Surfside Urgent Care of Laguna Beach — Local services in Laguna Beach

The care was good, but be aware that Surfside Urgent Care will OVERCHARGE YOU and YOU MAY BE HIT WITH A BIG UNEXPECTED BILL.

I visited for a minor injury in 2021. The lady doctor was great, spent time helping me understand the treatment and how to take care of it myself afterwards.

I am conscious about cost because I cannot afford expensive medical bills. Before receiving care, I spoke with the receptionist about how much it would cost and what is covered by insurance. They said that the total would be $X and I could pay out of pocket now, and it would be settled. I could afford this amount and I proceeded with receiving services, then paid right there on the spot. They told me it was settled.

However, a month later, I received a bill in the mail for another several hundred dollars. I called to clarify and see if there was a billing mistake. They told me that the charge through insurance was more than what the receptionist told me. So, the receptionist was not honest or upfront about what the total cost would be, even though I asked repeatedly for clarity on exactly how much it would cost. I have had several conversations with their billing department,. In light of my situation, where I was quoted a different cost than what they billed, they said they could speak with a supervisor. But I never heard back from them after that. They stopped returning my calls and they stopped responding to my emails. They have just continued to send bills in the mail. Now, I have no choice but to pay because it could go to collections. Surfside Urgent Care will bully you into paying whatever amount they bill afterwards, even if they have quoted you a different amount before the service.

In short, the care is good, but BE CAREFUL ABOUT HOW MUCH THEY CHARGE YOU. Lack of pricing transparency is a problem at many medical establishments, but Surfside Urgent Care is extremely bad. I asked extensively to clarify the cost before receiving care, but the receptionist straight up lied about the total, so now I'm on the hook for much more than they said. I acted as a responsible medical consumer, clarifying costs before receiving service, but Surfside Urgent Care was not transparent or honest about costs and have hit me with a big additional bill after I already paid out of pocket. I'm not planning to ever go back.

Update: I was able to work with the office to reach a fair payment, i.e. they agreed to not charge me more than they originally stated. I appreciate their willingness to work together to solve the billing issue. However, I continued receiving bills in the mail from their billing department. Evidently, the communication between the office and the billing staff is not good. In total, I have spent 10 hours on the phone dealing with this. Despite their best efforts to remedy this mistake, I cannot recommend Surfside Urgent Care. They will overcharge you and I do not have confidence that they can resolve any billing issues without having to spend hours dealing with them....

I came into Surfside Urgent Care on a holiday weekend (Saturday) after being told by two other facilities that I would not be able to be helped by anyone in California until the holiday weekend was over (Tuesday), if helped at all. I was having an issue transferring a prescription whilst on vacation amongst issues with constant and severe migraines. Upon entering this Urgent Care I noticed that it was unlike any other I’ve ever seen due to the unbelievable view of Laguna Beach and the overall vibe of this location was just so.... amazing. So very clean and with a beach feel- you forget you are actually in an Urgent Care/ Doctor’s office! I could go on for ages about Dr. Marc Shomer. In my thirty something years I have never witnessed a Doctor that also possesses a PhD to boot that is so “down to earth”, that makes you feel so very welcome and that pays such close attention to your concerns and needs. The kindness that literally radiates off of this man genuinely was something to be said. As an example, and not to be long-winded but he asked how long I was in the area for on vacation and what I was interested in doing while I was here and if he might make some suggestions. I obliged and he graciously and literally hand drew up a chart of some good sights and sounds for my husband and I to see while we are in the LA area! Asking what our interests are specifically so that he could adjust our journey accordingly, as if there were no other people in the room that needed his assistance or required his attention! Not many MD’s would give you that service in my experience... and on a weekend!! I can’t thank them enough for their assistance and patience and look forward to the Doctor’s suggestions for LA. If I were to ever need anything in the way of medical assistance, I would not hesitate to return and I would advise anyone to...

Came here twice just to get misdiagnosed both times. The doctors(I had a gentlemen’s the first day and a woman the second) both seemed like they just wanted to get me out of there as quick as possible. They just threw drugs at me pretty much not knowing what was wrong. I have no infection and they gave my pretty strong antibiotics anyway. To no ones surprise the antibiotics did nothing so they also agreed I stop taking them. That being said I have my masters degree in toxicology so I have a basic understanding of what does what. Yes, I know I am not a doctor. I came back the second time in distress due to intense pain, they gave me a shot that they claimed would help but did nothing. They gave me nothing for the pain, I explained that I cannot sleep and all the drugs prescribed to me were incorrect for what was going on. Before I left doctor was being very stand offish after my comments & pretty much wouldn’t talk to me - even though I was just trying to solve a problem they were unable to while i was in severe pain. Will never be coming back here. I will not be able to sleep tonight due to pain because my cannot see a specialist until tomorrow. Will probably end up going to the ER if it keeps getting worse in the next few hours. Just sucks I went to them and I paid just to get misinformed.

That being said, all the nurses and other staff were amazing!! This does not apply to everyone else, just the 2 doctors I had an...