West Coast OB/GYN

I started going here for routine check ups and a couple of years later I ended up having emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy. I was initially sent home from the hospital after being told I had a ruptured ovarian cyst and an early viable pregnancy. I called West Coast two days later in severe pain and not knowing what to do. The male Dr. at this practice (I forgot his name and only spoke with him on the phone) told me to go to the hospital immediately, told me the hospital was wrong to tell me the pain I was experiencing could not have been from an ectopic pregnancy, and was the reason I went back that day. Dr. Chirico did an excellent job with my surgery and I met a few of the other Dr’s in recovery. Overall, all of the Dr’s are very knowledgable and friendly, minus one with bad bedside manners. I would recommend this practice to a friend.

The new office is really nice inside and out plus there is free parking outside. That is a huge plus. They seem pretty nice and professional here, my wife likes them

Terrible. I experienced most of my OBGYN care from this clinic up until 38 weeks, when I got switched to Kaiser Permanente Insurance (my husbands plan) for the new year. The difference in experience has been night and day. Kaiser is sooooooo much better and organized.
West Coast has many doctors and you don’t see one consistent doctor. It’s a new face each time and the vibe I get from the staff, nurses and doctors is so careless. You are just a number to them, and the nurses are bleh. Each Doctor I saw said something different and it was frustrating having to meet someone new each time for a new apt. Also, somehow I got recommended for two of the same, repeat, unnecessary ultrasound procedures at Sharp and Pregnancy Specialist. Then, after I came into West Coast and complained about the two ultrasounds and asked why I had to take two expensive ultrasounds, the doctor told me that I got «double-​whammied» (her words) by having had the same ultrasound procedure done, twice. How does that happen? Probably because they are very unorganized and careless – not to mention these «special» ultrasounds cost me a grand each! I had to pay for their carelessness and disorganization!
They also make you schedule your own appointments and don’t really take the initiative to help you out and schedule your future apts. At Kaiser, they get all the appointments in there for you and call you immediately if they recommend something else. The service at Kaiser is spectacular compared to this place. I just felt West Coast didn’t care at all, was unorganized, and was only business-​minded. Just terrible!

I started seeing Dr. French about a year ago when I recently moved to San Diego. I was nervous about a new gynecologist because my previous one was so great. My fears were instantly relieved when I met her. She is warm and friendly. Very efficient with her check-​ups and never makes you feel uncomfortable. The west coast office staff is also great. I am so glad I found this office and Dr. French. I definitely recommend!

So far West Coast OB has been the most comfortable, efficient, and professional office I’ve been to. I’m pregnant with my first child and I am impressed with how accessible the staff is for questions and advice. I was easily able to reach a doctor at 2am when I had some weird pains. I’m pretty concerned with having as nature an experience as I can, and the doctors and nurses so far seem very supportive of any decisions their patients want to make. (As long as they’re safe) I’ve met three of the doctors there at this point and they have all been really nice and easy to talk to. I would definitely recommend this office. (Also, there’s plenty of parking now!)

I am sure that most of the doctors of WC-​OBGYN are good, qualified doctors, but my overall experience with the practice as a whole was very impersonal and disappointing, which led me to change my healthcare provider at 7 months of pregnancy. I was a patient of Dr. Saffer for many years for regular annual check-​ups — great doctor, no issues! I stayed loyal to him, even though I moved to North County. Once I got pregnant, I didn’t want to look for a new doctor close to home, and I wanted to share this new journey with a doctor who I knew and trusted. Surprise, surprise! Every single visit was with a different provider who knew nothing about me, what is important to me, how I see my pregnancy and birth, etc. I went through a few pretty dramatic issues and procedures, none of which MY doctor was a part of — just another doctor on their schedule. I don’t think I’ve seen the same doctor twice. Sometimes a NP, sometimes MD, then outside obstetrician for ultrasound who had no idea who I was, just a number. Very random and impersonal experience. I understand their model: get to know all doctors because you don’t know who will actually deliver your baby, which means get to know NO ONE.
At 7 months pregnant, I decided to see a Midwife instead and from the very first visit, I truly felt cared for in a warm, loving, passionate manner. The midwife has only a few patients at a time that allows her to truly care for me and my baby, learn about my body, symptoms, expectations and concerns about labor and birth. Each visit is an hour long and encourages my husband to be there, letting us BOTH be part of this wonderful journey. The best decision I ever made!

