David Schechter, MD

Dr. David Schechter has been my primary physician for seven years. When I moved here I sought out a physician that would not just talk at me, but allow me to be a participant in my healthcare. He does that. His practice combines holistic and conventional medicines. He’s methodical, patient and caring. I see him at his Wilshire Boulevard Office, which is very convenient for me. He is also an accomplished author.
Vanessa is his administrative assistant. I love her. I have never called or emailed that office and she didn’t get back to me immediately. She is extremely professional. She is also knowledgeable in insurance matters. They work well together which is advantageous to his patients. I was in his office once and he was explaining something and he lost his train of thought. She completed his sentence. It was very funny. It is a very welcoming environment.
It is essential for me to be able to trust both my doctor and his staff implicitly. I am very fortunate to have that trust fulfilled by Dr. Schechter and Vanessa.

Went for the first time for a general physical and had a very good experience. Dr. Schechter was very warm and personable. When he had to take blood, I barely felt a thing (I wasn’t even sure he had done it). Lab results came back the very next day and were e-​mailed directly to me.

So sorry I didn’t get the same impressions and treatment that others are writing about. I went to Dr. Schecter because he was the only Los Angeles MD I could find working with TMS, a mind/​body syndrome. I saw him 3 times. He did no physical exam. I have severe longstanding pain on right side of my body including headache.
We sat in his office and talked. He asked questions simulating what maybe a therapist would ask, but clearly didn’t listen to my answers. He would keep glancing at other things on his desk, or start writing, and not about what I was saying. More than once, he would repeat the same question later forgetting he had already asked it. It felt like he was passing the allotted time until he could move on to the next patient. Then when I shared that I had gone to a seminar on TMS presented by an out of town Dr., he got very interested in what that Dr was doing. In my opinion, he is no expert on TMS. It is just another way to get patients. The materials he sells for $ 80 are useless and poorly written. The assistant who interviews the patient before Dr Schecter sees you is much more therapeutic by showing caring and warmth and connecting to what was being communicated. There are some good books written on TMS, but not by Dr Schecter. Maybe he is good with other health problems, but not with TMS.

I found him by accident after my doctor died, several years ago.
I love this guy. He will write prescriptions, but he’s more likely to try to determine if your lifestyle is causing a medical problem also.
I see him for a chronic condition (irritable bowel syndrome) and for general doctoring. Don’t let his first specialty of «sports medicine» fool you, he’s one of the best family medicine /​GP’s I’ve ever had. I recommend him to everyone.

Special thanks to Dr. Schecter for taking time out of his busy schedule to treat me after an accident providing treatment and care — easing the pain and emotional trauma that comes with illness. This was after Vanessa was most helpful, patient, and positively responsive in our phone conversations and office support. This doctor and office staff provided followup with a referral to address a specialty physician and insurance issues. This kind of health care is hard to find in a very busy city. Thank you.

I found Dr. Schechter in a search for the best Dr. in L.A. who was knowledgable in and willing to diagnose TMS (Tension myositis syndrome), a benign, yet acute, pain syndrome with origins in repressed psychological anxiety. (Not all are knowledgable in this diagnosis.) The first Dr. to characterize «TMS» and name it, was Dr. Sarno in NY, and my research led me to the conclusion that Dr. Schechter was the closest I’d come in L.A. to seeing New York’s famous, Dr. «To the Stars» Sarno.
At the time, I was experiencing severe pain in my upper-​back and neck, as well as tricep weakness, and was hoping for a TMS diagnosis, as opposed to something more physically serious. Despite his expertise in TMS, Dr. Schechter immediately ruled TMS out as a diagnosis, due to the objective weakness in my tricep. While this was not what I was hoping to hear, it’s demonstrative of the fact that Dr. Schechter isn’t so prejudiced by his own expertise in the area of TMS, as to show bias against ruling it out. I’ve come to learn and appreciate, that even the best Dr’s aren’t immune to confirmation bias, so this was the first thing that clued me into Dr. Schechter’s exceptionalness.
However what made Dr. Schechter, quite literally, exceptional, is the fact that although I had previously seen a half-​dozen orthopedists and surgeons, and ALL of them were looking at the same MRI films and reports, Dr. Schechter was the first and only Dr. to notice that the scans had revealed a nodule on my thyroid. While I don’t consider most of the other Dr’s I saw to be slouches by any means, it seems that even the best have a tendency to be myopic towards their own area of expertise. Once again, Dr. Schechter showed himself to be an exception to this understandable, yet unfortunate, rule.
The nodule Dr. Schechter identified did turn out to show a small amount of malignancy, so he essentially found (and I ultimately had removed) a Cancer in it’s very early stages. Although, the nodule was sizable, it was located in such a place as to be invisible to the sight and touch, so I have no doubt that if it weren’t for the Good Dr. Schechter, I would still have this asymptomatic Cancer festering in my neck… for who knows how long.
Today, I went back to Dr. Schechter for a sciatica, which to my relief and suspicion, is TMS, and I have no doubt that I’m in the best hands on the West Coast in terms of a TMS diagnosis. (If you are dealing with pain syndromes like sciatica, back-​pain, etc. and contemplating surgery, I urge you to first get Dr. Sarno’s «Healing Back Pain» from Amazon, and then make an appointment to see Dr. Schechter.)
All of this said, it goes without saying, that I can’t recommend Dr. Schechter highly enough. I feel very fortunate to have such an exceptional Dr. in my proverbial Rolodex.

