Maria Bella Natividad, MD

Dr. Natividad is a wonderful doctor. However, the front office staff needs vast improvement. They are rude, unprofessional, inefficient, and inept. I hope the situation is rectified, or I will not return.

Dr Natividad is great. I didn’t have a problem with her. Her front desk staff however, are rude and unprofessional!!! They argue with patients and act like if they hate their jobs! So unfortunate, I will never go back there again. There is only street parking, and you have to pay for it. :/

I love Dr. Natividad. Love her. Been seeing her for more than 10 years. But, her office staff, without exception, is atrocious. Absolutely atrocious. Rude, unhelpful, dismissive, lazy — the list goes on and on. The incompetence has just gotten worse over the years. I’ve finally reached the point that my love for Dr. Natividad does not compensate for the nightmare of trying to get through her staff to her. Even something as basic and simple as making an appointment is a gambit. I called and was extremely specific about the fact that I would ONLY see Dr. Natividad. I was told I’d have to wait two weeks. I said fine. Showed up and not only was my appointment not with Dr. Natividad, she was on a long scheduled vacation. The staff thought it was funny. I did not.

Sigh…
Dr. Natividad is a great doctor!
I’m giving this place a «one star» is mainly due to the receptionist service. It is horrible, especially their front desk manager… Long story and I don’t even want to spend time repeating that bad experience, actually experienced (plural)! I have come here and see dr. Natividad for more than 10 years, love her but feel like came to the point, really tired of the bad receptionist services. I am researching on some other good doctors in the area…

While I love having Dr. Natividad as a PCP unfortunately, I have yet to have a good office visit here. You never wait less than 30 minutes to see the doctor. Do not bother to show up early, you’ll just wait longer. The administrative staff is exceptionally rude, keeping you on hold for long periods of time. I have not once called and not immediately been asked if I could wait on hold. Would love to have a doctor like Dr. Natividad at a better, overall, office.

The good – Dr Natividad herself is kind, caring, and attentive.
Although the doctor should be all that matters in a medical practice, unfortunately the other reviewers are absolutely correct and her staff ruins the experience.
First, even though Dr. Natividad has been my «GP» for three years, I have never been able to see her for a sick visit. What is the point of having a doctor if her staff won’t allow you to see her when you are sick?! The three times I have called with something serious, the front desk staff members have said «just go to urgent care.» If I wanted to go to urgent care, I would go to urgent care and wouldn’t bother seeing a doctor who knows my medical history on a regular basis. I find this exceptionally frustrating and it is my main reason for finally leaving Dr. Natividad. I need a doctor that I can count on in the event of a non-​ER medical ailment. Not to mention, insurance covers sick visits but does not cover urgent care visits.
Secondly, other reviewers are accurate when describing the rudeness and unhelpfulness of the front desk staff. At no time should medical office staff make a patient feel uncomfortable and unwelcome. They talk about patients clearly enough for individuals in the waiting room to hear very personal information. They are there for social hour and that seems to be it. Once, they faxed me someone else’s medical history and personal lab results. When I called to let them know, they said «sorry, that happens sometimes.» It took 8 weeks for me to get a call back about my results that I had been waiting on at that time. Each time I would call, the staff would say «we haven’t had time to have her call you.» If you have received someone’s bloodwork back, and have had it for a month, you could have asked the doctor to call her patient back.
Other things add to the negative experience, but not worth mentioning as they probably wouldn’t be as noticeable if the staff wasn’t so blatantly uncaring and rude.
Dr. Natividad – I appreciate the time you have spent with me over the past three years, but I can’t handle the stress level that your staff causes any longer.

I would give this place negative 2000 stars if I could. Our appointment was at 2.30pm and we were not even seen by a doctor until 3.30pm– that’s an hour long wait. A long time for a small practice with like, 2 other patients on the roster. Everyone who works here seems to legitimately hate their job, from the receptionist to the technicians. They’re all stunningly rude and unpleasant. We have since switched to a different healthcare provider, and are so much happier.

Great Dr, terrible staff. Dr. Natividad is excellent, caring, and you can tell she’s personally invested in patients’ outcomes. Several times she has referred me to specialists they have been some of the top rated in their areas. BUT STAFF IS TERRIBLE. I’ve been coming here for 4 years and it doesn’t improve. They forget to turn the phones on, they are cold, put you on hold for 10+ minutes then hang up the line, don’t fax in rxs when they’re supposed to, I could go on. Office needs an overhaul.

