Scripps Clinic Del Mar — Local services in San Diego

Unless you want a VERY patronizing medical experience as a woman straight out of 1950, with limited knowledge, no continuum of care and extremely bad cross divisional communication - do NOT go to Scripps Weight Loss Clinic or Endocrinology.

I was referred (formally) by my OGBYN (outside of Scripps) to both practices because at 53, I was experiencing perimenopausal symptoms like mid section weight gain and stubborn weight gain that despite triathlete training 6 days a week and it not budging. This was combined with sleep disruption, crime scene bleeding, night sweats etc. Dr. Lalita Tantisira, in weight management prescribed me 5 milligrams of Zepbound, BUT REFUSED to address the root cause of anything - or honor my two OGBYN referrals to Endocrinology (the 2ed from Scripps after a mammogram). Even though my father had his thyroid removed (another cause of weight gain) she thought it was excessive I asked for that to be lab tested as well.

She actually read me the definition of menopause and stated "because your perimenopausal it's a waste of time to test your hormones, you just have to adapt to these symptoms!"

Meanwhile, Scripps technology sent me over 28 texts telling me "your referral has been approved by Endocrinology, call into make an appointment," and when I did, each time I was treated rudely (instead of apologizing for the error) and told they could not book me the appointment because Dr. Tantisira refused to modify her stance and diagnosis to reflect all the symptoms I told her about. Endocrinology went on to state that they don't do hormone panels! I was ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED! They then "dismissed me" as a patient with no notice, except a snail mail letter two weeks afterward that cited no specifics and cancelled my appointment AND my prescription with no notice or lead time to find and schedule a new doctors appointment elsewhere. They also provided no referrals.

As a MBA, with 20 years in Corporate Communications and my own Marketing firm - I have NEVER experienced a worse situation for over 3 months with so much arrogance, refusal to acknowledge third party validation, and outright denial or acknowledgement about being inappropriate with technology. I logged over 40 phone calls in which I had to play the role of intermediary between doctors and divisions that refused to talk or listen to one another.

I can't even imagine what would happen if you had a more serious health crisis here.... Just say NO! They are NOT well researched, contemporary or thought leaders and are not even...

While I have a great memory of the clinic visit itself (cordial doctor and nurses), the billing and payments experience is absolutely terrible. I paid off my statement on December 2021 and was given assurance by a supervisor that my bill was completely paid off.

5 months later, I received a surprise bill in the mail that was very opaque and unclear in terms of the detailed billing breakdown, so I called customer service. After explaining the situation in detail, I was told by the customer service agent that it was being submitted for review and I would be receiving a letter in the mail absolving me from paying the outstanding bill. 10 days passed but I still hadn't received the latter, so I called back again. Upon calling in (1 day prior to the outstanding bill falling due), the customer service agent told me that her colleague was "confused and had made a mistake" and that "I actually owed the bill"; however, when I pressed her to explain the detailed breakdown of the bill, she was unable to do so and escalated it to her supervisor. Once on the phone with the supervisor, I explained the situation from top to bottom for a third time, followed by several complaints of the user experience (UX) and then--and only then--did they agree to send me a consolidated billing breakdown.

While she was generating the billing breakdown, she mentioned that patients are technically able to get this by calling in but it isn't a default feature on the MyScripps portal because it's a "cost and waste of paper"... despite it being digitally generated (an reasoning that makes no sense). Finally, with the consolidated detailed bill in hand, they were able to clearly articulate my charges but only after taking multiple calls and hours of wasted time on each respective party's end. After I complained yet again that I had no confidence that this would be the final bill (based on past experience of receiving a surprise bill), they eventually gave me a measly 10% discount for "express pay" as a courtesy.

Unless you have ironclad insurance and/or are willing to sit through mind-numbing calls with customer service on billing inquiries, I'd strongly suggest not using Scripps' services at this clinic. It's a shame that the entire UX of a good visit can be brought down by terrible post-visit customer service touchpoints. I learned a valuable lesson here in customer experience.

Every touchpoint matters... don't neglect the post-visit...

The surgeons, dietitians, PA and other staff there are fantastic. I have had issues that have ruined the entire experience for me with the head nurse, Karen, since my first surgery. You are told to reach out with any health concerns (and I did have minor complications) but everything led back to asking if I was drinking water and other trivial things (even if I confirmed that I was following the protocol beforehand). Following my second surgery I am dealing with pain and other health concerns and was told to hit up a primary since I recently moved to AZ and they can’t advise me medically (although I am in CA half the time and telemedicine visits are a thing due to COVID)...

...Even though these issues directly relate to surgeries done through their clinic.

...Okay. Nice.

Anyway, like I said, the surgeons and others are great. Scripps Green is a fantastic hospital on top of it. But don’t expect some top notch care after your surgeries from the nurse that you are mainly in communication with. Honestly, if it’s non-urgent, just make appointments and throw away calling the nurse/messaging through the Scripps...