Allergy & Asthma Care Ctr of Southern California

The unpleasantness lies with the office, not the doctor. Dr Meltzer himself seems to be a very attentive and thoughtful doctor. My son has had chronic nasal congestion his entire life. After a skin test showed an allergy to dust mites, Dr Meltzer started him on a course of injections. Here’s where the trouble starts.
We have to come in once a week for shots, for at least a year. The office is only open for shots during very specific hours, 9 – 11 am and 1:30 — 5:00 pm. No early mornings, evenings, or weekends, which makes it extremely inconvenient in the event that you happen to work or attend school. So, fine, we carve out time to get there in the middle of the day — how much time, you ask? Excellent question. Our best time was 25 minutes one magical day, but it could be up to a couple hours! That’s the fun of it, you never know how long you’re going to spend. Once we arrived and saw waiting room was empty — Jackpot, I thought, we’re going to get right in and out. Nope. Five people came in after us, three of them were called before us. What? Why? After 45 minutes or so, I inquired of the receptionist how much longer we might be waiting, and her helpful comment was «I don’t know. You’ve been highlighted, he should be called.» Translation: Your time isn’t important to us, I have no idea what’s going on and I can’t be bothered to find out.
The waiting room is great for long waits, because the two blaring televisions ensure you can’t read or get any homework done as you while away the afternoon listening to school shooting details on a perpetual loop on CNN. Today I waited with him a little while and eventually had to leave to pick up my other children. When I returned they chewed me out because they cannot give him a shot without me present, and then they stonewalled me when I asked, for future reference, if there was any way for me to plan around how long I could expect to spend on any given day. Nope. The staff are rude, disrespectful, and do not listen. Asking questions of them is like talking to a rock. My son has been getting shots for 6 months already (with no improvement yet), and though I hate to think of that as time wasted, I can’t bear the thought of another 6 months of this.

Most challenging and difficult receptionist ever. Called several times on two different days. First day, despite their very long message and complicated hours –I was not able to get through to make an appt. Finally received their messaging center who said they were closed for the day, not sure why. Called back the next day, was routed to a dead line twice. Called back again, was asked a few questions then put on hold for more than 7 minutes. Finally got to speak to someone who was rude and impatient. I had already told the last person all of the questions she was asking me again. Then she said she didn’t remember my name, despite the fact that I told her I had moved away and not been there in a few years and offered me a new patient appointment 3 months out. Long story short — you couldn’t pay me to go to such a rude office. We call doctors office for care not attitude.

It can be hard to get into to see Dr. Steven Meltzer, but that is because he is a kind, intelligent, and all-​around brilliant doctor who is highly sought out by patients and parents of patients with asthma. My daughter has seen him for 17 years. When she first started seeing him, she could not run and play due to massive asthma attacks. Not only did Dr. Meltzer get her asthma under control, my daughter actually went on to compete for five years in a sport with precious few problems.

Came to Dr. Tamaroff after experiencing a weird reaction to a kiwi. After a skin scraping test, a subdural injection test, and a blood test, it has been confirmed! I am only slightly allergic to 2 things… one of which was a reaction to kiwi fruit. So bizzare! Dr. Tamaroff was very informative and professional the entire time and now I have the knowledge to help me avoid further reactions!

Waited a month and a half to get a new patient appointment, filled out all the paperwork and received an appointment date from the main office. I get up to the office, which is majorly po-​dunk and am informed that my appointment is tomorrow. I show the lady my paper that says my appointment is today and she tells me that the computer says otherwise. But the paper from YOUR office says it’s today! She was super rude and didn’t apologize for THEIR mistake. Apparently this place doesn’t want new clients because I’m not going back.

Dr. Meltzer is the best there is! He loves kids and doesn’t mind if my toddler is asking him questions. He even played with him in our 50 mins appt. he knows his field really well and pays attention to ur questions. He is an excellent educator as well as a doctor. Highly recommended!

One night I woke up and my eyes were swollen shut. I got an allergic reaction from something, which caused me to look worse than Will Smith in the movie Hitch. Time to get checked up for sure, cause you never know when allergies may strike. Sometimes, it can be fatal. Not to mention the fact that all of us suffer from sneezing, coughing, runny nose, and itchy eyes at one time or another.
Getting to the consultation was the hardest part. They were booked 3 weeks in advance. A good indication that the Allergy & Asthma Care Center of Southern California was well sought after. They mailed me some forms to fill out, along with my appointment confirmation. I despise filling out long forms in a waiting room, so getting them in advance eases the pain.
The receptionists at the front desk were all very cordial. They called me by name and made me feel welcome. More like a customer, than a patient. I was treated by Dr. Steven Meltzer, a very kind and informative professional. He suggested that I take the least amount of antihistamines and drugs needed. Right up front, his intended role was to teach me about the do’s and don’ts of allergic attacks. He literally gave me the entire rundown of what could be possible issues and it’s symptoms. He even gave me a doggie bag of prescriptions (epi-​pen, medication to quickly reduce swelling), just in case, and some clear written instructions for my reference.
I’ve seen many of my friends take over 50 pricks on their skin to test for allergies. Dr. Meltzer recommended that I take just the right amount, rather than testing for everything. Quoting him, «Those other doctors are just making money off your friends. You don’t need that many, unless you’re absolutely sure that you want more.» AWESOME! When was the last time a doctor told you that he’ll perform less procedures to save you money?
Assuming, nothing horrific happens during my skin testing, I’m going to believe that coming to the Allergy & Asthma Care Center of Southern California was one of the best things I’ve done for my health in 2013.

Finally decided to have my allergies tested – tired of all the sneezing, post nasal drip, sore throat, etc. The staff at Allergy & Asthma Care Center are great! Scheduling was easy, I didn’t have to wait when I arrived at my appointment, and I was able to get some solutions for my allergies.

Today was my first visit for my allergies with Dr. Melter. I was impressed with how efficient the staff was with processing my paper work and how detailed the doctor was with my examine. I like his approach on less meds/​injections (magic words for my ears). He listened to my concerns & gave me many options to choose from. Plus he gave me samples of a few products to try. I like the all in one visits & not running around to go get things. Working for a busy medical office myself I take special attention to detail & this office definitely has it. Great doctor & friendly staff.