Dr Schechter has been my primary care physician for over five years now. He is a great diagnostician and has treated any minor medical issue I have had very efficiently and effectively (Luckily, I am quite healthy and have only had minor issues). He is always engaging and professional. Plus, I also trust his clinical skills!

I was referred to Dr. Schechter by one of my other doctors. He has been my primary physician for about a year. I am satisfied because he is very thorough. When I tell him of the symptoms I have, he considers all that are applicable and then rule them out by testing procedures, such as lab work, ultrasound, MRI, etc. It can be expensive to have those tests done, but he doesn’t take a chance of guessing anything like some of the doctors I have seen in the past. I’d rather spend the money to know exactly what illness the symptoms indicate and it seems Dr. Schechter pursues until he knows about my symptoms satisfactorily to treat me.
Based on the findings, Dr. Schechter is very thorough with the treatment (s). He ensures the best applicable remedies are provided and then he follows up with my progress. In the past, I have had doctors prescribe medications and then forgot about me. Dr. Schechter has a schedule where he clearly informs me of when my next visit should be and for what purpose. He follows up with the schedule until he thinks my illness is no longer affecting me.
Dr. Schechter is a very merciful doctor. I have had very stressful situation and he has provided incredible support to help me to reduce the culprits that cause my stress. I have not seen many doctors who show this kind of care and concerns regarding holistic wellbeing of the patient that are beyond the nature of treating illnesses.
During the visits to Dr. Schechter, the waiting time is usually less than 15 minutes. With a busy work schedule, I am glad I don’t waste my time waiting to see the doctor.
The office staff/​assistances are kind and professional. I leave a message with them and I get a response from the doctor within hours. I can’t expect better service than the service I receive from Dr. Schechter’s staff.
I live approximately 50 miles away from Dr. Schechter’s office, but I am happy to spend the driving time to have Dr. Schechter as my primary physician. If you are seeking a competent and merciful physician, I’d strongly recommend Dr. Schechter and judge for yourselves.

I have been going to Dr Schechter for many years and he is a great doctor. He truly cares about his patients and has helped me immensely in the treatment of my chronic pain as well as my other health issues. I look forward to my visits with him and always walk out of his office feeling better then when I went in. He has an extensive list of great specialists which he refers his patients to as well. He is very professional and his staff is really friendly. I highly recommend Dr Schechter.

