Fallbrook Medical Associates: Schmelzle David E

Review is based on wait times. My family comes here for Dr. Coullahan who is GREAT! But they must do something about the scheduling here. Im in the waiting room right now and there are about 20 people in the waiting room. We all know how contagious Omicron, and this is very uncomfortable. Prior to our arrival we also filled out the questionnaire to "save" time and we still waited 40 mins to be called back.

This doesn't include the time it takes for the doctor to come to the room. On average it takes 2 hours minimum from my experience to get in and out of this place and today was 1hr 45 mins. Really takes a chunk out of your day just for a routine check up.

This review is about the wait time. Not sure if they just over schedule appointments, but it's always the same here you can get here right on time for your appt but you are always in the waiting room for an hour, and then after you get into the room then you're waiting another 45min for the doctor. It's ridiculous, why even give you an appt time seems like just a walk-in time. If they could incorporate some sort texting to let patients know when the doctor is ready to see them, like restaurants do, or something so the wait time isn't as bad.

Absolutely love this office. Dr. Coullahan is the best. She always takes her time with my littles and really cares about them and their well being, always checking everything from their heads to their toes, paying attention to detail is her specialty. Dr. Coullahan was the physician who checked on both of my littles before we left the hospital after their births. Highly recommend her and her professionalism. The office staff is always courteous and on top of things. The office is always clean and welcoming!

I only came to two check ups here before i had to make a switch. They have great doctors but the only issue is that no matter if you make an appointment, they request for you to arrive 30min before appointment time AND from arrival to be seen it takes a little over an hour. I couldnt. my infant was too impatient and so were we. Im just not happy with having to miss time (pay) from work because i have to show up 30min early AND still wait about another 30-40 after appointment time to be seen

Almost 2 hours waiting inside the doctor's office for my 3 and 1.5 year old to get a couple vaccinations. They were both screaming in tears from frustration before we even got the shots! When one of them got an earache outside business hours on the weekend, there was no hotline to call for assistance, no 24 hour urgent care locally. I drove them 30 miles to Temecula to the 24 urgent care, which turned out to be a 3rd party office, not actually a Radys office.

Then 30 miles back down to Escondido to get the antibiotics! I used to think Kaiser's service was poor but at least they have someone to call 24 hours, and you can usually get an urgent appointment with a doctor for things like earaches.

Dr. Cohen has always been so dedicated to my daughters health and has always taken her time with us and made sure my daughter got the best care possible! All the staff is wonderful and always nice and respectful! I enjoy having a trustworthy primary care group like children's to keep my daughter healthy!

I absolutely love taking my kids to go see Dr. Sternfeld! She is sweet, funny, understanding and very attentive whenever we need her. I have a 15 and a half year old son and an 11 month old daughter and she is incredibly well versed on all aspects and developmental stages of pediatrics as far as I have seen. She has gone above and beyond for my family on several occasions including returning after hours calls. She genuinely cares about all her families and little patients!

Terrible experience every single time. Don't care about their patients. Rude doctors. It's like a factory. Very late every appointment, minimum 30 minutes. Not a place for for your kids! Don't do it!

Terribly long wait time for some of the doctors. Every single visit; for the 11 years we have been going. My family misses excessive school, and for myself, I miss too much work. The care is good. The scheduling and punctuality needs improvement.

We just had an appointment at Children's Primary Care and it was a horrible experience! Every time we have been there we have had to wait an excessive amount of time and it's always a different excuse. We were stuck in our "cell" for 1 hour 20 min and we finally left without our shots. The Doctor was nice enough but the bad experience is not worth the 10mins we spent with her. This group is the worst and we will not be going back.

Horrible customer service! I tried to register here for my baby's newborn check. customer service was so rude and disrespectful. Didn't know anything about the adoption process and insurance. The rep even placed me on hold to ask her supervisor, and the service worsened! There needs to be serious training for their employees. you are losing business because of it. I took my business elsewhere and was treated wonderfully.

Worst wait ever! These people are slow in every thing they do. We made an appointment, and we finally see the doctor 1 hour later. Do yourself a favor when coming here, bring a lunch and clear your schedule.

Dr Sternfeld is amazing. My daughter has allergies asthma you name it and I've had so many questions and have been so worried as this is all new to me. I email Dr Sternfeld not expecting to hear back for a few days (as that is generally the case with Dr's) she gets right back to me no matter what day it is. She is very understanding and helpful!

I have never written a yelp review before but am so compelled to because I am hoping to help someone else from experiencing what I did. I am so bothered by this medical group for the following reasons: 1. I have seen Dr. Sternfeld, Dr. Cohen, Dr. Schneider, and Dr. McCormick and they all have a striking similarity in common: they talk and talk and TALK over you on what THEY feel is best in spite of me having questions or disagreeing.

They interrupt and will not allow me to get a word in edgewise. This is completely disrespectful, condescending and frankly, illegal because I, as the parent and primary caregiver, need to be heard and have my concerns addressed. It's as if (a) they are all related, or (b) they've been given an inservice on "How to Talk Over Your Patients who you Think are Poor, Stupid or Both." 2.

They are all VERY pro-vaccination. If you have a different opinion on why you should wait or refuse vaccinations-- WATCH OUT. They just don't merely inform you on why they feel you should vaccinate your child. They will-- (surprise!)-- TALK and TALK over you on basically how negligent and ignorant of a parent you are. 3. Wait time, on average, is 2 hours.

Maybe if they didn't spend so much time talking on how stupid you are it would be shorter. I am looking for another pediatrician. If you plan on staying with these pediatricians on a long term basis, I would highly encourage you to spare yourself (and children) a lot of frustration and look somewhere else.

Dr. Sternfeld IS as Good as it gets! she is so LOVING, CARING, funny, and sweet. There are times she gets a little behind but boy is she worth the wait. I am always WELL Informed especially about vaccines given all the uneducated parents that don't vaccinate and put their children at risk. ALL the Doctors and NP at the Citracado site ROCK!

I love all the staff and have been cared there since I was a baby till now! I'd like to thank Dr. Sternfeld for being the most caring Dr I could have met! She's been caring for me since I was a baby and I'll be 18 soon. She is definitely more like family to us then my care provider. I will be bringing my kids to her in the future. She knows how to handle things well and knows what is best for me and my brothers and sisters. I look forward to seeing her each time we come in! I also appreciate every other staff there is in Radys Citracada! Thank you Dr. Sternfeld!