Citizens Medical Group

I walked in, place was pretty empty, clean. sat for an hour and 10 minutes for a drug test (urine) mind you. and I finally had to ask when I would be seen. I had to go… things to do.
When I walked away I heard the older women saying something to the younger receptionist in Spanish. if it was about me. I don’t really care. she should smile and be a bit more courteous, but the young man who had to take my urine sample. was a sweetheart. Super humble young man. he made my visit that much better, otherwise I would have given them 2 stars.

I have seen three doctors here, all were good or better for the problems I had, short waiting time. Will likely continue to come here as long as I am living in the neighborhood, easy place to visit and it feels like an old style family practice. I would recommend it.

Personable, caring, knowledgeable, efficient. The best place in the world for all general ailments… can’t recommend highly enough. Community medicine at its finest.

I arrived 5:01 they wouldn’t let me in. The close 5:30 doctor is arrogant and his staff is rude.

This Clinic is a asset to the community.
Dr. Van Tassell is great and the guy that removed my ear wax is an artist.
I have been to this clinic many time and they always take care of business.
THX!

In 2015 I got cheap (pretty crappy) health insurance. It was taken by Citizens Medical Group so I made Dr. Jaffe my primary care physician as they had good Unilocal reviews. Sadly every other doctor/​office that was covered by my insurance had very low ratings.
If, like me, you have insurance with not many doctors that will cover you this is a good option for an office. The office has parking, is clean and can handle very basic needs BUT I used to go to UCLA and this is definitely no UCLA… the walls are thin and you can hear everything that’s going on with the patient next door. The tools are outdated, for example their x-​ray is still printed not digital. The staff did not feel very professional to me. The 2 doctors are ok but they can only do so much. Like I said if you have a basic need they can handle it but as soon as you need something more specific you have to go elsewhere.

Walked in and got lucky with no wait. Saw Dr. Harris for a nasty lingering cough. The doctor was super nice and frank. The medicine he provided seemed to work wonders! I went from constant coughs to the occasional coughing which is a vast improvement for me. :)

The good:
+ Almost no wait.
+ Cheaper than other private offices in the area.
+ People were pleasant at the time of the visit.
The bad:
— Charged me for a preventative visit!
— Ordered lab tests I didn’t consent to!
I went for a routine physical test and they charged me for a medical visit! Insurance says there’s nothing they can do about it.
They ordered urea concentration lab test which wasn’t covered as a preventative test and the lab is billing me directly and threatening to take me to collections if I don’t pay.

Dr. Harris is an angel. I ran in to the clinic this morning in a panic and much pain. I was in-​an-​out — I have never experienced this at a doctor’s office before! It is always a little nerve wracking meeting a new doctor; these initial jitters were propounded for me by the pain I was experiencing. Dr. Harris immediately put me at ease and was so kind. He was able to quickly analyze my issues and gave me great advice. It was so comforting to be treated by a doctor who is not only knowledgeable and experienced, but has great bedside manner. The staff at the clinic were also wonderful. I highly recommended Dr. Harris and this clinic.

Very uncomfortable experience with Dr Harris. I am a young girl in my early twenties and I had to go to CMG as I was required to do a drug test to be bldg manager. Dr Harris made me feel very uncomfortable and uneasy. Thankfully he is not my Dr. I would never go back or recommended him to anyone.

This place is amazing! I’ve been in with Dr. Harris and Dr. Jaffe and they both are very sensitive and attentive doctors. The wait time has always been minimal, and the cost is very reasonable.
I would highly recommend this office to anyone I know!

Been here twice and there is no wait! They take our health insurance, no appointments needed, and were very nice! They didn’t have that cold «I’m too busy to care» attitude. Even on the phone, they are quite thorough and polite.
Plenty of metered street parking and a small free lot in the back.

So helpful! I went in on a Friday at 4:30 in a great deal of pain. No one rushed me or treated me like the last patient of the day. Front of the house staff so friendly and accommodating. Ana, Tony, and Peter were so helpful getting all of my information before Dr. Harris saw me. Dr. Harris did a thorough examination and got me on the right track to feel better ASAP. No long waits like other urgent cares. I was seen by a doctor within 20 minutes of arrival. Would recommend to everyone. Very clean and very smart doctors that you can trust.

Went here this morning for a quick check up and was pleased with the cleanliness of the facilities, the competency and friendliness of the staff and the brevity of my wait. Certainly recommend.

Physical therapy appointment time is a joke. The first time I came I waited 50 minutes even though I had arrived on time for my scheduled appointment. The evaluation was thorough… Only go here if you plan to spend an extra 30 – 60 min in the waiting room. The décor is old and depressing and it looks like it hasn’t been updated in MANY years. Same deal on my second visit. Arrived on time only to sit and wait… and wait… and wait… Still waiting…

Love this place and everything about it Brian, Tony, Laura and the doctors along with other staff members are great. Their a pleasure to be around and they see you in a timely manner get you in and out in no time their also gentle with there patients I’ve been coming here with my children since 93 and can’t see myself going anywhere else best place to come they’ve seen all my children from newborn until now and I’ve one that’s 20 so that just let you know that I’m devoted and love this office.