Dr. Schechter was referred to me by a friend I love and trust for my chronic lower back pain and as a general physician. My first meeting with Dr. Schechter wasn’t amazing, but didn’t send up too many red flags. He is very knowledgeable, but not particularly warm. When discussing my general health, which is great, he did try to tell me that my choice to live as an ethical vegan was likely to cause problems for my skin, hair, hormones, etc. I’ve had my eating habits reviewed by not one, but two nutritionists who have confirmed that I get all necessary nutrients, vitamins, fats, etc. So, if you’re looking for a vegan friendly doctor, Dr. Schechter may not be for you. My primary issue is my back pain, which has nothing to do with my diet and everything to do with how my sciatic nerve is positioned in my body, so I was prepared to let the diet thing go. I know how little nutrition training physicians get, and I’m used to having to educate my primary care doctors about my diet.
The real problem is the lack of consideration with which this practice treats their patients. I had an appointment this morning to check in on progress with my physical therapy and renew my PT prescription. My appointment was at 9:15. I called at 8:50, from stand still traffic to let them know I’d be ten minutes late. Rather than tell me I needed to reschedule the receptionist told me to come in and it wouldn’t be a big deal. I arrive at 9:25, sign in, and wait. At 9:45 I hear Dr. Schechter tell her that I could continue to wait as I was «very, very late» and he would see other patients instead.
I had anticipated a little wait. I was late and there are other people waiting for their 15 minute time slot. I hoped they would just see the person with the 9:30 appointment who arrived early and I would slip in to her spot. Instead, at 10AM Dr. Specter’s receptionist told me I’d need to wait another half hour at least.
Unfortunately, I can’t take an entire morning off from work to wait in a doctor’s office and I’m not keen to wait for unspecified amounts of time anywhere, especially when I have a migraine and my back hurts. When I call my physical therapist, hairdresser, or any other service provider because I’m stuck in traffic, they either offer to reschedule me so that others don’t have to wait or tell me to come on in and we’ll see you at X time instead. That way we all get what we need and are treating each other with respect. Traffic happens. Lateness happens. It’s not cause to treat the late party like their time doesn’t matter or punish them as though they’re carelessly wasting your time. In the scheme of things this is a small slight, but I don’t know if I am comfortable seeking care in this environment. I guess I’ll have to go back to get my prescription for physical therapy renewed, but I’ll be looking for a different doctor for the long term.

I’ve been going to Dr. Schechter for seven years now, and he is by far the best doctor I have ever had. He’s very knowledgeable and easy to talk to. I highly recommend him.

I love Dr. Schechter. He’s thorough, personable, gives a lot of time and special care.

I am a self professed weekend warrior who plays a lot of competitive soccer. And the last two years I’ve torn my groin and MCL ligament in my knee. Dr. Schechter has been outstanding to work with. He is flexible he is great with the patients and has outstanding follow-​through. He is a sports med guy and even did a PRP for my groin. I hate that I need to visit him but he does great work.

I went to Dr. Schechter based on the Unilocal reviews but I can say that I have never felt more money-​swindled by a doctor in my life. After the first visit I came home thinking, this guys is great, he handled everything in one appointment! What a joke. I went to him 4 times, and to about 15 visits to different referral doctors/​exams.
The first visit he diagnosed me right away for a problem that I’ve had in my back for 5 years and injected me with 4 trigger point injections. I had asked if it would be bruised and be painful to sit the next few days because I work at a desk and he said «No.»
I was bruised for 1.5 MONTHS. It wasn’t pretty.
I decided to continue with his suggestion of going to the chiropractor regardless.
The chiropractor tells me that what they injected. was a bone. Great.
I go to get x-​rays to make sure and they tell me to come in to get an ultrasound because they think they see another problem. I make the appointment through Dr. Schecter and asked him to call me before I went in because I wanted to make sure that the ultrasound was necessary before paying all of that money. Never got the call (even though the receptionist told me twice that he was going to) but the receptionist assures me that I will get to speak to Dr. Schechter at the time of my appointment.
Nope. He tells me he would love to talk to me about why my back is PERMANENTLY and very noticeably dented/​disformed from the shots but I didn’t make a REAL appointment. Cha-​ching?
But surprise, I was charged for a «doctors visit» on my next bill in addition to the ultrasound.
Oh and $ 700+ later (post insurance) I was told «I’m not sure what it is, just stretch.»
Thanks for the tip, doc. Glad I could help inflate your wallet.