There are too many doctor’s and they are very unorganized. With my last pregnancy I saw a different doctor every time and not one staff member or doctor read my charts. They asked me the same questions over and over again.
At my 36 week appointment I told Dr. Kim Goodwin that my baby wasn’t moving as much. She told me that this was normal and I told her I still didn’t feel comfortable. The same thing happened with my first born and my prior OBGYN ordered a non stress test. At that point my prior OBGYN scheduled a C-​section for the next day.
Dr. Kim Goodwin just listened to my baby’s heart beat and said everything was fine. Three days latter I had discharge that was not normal. I called their triage nurse line and the nurse said everything was fine just wait for my scheduled 37 week appointment in three days. At my 37 week appointment my son had no heartbeat and it was found that the cord was wrapped around his neck three times which limited his airflow.
I had a perfectly normal pregnancy but my son died because Dr. Kim Goodwin did not order the proper test.

I have had the most pleasant 9 months of care with West Coast. The ladies at the front desk are a big reason for the 5 stars! To see and talk with them makes being 9 months pregnant a little more comfortable to leave the house.

I have had a great experience with this group. I have been a patient on and off since 2008 and have interacted with every doctor in the practice except for Dr. Saffer (not for any particular reason, we just didn’t cross paths during my prenatal care). I saw this group throughout my pregnancy and after, and I didn’t have one negative experience. Dr. French handled my c-​section at Mary Birch like a pro and left me with a low, minimal scar. Dr. Goodwin was great during the early hours of my labor. I found the reception staff friendly and the nurses to be helpful and knowledgeable as well. Sometimes there was a bit of a wait beyond my appointment time, but it was never brushed off and always addressed with sincerity. Oh, and they have infused water in the waiting room. Yum!

I found this place using my insurances «find a provider» tool when I found out I was pregnant back in April of this year and I am so glad that I chose to come here.
This is my 2^nd pregnancy (I had kaiser the first time) and the service provided at this practice is far superior to what I had last time. The office is clean and they always have a dispenser of ice cold, normally fruit-​infused, water out on the reception desk for patients who are waiting to be seen. If you are lucky, there are usually also free samples from Enfamil sitting next to the water dispenser. Although I’m pretty sure these go quickly (I usually grab the last one) so that may be a hit or miss. Speaking of the front desk though, the staff up there is wonderful. Especially the girl who is always sitting closest to the wall behind the desk, I can’t remember her name right now (pregnancy brain is in full effect) but she is awesome!
I generally always have a good experience here, minus the 2 times I was seen by a specific doctor who just didn’t seem like she cared about my concerns (I won’t be name dropping here) and was just kind of off-​putting. That problem is easily fixed though, as they have 5 other doctors and a couple of nurse practitioners that you can see also. I highly highly recommend Dr. French, she is awesome and also the doctor I have chosen to perform my c-​section later on this year. My husband and I just love her.
Anyways, I definitely recommend this practice and will be using them as my regular gynecologist once I have my son.

I only have experience with the nurse practitioner at this office (none of the doctors were accepting new patients at the time). I have two complaints: billing and medical options provided.
I chose this practice because they are an in-​network provider for my insurance, but they sent my annual pap to an out-​of-​network lab, and I have two different laboratory companies sending me bills for the same thing. I don’t know why two laboratory companies would be needed for a routine test, seems like erroneous billing or duplicate billing. I have left several messages for the practitioner’s assistant several times, and even faxed the bills over to help. The assistant leaves messages that don’t cover why I have two different lab companies billing me. Bottom line, my annual preventative care, which should cost me nothing, is costing me $ 200.
For medical options, I wanted to get my hormones checked out to see if I’m having issues. The practitioner wouldn’t check my hormones, just gave me tips or medication to take. I have had liver issues my entire life, so I don’t take medication unless it is absolutely necessary, which I had told her about. So taking random medication to see if it helps, when no one knows if I even have a hormone issue, is not an appropriate solution for me. I asked her about some other issues, and she blew me off — «I don’t know what to tell you.» I don’t think she was qualified for what I needed.
I’m close to 40, and have never had such billing issues and someone not listening to my needs.