I have only been seen here twice, but the experience was so awful that I left and have a new GP office that I love. I saw a nurse practitioner and a physician assistant. The appointment themselves were ok, but listed below are all the reasons I recommend never going to this practice.
1. The front desk staff is awful. I myself am in the medical profession, so I feel I have the right to be so critical. They are always rude on the phone and less than helpful. One day I made an appointment for an ear infection and when I got there they said I wasn’t on the schedule. The guy realized he made a mistake and forgot to actually enter the appointment which was now taken by someone else. When a mistake like this is made at my clinic, we see the patient regardless. However, I was told they were unable to fit me in and I could go to an Urgent Care facility instead. Ridiculous.
2. At my second (and final) appointment there, the man who checked me in was very inappropriate. He told me at least four times how pretty I was and he couldn’t stop looking at me. Listen, I’m not a prude, but I do not need a creepy stranger hitting on me when I’m sick and trying to mind my own business while waiting for my appointment. Again, being a medical professional, I could not believe he was speaking to a patient this way.
3. The front staff was talking crap about clients calling on the phone — complaining and making fun of their comments. They were doing this loud enough for the entire waiting room to hear.
4. The office itself and exam rooms do not have appearance of being clean. It’s an old building, but obviously they have not kept it up. I felt uncomfortable in the dirty exam rooms.
Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else!

I’ve been a patient at this practice for the past five years and have rarely, if ever, experienced the issues others have cited. From her front office staff to the phlebotomists to medical assistants to the PAs/​Dr. Natividad, my experience has been overwhelmingly positive. Yes, I’ve had to wait beyond my scheduled appointment time but never more than 15 – 20 minutes (on a bad day). The medical team are warm, caring individuals who seem genuinely interested in my personal health. Dr. Natividad (and the PA I’ve seen) take time to listen and find solutions. I’ve been seen by some really callous, dismissive doctors in the past and am thrilled to have found this practice.

I have been seeing Dr. Natividad for about five years now.
Pros:
She is frank, honest, and a good listener. She remembers old issues and has never made me feel rushed.
The occasional times that I have had to see a PA, they have also been top notch.
Cons:
Yes, her staff is a little rough, but always polite and appropriate enough that I have not had a problem with them.
Like the majority of doctors whose staff overbook, you never seem to get in at your appointment on time, but usually never more than 15 – 20 minutes late. (Unlike my other doctor who is always 30 – 35 minutes late… grrrr… but I digress…)
Overall, I have been very happy as a patient of hers.

One star is way too much. While Dr. Natividad herself is fine, her office staff is so atrocious that I refuse to return. Here are the issues (in a nutshell)
1. They are consistently rude, disrespectful and unprofessional.
2. They do not understand what the term «patient confidentiality» means. One of them loudly broadcasted my patient history to the entire waiting room. When I expressed my embarrassment and requested that she not talk so loudly or perhaps we could step aside to discuss, she was very rude to me about it, telling me I was being overly sensitive and then tried to say she didn’t say anything. Lying is not the way to go here!
3. After being told to stop by to pick up a prescription, the receptionist refused to give me anything unless I saw the doctor first. When I told her I had another appointment at 11:30am, she said she didn’t care, the doctor was busy and I would have to wait. I asked if I could come back at 12:30pm from my appointment, and she said she wouldn’t let me in. So I had to cancel my other appointment (I was very sick and needed the prescription and would have to wait until Monday if I left) and the doctor still didn’t come in until after 12:30pm. Whenever I would ask the receptionist about the doctor, she would either blatantly ignore me or rudely tell me she’s busy, I’m not the only person in the world.
4. They didn’t change my insurance on file to my new one and sent my claim to the wrong insurance company. After I paid $ 100, I realized something was wrong and Keisha confirmed this error. I was nice about it and gave her my new insurance, and she resubmitted it. She said once the insurance company accepted, she would mail me the check. Today I received a call that I had a $ 75 credit on my account. I said I understand, please mail it. The office manager said she wouldn’t send me anything until she determined how it was paid. I tried to explain to her the entire thing and she became extremely rude and condescending to me. Then she said she wasn’t going to send anything until she looked into it further and hung up on me. Which means she is holding on to my money for no reason.
When you go to the doctor, you already have enough concerns about your health. Don’t add their ridiculousness on top of it — who needs it? Go somewhere else.

I’ve been coming to this office for about the past 4 years, and I am finally to the point where I cannot come here anymore.
Dr. Natividad is a great doctor, she spends a lot of time with her patients and provides great care. It’s the only reason I’m giving this practice two stars. But truly the bad things about this office simply outweigh the fact that she’s a good doctor.
THE BAD:
— It’s almost impossible to see Dr. Natividad — you always end up with one of her PAs.
— Her last PA wasn’t bad. The new one, is terrible. I came in for an appointment for an existing condition that requires regular monitoring and bloodwork — she didn’t even have record that I had that condition. It was as if it was a complete surprise to her.
— To say the front desk staff are horrible would be an absolute understatement. They are atrocious and some of the rudest and most unprofessional people I have ever met.
— Most recently I came in for blood work and after 2 weeks the doctor had still not called with my results. Their response «we’re really busy.»
— I’ve never had a doctor’s office repeatedly reschedule my appointments to fit their staff’s changing schedules until I came here. It’s irritating.
I’ll let them focus on providing sub par care to all those patients the are so busy with. I can’t put up with this office anymore.