After reading praising reviews for Dr. Schechter both online and in a popular men’s magazine, I decided to give him a visit for a strained rectus abdominus. That was definitely a mistake for these reasons:
1) Upon reaching his office a couple minuted before my appointment time, there was nobody there; not in the reception or any doctors. After waiting 15 minutes or so, the receptionist finally came in from a late lunch. The doctor arrived another 15 minutes later. 30 minutes late is unacceptable for a professional office. I’ve never experienced that anywhere else. In fact, my new doctor has taken me early on several occasions.
2) Not only was the doctor later than the receptionist, but he proceeded to chew out (yell at) her right in front of me when he finally did arrive. I appreciate that an employee should be reprimanded when they screw up, but it shouldn’t be done by yelling at them in front of a client. Completely unprofessional.
3) The office was not professional looking. There were very old magazines. There were various «alternative medicines» for sale, which should have been my queue to get out of there. There were also cassette tapes (this was in 2010) for sale about Dr. Schecter’s Mind-​Body bullsh*t treatments. Who even has a cassette player anymore?! I’m a very well educated individual who has written comprehensive research papers on the efficacy of these treatments. Let me assure anyone reading this that the word «placebo» stands out when I see these things. It kills a doctor’s credibility as a medical professional when they try to push placebo treatments. I might as well take a sugar pill; it would be just as effective and far cheaper.
4) Dr. Schecter, despite being a sports doctor, didn’t seem to have an athletic bone in his body. Not to say that he wouldn’t be good at diagnosing sports injuries without ever having played a sport, but it sure helps when they’ve at least heard of the sport you play, or know what it feels like to have a sports injury.
5) The exam was uninformative. He asked me where it hurt, then had me lie down on the table so he could feel where the muscle strain was. He actually charged me an extra fee just to touch my abdominals where they hurt. I was under the impression that it was part of his job to do that in the first place! After letting me know I strained my abs, which I already suspected, he didn’t offer any advice on how to alleviate the pain. All he did was recommend a physical therapist, which after seeing him work, I wasn’t about to waste more money with.
6) He uses a lab that didn’t take my insurance (and I have a very comprehensive PPO) without letting me know. Make sure if you mistakenly go here, do not let him do any tests on you (blood, urine, etc.) that he can’t do in his office or they will try and charge you ridiculous fees that your insurance won’t cover. Not only that, but he didn’t bother sending me the results of the tests. He just emailed me that everything was okay.
7) After all this, he tried to sell me more alternative medicine junk. It’s called «alternative medicine» because it’s the alternative to medicine that has been proven to work. There’s a reason that you can buy homeopathic remedies at the nearest gas station but real medicine takes 10 years of schooling to be able to prescribe, has millions of dollars of research and trials to prove efficacy, and had FDA studies to make sure it’s not only effective, but safe as well. I pity the people that buy into his claims and throw their money and health out the window.
In summary: DO NOT GO HERE!!!

I’ve been going to Dr. Schechter for a couple of years now and am very pleased with him. I originally went to him for a sports related injury but then elected him as my primary care physician shortly after because of how positive my experience was.
He is also extremely responsive on email which is a huge plus these days. I recommend him to friends of mine and think you should definitely give him a try.

Bob S. sounds like he needs to find some friends, because apparently he thinks his physician is somehow required to be his chum.
While I agree Dr. Schechter can be shrewd at times, I recognize it’s because he has so many patients and such a clogged schedule, that his room for error is non-​existent. He expects you to know what you want to ask him, and what you need from him. If you haven’t checked in with yourself and what feels wrong, how is he supposed to do his job?
So if you can get over the fact that not everyone in the world you encounter is going to be your best friend, the doctor is great. He’s efficient, he’s thorough, and most importantly, he understands the need to keep things cheap. He not only prescribed medication for me, but with a couple taps on his computer, found a number of locations where I could get it at a discounted price. All without my prompting him to do so. He also is willing to respond online to any questions you want to ask him in general, saving you and him a probably-​needless trip to his office. I highly recommend him.