I really wanted to give this 5 stars based on my first experience– while it took what seemed forever to actually see Dr. Kim Goodwin, I feel like that is expected out of any doctor’s office and I had my book and water bottle and was fine. When she finally came in, it was quick and easy and she was pleasant and professional and the building felt very clean.
Today I had a pretty terrible experience with this group, and they left me pretty frustrated and disappointed in their professionalism and consideration. First of all, I was initially called to be told that the results on my exam came back abnormal and they needed to see me again– their first opening being over a month away from then. Getting a phone call like that and being paranoid that something is wrong (your first thought– cervical cancer???) makes you want to be able to get in to see what’s going on with your body as soon as possible, and if they are so busy maybe they shouldn’t continue taking in new patients. So today was finally the day for my 2pm appointment, and I followed the directions on Google which led me to their old location on Frost Street. I found myself feeling really lost, and like this wasn’t the same place I had gone the first time. I called and left a voicemail for her because there is no secretary that answers the phone, only an automated recording, and told her that I had finally parked and tracked down the building and was just going to be a couple minutes late. I get in to the building that was listed online and the secretary explained to me that they had moved buildings and gave me a flyer with their new address and information on it, explaining to me that she gets people in their all the time looking for the West Coast OB/​GYN and that I should tell them to change their address on Google when I got there!
I called again on the walk back to my car, sometime between 2:05 — 2:10 and this time chose the ‘make an appointment’ option– after being on hold as ‘caller one’ in line, someone answers and I explained the situation– I went to the wrong address, I’m a mile away, can I come now and still make my appointment? I gave her all of my information and she told me that she would ask the front desk and put me on hold– for over ten minutes. Someone answered about 5 minutes in asking if I was the surgical center, obviously picking up the wrong line. 5 minutes after that she answered again asking who I was on hold for– the first woman apparently put me on hold and forgot about me. I repeated all my information to her– was put on hold again– by the time she got back to me, it was probably around 2:25 and she told me that no one would be able to see me, and they had to reschedule me to their next available opening which was another month away. If I hadn’t called out of consideration to explain to them what would had happened, I’m sure I could have just shown up 15 minutes late and made a scene if they said I was too late, but unfortunately for me that’s not my style.
Five stars for Kim Goodwin, Zero stars for the organization and professionalism of West Coast OB/​GYN

I used to go to a doctor in the UTC area when I lived there, but was always annoyed about having to pay for parking when visiting my doctor. Now that I live in the Serra Mesa area, I went looking for a new doctor. I found the right one in Dr. French. She is so personable and easy to talk to. Before preparing for my exam, she came in and introduced herself. We chatted a bit and then she left for me to prepare for the exam. The wait time was reasonable and I left with some recommendations for a general practitioner in the area as well. Parking is a bit of a squeeze, but if you allow yourself a couple of extra minutes, you’ll find one.

I see Dr. Kim Goodwin for all my lady needs. She has proven to be very knowledgable in many areas, and keenly interested in women’s needs and concerns. She answers you honestly and knows what she needs to do once you tell her what you came to see her for.
Things run as smoothly as they can with 6 or so doctors occupying the practice, but there are still important glitches here. Such as… when I used the restroom, it was dirty. You could tell it was the restroom used for those giving urine specimens. There weren’t any ‘gasket covers’ for the toilet seat, yet there was a spot to put them, but it was empty. When a restroom is THAT dirty, my mind wanders to other thoughts. But seriously, SOMEONE should keep that restroom clean.
Other than that, pretty average.

Be cautious. They do lab work without approval — send it to the lab, then YOU get the bill. These are things they asked me if I wanted them done and I said, «NO!» Now I am receiving bills from some lab saying I owe them a couple hundred dollars for lab work performed. Anyone else have this problem? Shady.

