Avril Swan, MD

Dr. Swan is one-​of-​a-​kind. She is warm, compassionate and sincere and deeply cares about each of her patients. Dr. Swan is in the right field. Her personality and commitment is what every parent should expect from a pediatrician. If I can use the word «perfect» as an under title for Dr. Swan, it would not be fair because that title would not do her justice. She is so much more than that. She truly is a gift sent from above. God bless Dr. Swan and keep her healthy for children’s benefit. Thank you.

I can honestly say I have the BEST DOCTOR… I’ve been seeing her almost a year often once a week when needed. She’s been nothing but awesome. I don’t need to explain why except to say that I like going to see her despite the long drive. I have other people on my health «team» & she works with them too. I can’t say enough how wonderful she is as a doctor & a person.

Best doctor I’ve ever been to. Dr. Swan is an educated and kind doctor who takes the time to listen to me and give me proper advice. She can obviously prescribe allopathic medicine but then also knows so much about natural remedies for common problems such as colds, burns etc.
She is a very supportive and friendly person and if you are on the hunt for a Dr, try Avril Swan! I’ve been seeing her for about a year and I’m very very happy!

Our family has seen Dr. Swan for five years. She is one of the kindest, most understanding people we have ever met, She has been open when we have been hesitant. She has always made herself available, even when inconvenient to her own schedule. She is by far the best doctor we have ever known. She is our entire family’s MD and I cannot praise her or recommend her enough – she is one of the most wonderful and amazing people I have ever met and I feel privileged to be a client.

Just want to post something as a patient and a physician:
Dr. Swan is remarkable: smart, caring and inspiring. It doesn’t get any better than her. She knows her stuff well and is perfectly and appropriately confident to be able to say when she should or wants to learn more about a particular subject. You should know that you are in terrific hands with her care.

How can I say this without sounding like a groupie? Dr. Swan is not only the single best doctor I have ever encountered in my life, but she is also one of the finest human beings I have ever met. After leaving my last doctor’s practice because my visits with him consisted of his sticking his head in the door, and my chasing him down the hall afterward, hollering, «Waaaait! I need a reeeeeeeeefill!», Dr. Swan has been a revelation.
I don’t have children, but if I had young daughters in particular, I would rush them in to Dr. Swan because she is so positive about body image and self-​acceptance. She is incredibly knowledgeable about alternative medicine as well, and equally creative in her treatment. You know she genuinely cares about you as an individual, and doesn’t just see you as her next appointment. I travel frequently, and she’s kept in touch with me via e-​mail when I’ve had issues while out of the country.
Brooke H. said it best – she treats you as a whole being – not as someone who is short of a preconceived health ideal. When I sometimes don’t take care of myself, I see genuine concern in her eyes, rather than the «tsk tsk,» I’ve gotten from so many practitioners in the past. I am in an HMO for the first time in my life, so reimbursement for my visits is not an option. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t dream of leaving her for an in-​network doctor. My life and health are worth every penny.
Last but not least, I love that she is young, and will not be retiring on me any time soon.

Ditto what everyone else has said.
On top of that, I will just add, that after 10 years in the Bay Area, the best I could say about any doctor I’d had (and I’ve had more than a couple) is that I was ambivalent about them. I didn’t think they were great and I still felt like a number, but at least they didn’t seem incompetent. The worst I could say about several cannot be printed here!
Then I heard about this practice. I researched it and only heard good things and even knew two people that saw doctors there that had only rave reviews. Still, I debated long and hard. First of all, I live in the East Bay and wasn’t thrilled about the idea of having to cross the bridge and battle SF parking just to see a doctor. Second, the whole no insurance thing was a bit of a turn off. But I finally got so fed up with my docs that I decided I had to try it. I’m SO glad I did!
Dr. Swan is a dream. I’ve never felt so cared for by a doctor. Even for routine stuff, you won’t be ushered into the waiting room, given a perfunctory once over and shoved out after five minutes with a prescription. She actually spends time with you! She actually gets to know your lifestyle. She’s not just about giving you a pill (which I like), instead, she makes practical suggestions for lifestyle changes. She had me tested for things that no other doctor had ever tested me for and got some really important results about low vitamin and mineral levels. And I absolututely LOVE it that she gives you a written summary of all her recommendations when you leave because I can never remember that stuff after the fact. Now I don’t have to.
Is she more expensive? Yes. Especially depending on your insurance. I’m lucky that mine pays 70% of her fee (some insurance doesn’t pay for out of network at all), but that can still add up. Still, I’d go to her even if I had to pay the full fee myself. After having some fairly serious health concerns over the last couple of years and dealing with doctors that I didn’t think gave a toss about me or who, even worse, made me feel like an idiot for asking questions, I’ve realized that having a doctor that you’re in sync with is SO important. She’s worth every single penny. I wish all doctors were like her.