Fast. Efficient. Clean.
Three words to describe my experience here. I came in the other day with a high fever. I got in to see Dr. Harris within 20 minutes after filling out the forms, etc, and had a very thorough meet/​consultation. The Dr. called me after 36 hours to get me my results from my tests and was very helpful/​supportive.
If I’m ever in this area and need to see urgent care, I will come back here. They have their own private parking lot and the staff are also very nice.

First of all the waiting time is too long, especially when it’s emergency or you feel really bad. Our case wasn’t an emergency but still nobody wants to wait so long. My wife waited for 30 – 35 min. And it was only 2 patient in the clinic. First time I paid $ 85, nurse just mesured blood presure and temperature. The problem that we came was skin allergy and We wanted to know what was the cause. Then doctor said «I don’t know what it is, but I’ll give you prescription. If it will not help come back». Ok, my wife used the cream/​gel that he prescripted and it didn’t help, we came back, paid $ 75 again and all that he said was «I don’t know what it is, go to dermatologist». Really?! We came and paid just to hear «I don’t know»?!
In general, I didn’t like the whole experience. Feels like bunch of random people gather together, put on doctor clothes and pretending. All they want is money. Period.

This is a review of my visit with Jeffrey Harris.
The problem with CMG is that it LOOKS like a place you would go to get terrible medical treatment. The parking lot is a mess. The street is very… street-​y. The entry doorway is sorta lo-​fi. All of this pre-​disposes people towards a negative experience.
Note: I’ve had 5 major medical procedures in my lifetime in as many different hospitals, in addition to all the minor sprains, twists, molars, checkups, blah that comes with being a person. Point being I’m not… uneducated nor uninformed about clinic/​hospital procedure.
I filled out my form, which was blissfully short. Normally hospitals add another three to four pages of medical history, asking you to sign off on every single thing that has ever happened to you or your immediate relatives. They handled this verbally, which was a relief.
I waited for about…10 minutes? Max (no appointment.) Now, the tech who called me, I won’t lie, didn’t do a particularly great job. And having read a lot of the negative reviews, I thought «Oh this is where it goes bad.» It was a minor thing, it’s just that 99.9% of the time, the person who calls you back says «Mr./Mrs. [so-​and-​so]», and then they introduce themselves and explain who they are and that the doctor will be here to see you shortly.
This went more like «HEY PHIL!», and then while I was getting my blood pressure checked I asked him his name.
A minor thing, but… it’s so easy to do right that it’s a little weird when it goes wrong.
Anyway, other than that, the guy was informed, capable, polite, all that good stuff. It was just a jarring start.
—
Then Dr. Harris showed up and was intelligent, compassionate, he never felt rushed, was very thorough in explaining his evaluation, opted out of some treatments that he could have, in good conscience, recommended and made more $ but decided they weren’t necessary. I liked him, and I’ve had a number of doctors, and haven’t liked all of them.
So. There you have it.

I think this clinic is great. I went based on a friend’s recommendation, and was very happy.
* You can walk in, without an appointment, and get seen promptly.
* For those who are without insurance, they accept cash and the costs are reasonable. For myself, it was $ 85 for an office visit and $ 250 for a CT Scan, done at another office. I found this very reasonable.
* Dr. Brandis, he doctor I spoke to, is older, experienced, UCLA graduate, and friendly and helpful. When the results of the CT scan came up (negative) he called me within fifteen minutes. I had not even gotten home yet from the imaging clinic. That’s fast, and personal.
* On the negatives side, the interior decorating is clean but modest, just a basic medical office.
Contrast this with UCLA Clinic where my insurance used to send me:
* Going to a big government owned operation is kind of like getting medical care from the post office. Lines and anonymous treatment. When visiting UCLA I feel like a very unimportant cog in a very big bureaucratic machine. I really hate this.
* Random doctors are recent graduates without much experience.
* UCLA has a two level pricing policy. If you walk in and try to pay cash they will charge you three times the insurance price.
* The level of bureaucracy at UCLA is mind boggling. Appointments and referrals and waiting in the waiting room for an hour or more even if you have an appointment.
* If you want to to to a place with millions of dollars worth of fancy buildings, then UCLA is the place for you.
At the end of the day, a good experienced doctor is the prime goal and Citizens’ clinic wins here. Dr. Brandis, the doctor I spoke to, was great. The other doctors are all either American or Canadian and all seem well qualified. Check their website for more details.
If you want a good clinic with reasonable fees, or if you just want to go to a clinic where you can come in when you want to and not have to make an appointment five weeks in advance, then I’d highly recommend this place.