Recommendations for a Blue Cross doctor in the Bay Area?

January 29, 2014 8:45 PM

I just switched from Kaiser to Blue Cross, and now I'm faced with the daunting yet freeing prospect of finding a doctor.

I have been reading tons of yelp reviews, but this is slightly more important than picking a new restaurant, and I've been let down by yelp before. Whereas I'm fine with eating overcooked chicken once in a while, I would really like to choose a caring doctor for the first time in my life. I can be slightly neurotic about my health, and I've been less than satisfied with the doctors at Kaiser. I also trust mefites a tad more than the average yelper =)

So, I'd love your recommendations for doctors, if you've got 'em! (Primary care especially, but I'll eventually need an OB/GYN too, and maybe therapist...)

I'm in San Jose but am willing to travel a reasonable distance. Thank you!

posted by madonna of the unloved to Health & Fitness (10 answers total)

PAMF. Pick a doctor you like the look of and it's pretty hard to go wrong. If you do just move to another.
posted by Talez at 8:58 PM on January 29, 2014 [3 favorites]

Does your BCBS do that rating...thing? BCBS of Texas, the one I have, has some kind of score for the doctors based on member reviews, which can be a little more useful than yelp since it's people with your actual insurance.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 9:04 PM on January 29, 2014

I go to One Medical Group and I love LOVE them. There's a yearly fee ($150 I think?) and it's just beyond worth it. There are a lot of offices all over the Bay (Palo Alto is probably closest to you) and lots doctors in the practice. You can read about their training and specialties on the site. Every one I've seen has been good to amazing. You can choose to see just your primary doctor, or take who is available at the time you want to come in.

The appointments are all online, easy to book in advance or last minute if you're sick, and they communicate amazingly via email. It's all set up to be convenient and patient-focused.
posted by mostlymartha at 9:29 PM on January 29, 2014 [2 favorites]

I came here to recommend One Medical. I grew up under a Kaiser plan, flailed around trying to find a doctor I liked for several years when I ended up on Blue Cross, then landed at One Medical and never looked back. It's like all the best parts of Kaiser (integrated care team), with none of the bad (bureaucracy, limitations). Totally worth the $150, because I actually feel empowered to use my One Medical doctor vs. I never knew how to navigate the 'independent care professional' system.
posted by samthemander at 9:34 PM on January 29, 2014

I love PAMF. I had a wonderful doctor in Fremont whom I've had to leave because we've moved up to eastern Contra Costa County, but PAMF has every kind of specialist you'd ever need and lots of very good to excellent doctors.
posted by wintersweet at 10:13 PM on January 29, 2014

Haha came to recommend One Medical as well. So: thirded!
posted by dame at 10:49 PM on January 29, 2014

Fourthed! I've been to a few different One Medical doctors and been pretty happy with each. It's the fact that they have time to talk with you and to have reviewed your history before you come in that makes a difference for me, plus that they have labs in the office and can schedule an appointment with a specialist at the last minute if need be.
posted by cali at 11:31 PM on January 29, 2014

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone! Question: Does One Medical have in-house specialists? I saw a huge list of specialists on the PAMF website but didn't see that on the One Medical site. Also, the closest one to me would be Sunnyvale. If anyone has experience with that one, I'd love to hear it.
posted by madonna of the unloved at 12:15 AM on January 30, 2014

We go to both Mountain View PAMF and Sunnyvale PAMF as the Sunnyvale office just recently expanded a lot and they didn't have a lot of GPs there before. Both locations are great, the doctors have been very good. My wife has had two minor surgical procedures at the hospital in Mountain View with specialists from PAMF and her treatment has been fantastic both times. Overall I'd say we're quite happy with PAMF. I suspect you can get most if not all of your primary care out of the Sunnyvale office now that it's bigger.
posted by GuyZero at 5:49 AM on January 30, 2014 [1 favorite]

I use Sunnyvale and it's pretty awesome. There's also one in Santa Clara that should be closer as the crow flies to San Jose.
posted by Talez at 10:09 AM on January 30, 2014