Like everyone else here, I cannot say enough about Dr Swan and about this practice.
We found her when we were searching for a pediatrician for our baby. We interviewed quite a few doctors. Waited in crowds of people in many cold waiting rooms. Met many overworked late tired doctors. Until we met Dr Swan.
The practice is intentionally small and so warm and caring. Dr Swan spends a long time with you — and you feel like you’re the only thing in her day at that moment. She even made a *housecall* shortly after our girl was born. She’s stopped by on a *weekend* to test our girl for strep. She responds via *email.* We loved her manner and experience and caring with our girl so much we both dropped our existing arrangements and signed up to have the whole family cared for at this practice.
In the meantime, we’ve seen all three doctors here and the whole practice is great. You have to bill your own insurance — which actually the more we work with it, the more we appreciate. Even in practices that bill insurance directly, I typically have forms and follow-​ups — it doesn’t seem any more of a burden here, and what the office saves in the confines of that insurance hassle, they return many times in personal attention and care.
I would not hesitate to recommend anyone to Dr Swan and to this practice.

Dr. Swan is the best, most attentive, caring, whole-​person treating doctor I’ve ever had. She’s got an unusual mix of being a top-​educated doctor plus a kind, empathetic human being. I have never felt so well taken care of, and she answers emails and I understand she even does house calls if the situation warrants.
The best feeling is going there and knowing she’s treating your whole being — if I have one ailment somewhere, she still checks in on progress with other issues, and by the end of the 30 or 45 minutes, I feel so well attended to!
It’s a bummer that she doesn’t take health insurance, but I couldn’t even being to imagine switching to a different doctor.

having read all the other comments, everything good about Dr. Swan and her office is covered … will just add that she’s been our 5yr old’s doc since the kid’s birth, and we’ve been extremely happy with it. In fact, soon after signing on with Doc Swan for the kid, both wife & I made the switch to her as our primary doc. A bit more expensive, as insurance typically only covers these visits at 80% (and, you have to file the paperwork yourself), but well worth it.

Dr. Swan is now my son’s pediatrician as well as my doctor, and I’m so happy to have her nearby. She takes the time to answer all questions, no matter how silly-​new-​parent they are, and has a really great way of passing information along. I have great memories of my doctor when I was little, so I’m thrilled to have her (and her partners in the practice) to take care of my family. This is the kind of family practice I used to fantasize about, and it’s great to know it exists!

We had a number of doctors but have stopped looking now that we found Dr Swan. She is caring and knowledgeable and our daughter loves to visit her.

My wife and I initially discovered Dr Swan in 2004 when we were looking for a family doctor for our kid who was about to be born. At that time, when meeting with and interviewing multiple doctors, we were most impressed with her because she was the most relaxed and spent the most time with us and didn’t charge us for the meeting. After our baby was born she made a house visit (wow! that was SO easy and nice!) and talked about the health of all of us, both parents and the baby, not just the baby. I was blown away with how much attention and time she spent. Since then, she’s made quick house visits to drop off something or get a quick test on a weekend, and she’s become the doctor for our whole family, not just our kid. She’s a gem. I haven’t had a doctor like her since I moved to San Francisco. She (or the other doctor in the office) are the ones who answer your page on off-​hours, not some nurse at an 800 number. She replies to email quickly. She listens, she spends time, she pays attention, she doesn’t condescend, she doesn’t rush you, she doesn’t try to pressure you, she mades smart recommendations, she responds with compassion to each and every concern, even if it’s completely silly or petty, and, most of all, she’s very smart and is interested in our whole selves and whole family, not just the specific symptom or situation. Her office will print out a claim form for you to mail to your insurance (if your insurance will pay for an out-​of-​network doctor) which makes it easy for us to pay Dr Swan then file claim for reimbursement from our insurance. I’d pay for her services even if my insurance didn’t cover out-​of-​network. She’s that fabulous.

Dr. Swan is the type of doctor that I just assumed didn’t exist anymore. We’ve been seeing her since my daughter was born in 05, originally just taking my daughter to her, but the whole family has since switched to her. It is so nice to know you are going to see her and not whoever is on rotation at UCSF, which is what we did for years. She has made house calls on numerous occasions and the first time my daughter had an ear infection she was there for hours in the middle of the night. You do have to pay out of pocket though which is a bummer, but they do all the insurance paperwork for you so you just mail it in. And I agree with a previous post, she is just a wonderful person. Oh an I am a person who will always look at all the alternative options to something and she has ALWAYS been very understanding and open to that and doesn’t make me feel crazy like every other doctor I’ve seen does, which means a ton.

Avril was recommended to me by a friend of mind who was a colleague of hers at UCSF. She is a holistic doctor (my first appointment she gave me cleaning and dietary tips for my allergies.) She’s been fantastic. Very knowledgeable about both Western medicine and holistic health. Her physicals last an hour and she takes time to really understand your health needs. The one caveat is that she does not take insurance and is a bit expensive but she’s definitely worth it.

Dr. Swan is the best — going to her office is more like visiting a spa or a therapist than a doctors office. You leave feeling refreshed and soothed — nothing like it.

We take our infant son to Dr. Swan. The first time we met was when she made a housecall 4 days after he was born. We like that she is holistically-​minded; in fact, this is one of the reasons we decided to pay out-​of-​network insurance fees to see her.

So, if you’re willing to pay extra for a general practitioner who doesn’t take insurance, pick Avril. She was recommended to me by a family friend who was one of her teachers at SF general. When I thought I had strep this Sunday morning, she saw me three hours before her daughters birthday party to give me a test. And she always calls back right away. But remember, you get what you pay for. .. she’s expensive!