Unfortunately I have to write this review so that no one else experiences what I did!
Let me start by saying during my pregnancy besides having to wait 45 minutes in the waiting room for each appointment and one time the NP coming into my room to do my ‘annual’ even though I was noticeably 8 months pregnant, all else was pretty uneventful. That is until I actually went into labor!
I was admitted at 4pm to Mary Birch and saw a Dr. from the West Coast group who was very nice and we went over my birth plan in which i wanted to have a natural drug free child birth. That Dr. came in at 7pm to tell me she was leaving and the next Dr. on call would be coming in to meet me.
I NEVER SAW ANOTHER DR FROM THE WEST COAST OBGYN GROUP AGAIN UNTIL THE NEXT DAY AFTER MY BABY WAS DELIVERED! The day after my delivery Dr. French came in to see how i was doing. Wasn’t the whole point of having so many Dr’s in this group and to meet with each of them during my pregnancy so that I didn’t have a complete stranger delivering my baby?
To be clear, after 7pm I never saw any Doctor at all besides when I was pushing my baby out AND A DR NOT FROM THE WEST COAST GROUP CAME IN AND HAD THE ABSOLUTE WORST BEDSIDE MANNERS! She was rude and kept rushing everything talking about how she needed to be in the room next door for someone else’s delivery! WTF??? Talk about feeling like just another number!
Basically the nurse delivered my baby until his heart rate dropped and the Dr. I had never met before came in to catch my baby after threatening to leave the room to go to her other patient because i wasn’t «ready to really push». Even though I had not even been told to start pushing and was in absolute pain from my natural birth. A little bit of caring would have been nice to say the least .
I will not be going to this group anymore but I suggest to anyone looking to read the fine print in the contract at the beginning BECAUSE THEY HAVE ANOTHER PRACTICE THAT COVERS FOR THEM IN THE HOSPITAL ALSO SO YOU MAY HAVE A TOTAL STRANGER DELIVERING YOUR BABY!
I was totally caught off guard when I learned this and feel like others need to know also.

I have been a patient here for almost 10 years and I have nothing but great things to say about West Coast OB/​GYN. I am confident that I was given the best care possible during both of my pregnancies. I am actually shocked at all of the harsh reviews. But then again some people have odd criteria as to what is important when having a baby. I have been given quite a wonderful personal experience. I haven’t been here in 3 years and Mona remembers me well. Again, I am shocked a the HORRIBLE reviews, weird.

This place sucks! Too many people here. We are like cattle going through a line, except that line doesn’t move. I have been here 45 minutes and still waiting to be called. Go somewhere else if you have a chance.
No personal experience here, just another lady and another baby.
Run!

I came to Amy French as my third OB/​GYN in San Diego in the last 3 years. I had a horrible experience with one, another doesn’t take my new insurance, so that’s how I found Dr. French. I did a lot of research (thanks Unilocal!) before making the appointment and waited 2 months to get in.
It was worth the wait! Dr. French is amazing. She listened to my issue completely and did some tests indicating a potentially abnormal health situation. Dr. French is so great for listening and putting two and two together. After three years, someone finally takes the time to get to the bottom of a potentially serious issue. Thank you, Dr. French!
Also, I felt very comfortable with her during my annual and would recommend her to anyone.

If you like to wait on hold to speak to someone in the office each time you call, wait an average of 45mins per visit just to see the random dr/​nurse they throw at you and not have a personal experience with your physician this is the place for you! I felt like I needed to bring rations with me each visit because I didn’t know how long I’d be there!
This is my first pregnancy so I don’t know all of the necessary questions to ask and what to look for etc. I was never treated with any care on any of the four visits I went to but felt like they are just dealing with me and not interested in really getting to know their patient at all. When I was seen by Dr. Goodwin, I asked her a question regarding my healthcare and their office she laughed and said «I’m a doctor! Not an insurance salesman» and walked out. Nice.
Oh…I was also waiting on very important and personal test results, I was told I would hear by Friday and they finally called me on the following Wednesday. Way to make your patient feel at ease!
Overall, I felt like I was just one of the herd of pregnant women flooding into this office with a number on my head. Not quite the experience I’d been hoping for. There must be a better way!