— - Dr Schechter has offices in Bev. Hills & Culver City. I posted this Excellent Rating for his Culver City office, but it applies to his Bev Hills office as well.
Dr. David Schechter is The Best of the Best. Dr. Schechter is exceptional in all aspects of his medical practice, including but not limited to his medical-​technical expertise and knowledge, his experience, his empathy for his patients, his calm, super-​capable, and friendly demeanor, and his excellent patient treatment and care.
[By the way — — Dr Schechter’s medical assistant, «Casey», and the rest of his team and front-​office staff are very knowledgeable and excellent in what they do. They’re very courteous, helpful, technically proficient, and a great team of professionals.]
I first met Dr Schechter after I had fractured a few ribs and badly injured my back in a fall down a long flight of stairs. I had been treated at my local Emergency Room when I suffered the accident, but in the ensuing week, the pain in my ribs and lower back were not resolving and were in fact getting worse.
I researched the best possible doctor who could effectively diagnose and treat whatever it was that was not healing correctly. As is common for most people, when it comes to doctors, I am particularly careful about researching several dcotors and determining their background, educational qualifications, experience, years in practice, specialty, etc.
I researched online, and called various medical accreditation agencies in California and the AMA. Then I performed even further research using various medical databases that are available online.
Based on my research, Dr Schechter was the best choice. I am not easily impressed by educational credentials, but Dr. Schechter received his bachelors of science degree at Princeton University and then his medical education at New York University and performed his residencies at highly selective medical programs.
You do not get into those Ivy League universities and highly selective programs unless you are extremely bright, highly capable and motivated, and have that intangible and hard to describe «specialness.» Dr. Schechter definitely fits these criteria.
Dr. Schechter’s background also impressed me with his substantial years of hands-​on medical experience across several specialities. His Certification in sports medicine was icing on the cake. I made an appointment.
When I saw Dr. Schechter and told him I had recently fractured my ribs and injured my back and for some reason things were getting worse and not better, one of the first things he said to me was that he had also recently broken his ribs and, based on his own experience with treatment and pain management, he determined that the «standardized and common medical treatment» for rib injuries was not necessarily the best medical treatment given the unique circumstances for each human body and each individual.
Right there — Dr. Schechter sold me on his ability to not only serve as a highly qualified Medical Professional, but also provide diagnosis and treatment as a Doctor who genuinely cares for his patients and sees each of his patients as individuals, with individual health issues that are not necessarily resolved through a «cookie-​cutter» approach to medicine and treatment.
Dr Schechter provided, and had me wear a wide compression bandage which wrapped around my entire torso from the upper rib-​cage area to the lower rib area. Significantly, the Emergency Room doctor told me NOT to wear such a bandage. Based on my subsequent research, the ER doctor’s advice to NOT wear a compression bandage appears to be the commonly accepted medical wisdom for rib injuries — — but that wisdom reflects a «cookie-​cutter» approach to rib injuries and it was not the best treatment advice for ME.
Dr. Schechter emphasized to me that he always tries to treat the whole person and in so doing, nothing he does is a cookie-​cutter approach. He also informed me that much of the accepted wisdom for medical treatment for various injuries is based on «finding the average injury» and treating that average, without recognizing the uniqueness of each injury, each human body, and each person.
Within 24 hours of Dr. Schechter’s diagnosis and his recommendation to do something that the ER doctor specifically warned me NOT to do (the compression bandage) my pain began to subside noticeably. It was as if I was a «new man» !! I could walk with little discomfort whereas just a few days before I was doubled-​over in pain !
The compression bandage was something that the prior doctor told me NOT to wear, and yet it was Dr. Schechter’s refusal to be a cookie-​cutter doctor that allowed him to effectively diagnose and determine the best treatment for ME and my unique circumstances — — and that was wearing a compression bandage.
I’ve made Dr. Schechter my regular physician as he is the Best of the Best.

This one very intelligent, caring and compassionate doctor. Out of all of the doctors that I have seen over my lifetime, he is among the best!!!
He has treated me for illness, food poisoning from a local restaurant, back pain, removal of growths on my back, and knee pain. With the back pain and knee pain, I received shots. I had not one bit of pain with these office procedures as he is extremely knowledgeable about pain management. Recently, he helped me quit smoking. I have succeeded beautifully and without tons of withdrawal problems thanks to his help.
If you have something that is wrong that you may feel is embarrassing, I can assure you that he isn’t going to judge you. He treats a patient with dignity.

Dr. Schechter is a great clinician and a caring doctor.
I am a psychotherapist in Los Angeles and I never hesitate to refer anyone in need of a doctor to him. He is a great diagnostician and also sees the whole person and the whole body in his treatment of clients. His specialty in TMS (tension myositis syndrome) and mind/​body therapy is extremely helpful and vital.
I give Dr. Schechter a 5 star rating!