​specialities that are listed on the web link above.
Oh, and did I mention he’s pretty cute to boot? ;)~
P. s. His staff are awesome as well… especially his receptionist, Sharon. She’s super friendly, efficient and so helpful! (edit: Sharon is at his old office in North Hollywood. She is still amazing though!) :)