Dr. Natividad herself is very good. However she needs to get rid of the female desk staff who answer the phones and check patients in. They are absolutely rude, not helpful and I am clearly not the only one who feels this way. Dr. George is also not particularly helpful and went so far as to be abusive last time I was there. I refuse to see Dr. George any more when Dr. Natividad is not there. I like many others am currently looking for another primary care physician. Too bad that such a great doctor as Dr. Natividad is ruined by the company she keeps.

Here’s an update: FInally Cherlle got tired of me calling every 20 minutes and told me she would speak to her office manager to see if they could just write me a prescription for an antibiotic. Well, funny enough – the phone lines are down from 12:45−2pm for their lunch and the office manager didn’t call me back. Then immediately at 2pm I call back and it goes to their answering service – they didn’t turn their phone lines back on until about 2:10pm. When I finally speak to Cherelle again, I asked her what her office manager said and she puts someone named Brigitte on the phone with me who proceeded to tell me they don’t write prescriptions for antibiotics over the phone and the soonest they could see me was Friday. I told her she should have trained Cherelle to know this so I wasn’t sitting around waiting for them to come back from their damn lunch break! What kind of incompetence!!! Arghhh!!! Then when I asked Brigitte what she did she told me she was part of the clinical staff and when I asked her what that meant she repeated «clinical staff.» I again told her I don’t understand-​are you a doctor, a receptionist, what does clinical staff mean? I was trying to figure out why Cherelle would put me on the phone with her, rather than the office manager I was supposed to speak with. The only thing I could come up with was that Brigitte was polite, whereas Cherelle – not so much. I plan on writing a letter to doctor Natividad because I really like her but how can she employ people who do not care AT ALL about her patients!!! BLOWS MY MIND. I’ll be headed over to urgent care today I guess.
Usually I love this office however today, NYE, I called and spoke to the MOST unpleasant receptionist – Cherelle/​Sharelle I don’t know how to spell it. I don’t get it – why do you have to be SO RUDE? I’m calling your office because I am SICK and when I ask you, since you are all booked for today, if you can call me if anyone cancels bc I work down the street, you yell at me and say «No, ma’am we don’t do that. The woman who called before you asked me the same thing and I’m not doing it for her either. Our office doesn’t do that.» I mean this receptionist had a major bug up her butt and I just left another doctor for having rude receptionists. I do not have time to deal with these rude jerks – especially when I am sick! Where is the cool receptionist that has the amazing voice that I always say should do voice-​overs??? Haha maybe I’ll call back later. But seriously I am considering changing my doctor bc I can’t deal with the damn rudeness it’s just so unnecessary! Fake it if you’re having a bad day-​our conversation should last two minutes tops.

Dr. Natividad is wonderful. She’s very through, asks a lot of questions and seems to care about the health of her patients. I give her five stars easy.
The staff is so terrible that I don’t think I can go back to this office. I was told that my blood work would be back on a Wednesday. I called on Thursday after hearing nothing on Wednesday, and the response I got was «Yeah, we’re really busy,» and then I was hung up on. Called again the next day and was told «She hasn’t gotten to them yet,» when I asked if the person on the phone could take my information to make sure the doctor could call me, she responded «yeah, we don’t really do that.» It’s now been one week since my last phone call, and when I called again this morning I was basically berated for bugging the girl.
For what it’s worth, I have been going to this doctor’s office for the past 5 years, but being hung up on twice pushes me past my limit of what I can stand. The situation in the front office seems to be getting worse, and not better.

Dr. Natividad is one of the best primary care physicians I’ve had. She is very thorough, she reads your chart before you see her, she asks a lot of questions, she offers help, and she is not judgmental. Most importantly, she takes the time to listen to me instead of rushing. And she follows up. She called me after a blood test came up funny during my physical and asked me to come in to retest it.
I’ve never had any problems with her office staff, everything has always run really smoothly and everyone has been polite. But even if I did, I would probably overlook it because I think I could put up with it to receive quality care.

I agree with everybody else. I have not seen a doctor the PA and nurse (I think) are fine. The guy at the desk is cool. The rest of that office staff is crap. I will not be returning

The office staff here are outrageously rude and disorganized. I saw the receptionist yell at a woman who had been in a car accident after failing to explain their business procedures to her.
I have had appointments repeatedly rescheduled without apology and although the Doctor herself is quite good, I will not be coming back. It is stressful enough to be a patient with concerns without having to worry about abusive and disorganized behavior from the office staff.

Doctors are good! (4 – 5 stars)
The office staff — the worst (0 or negative stars if I can give)