UCLA Health Santa Monica Pain Medicine - Santa Monica (CA)

2 /5 Sophia Coverson: I had surgery through UCLA at the beginning of the year. Knowing that chronic pain is not easy to manage, I have a care team of neurosurgeons, primary care, doctor, and a chronic pain doctor. that being said, Im still having a very difficult time receiving basic care. My chronic pain doctor will refer me to everybody else for care, but not manage it herself. there are many miscommunications going on with the different care teams. primary care will tell me to speak to chronic pain and chronic pain will either refer me back to primary care or tell me that I dont even need her to be seen essentially. After expressing my concerns, I was told "you dont need a referral depending on what insurance I had" when orthopedics clearly told me I do need a referral. why are there care teams put in place if they do not want to address the pain, rather put it onto someone else. as a patient, it is not ideal to live in high amounts of pain that affect your daily tasks and thats whats going on here. I thought coming to such a procedure place would ensure great care and unfortunately, I was wrong. I had a very pleasant experience with neurosurgery, but very unpleasant with chronic pain

1 /5 Day H: Wasted a trip and money on this facility. They kept me waiting over 90 minutes for me to see the doctor, yet told me they were "running on time." The doctor was extremely slow talking and seemed more concerned with showing his knowledge, rather than helping me. He appeared to be determined on trying to make my source of pain arthritis despite the fact I have no pain in any of the areas he examined. I have lost trust in UCLA. They seem to be mediocre doctors in general and Ive had many give wrong tests and unable to actually help me.

1 /5 Matthew King: My experience trying to find a new pain management specialist at UCLA has been extremely frustrating and highlights a systemic issue within American healthcare. Im seeking a new specialist due to various non-negative reasons, and UCLA is highly regarded in this field. Even UCLA Urgent Care advised me to contact the pain management office directly. However, when I called, the clerk refused to schedule an appointment, insisting I return to Urgent Care or the Emergency Room because my pain was too severe. I agree my chronic pain is severe, but I had just come from Urgent Care! No matter how I explained the situation, the clerk repeated, "Its our policy, you need to go to Urgent Care." Im now stuck in a Catch-22. Both Urgent Care and Pain Management are in the same building, yet neither can help due to "policy/liability" concerns. Urgent Care told me to call Pain Management, and Pain Management told me to go to Urgent Care. The clerk at Pain Management even said, "Im sorry, theres nothing else I can do for you. You have to go to urgent care," and from Urgent Care: "Im sorry, theres nothing else I can do for you. You have to call Pain Management." I pay a HUGE monthly premium for PPO?! Why? How come UCLA Pain Management was unable to escalate my issue beyond 1st tier shielding clerk?

1 /5 Elena Chute: I have a tethered spinal cord, ehlers danlos syndrome, and fibromyalgia with a history of several spine surgeries. Now have severe intractable chronic pain and all the practice could offer me was talk therapy. I was referred to them a second time, as rest of my care team is saying my pain is being undertreated. Even ER doctors are saying this. I drove 50 miles today for them to call me and tell me they have to reschedule and make other arrangements. When called back, Victor refused to speak to me. Messages were being passed through scheduler. Office manager refused to talk to me. Then the truth came out they are refusing care because there was nothing they could do for me. Stay away from this office. They are dangerous and truly are ignorant to the reality of pain. I wish my pain on to them. So they know what it feels like. And I want all treatment to be denied of them. They are causing harm by stigmatizing and discriminating against patients.

5 /5 Ernest Hill: I have been a patient at UCLA SANTA MONICA PAIN MANAGEMENT for 2 plus years and specifically a patient of Dr. Erick Hsu, M.D. Dr. Hsu is an exceptionally competent and caring anesthesiologist/pain management specialist. With over 40 years of experience in the field, he has consistently provided top-notch care, addressing my pain management needs with unparalleled expertise. Dr. Hsus compassionate and thoughtful approach to treatment makes him stand out as one of the best medical doctors I have ever had the pleasure of encountering. His dedication to patient care and well-being is evident in every interaction, truly making him a standout in his field.