Clara Lucy Polak, MD - Chula Vista, California

Gabrielle F.

Please do yourself a favor and do not see Dr. Polak.

I had an appointment scheduled for 1:30pm, but I got a call from the office saying they would be able to take me in earlier. I arrived there at 12:15pm, I was not seen until 2:30pm, then I had to wait for a referral and prescription… I did not leave the office until 3:30pm. So unless you have a few hours blocked off in your day, don’t expect this to be a quick visit.

Beware of what her diagnosis is as well. I went in for an ear infection and came out diagnosed with an ear infection, thrush, and a mass on my breast. I was terrified and do not wish that anxiety on anyone. I’ve have obviously changed doctors.

Rzecore P.

This clinic is the WORST!!!! All of the people working there are doing nothing, from the people working on the front desk and the doctors. I know the wait time of your scheduled appointment takes forever but not only that, i’ve been calling them since last week for one of my mom’s diabetes medicine. And weekend have past, 1 week have past, nothing! I called my mom’s insurance to check the status of the delay and insurance was really nice to do a 3 way call of me, insurance and the clinic to make sure the pre-authorization form for the medicine will be signed by the doctor but until now nothing. FYI, i was rushing the clinic because my parents are going out of the country for about 3 months. And tomorrow they will be leaving San Diego so i guess my mom will not bring any diabetes medicine with her on her vacation. People here are no brainer to distinguish the urgent matters and not. I hope they see this but im sure nothing’s gonna change... I’ve been reading some reviews and all same comments, and until now they are still slow… slow on paperworks and slow on seeing their patients.

Brandi H.

Brought my 72 year old mom here twice and both times we were here for 4 plus hours... both times with appointments... zero sense of urgency... zero actual care for the patient... I mean 4 hours is how long you wait at the emergency room... it shouldn't be how long you wait with an appointment. If you can't meet with patients in a reasonable amount of time you should probably book less appointments at those times. On top of that the Dr pulled her mask down several times while talking to my super high risk mother... if anyone should know better I would think it would be her Dr. Just insane. If you can go somewhere else I would recommend it.

Yasser A.

If you value your time, don't go there. If you take an appointment at 3, and go half an hour early to be sure, you will be seen by 8 at best! That's what happened to me. When calling them in the phone. They will keep you waiting for very very long.

Dr. Polka is nice. But there are so many other doctors out there who are nice and won't make you wait for 5 hours after your set appointment time.

It's simply ridiculous.

This didn't just happen once. But every single time.

I did speak to her about it, she simply told me next time schedule your appointment with one of her junior doctors. So I decided to look for a new doctor all together.

By giving them 1 star, I'm doing them a service. Maybe that will reduce the number of patients and they won't have to wait for so long!

Stephen R.

Had an 11AM appointment with Dr. Polak, I arrived and signed in at precisely 10:25AM and filled out the new patient paperwork. A full hour later at 11:35 AM I was taken to the examination room and had my vitals ( weight, BP and 02 etc.) checked. Then I waited and waited and waited some more.
The office did not seem overly busy to begin with and after a full 2 and half hour wait in that exam room they had actually run out all of the time I had to get through the appointment and go and get my prescriptions refilled.
When I realized I had to leave without receiving ANY care whatsoever I was pretty depressed as I am having a physical ailment that I need a doctor to help me with.
This was by far the worst experience I have ever had with an appointment at a physician's office ( I have had slammed ER and Urgent Care visits that took less time)!
My advice is to avoid this practice as they apparently either overbook appointments habitually or perhaps maybe even just don't care at all about their patients.

RaymondnCharline G.

In order for me to get my review on here, I had to select a star. Trust me when I say, choose another doctor. Your time is precious, don't waste it waiting on a doctor that is 2 hrs late for your appointment.
My 81yr old mother was referred to Dr. Polak by her cardiologist. So as a new patient, we arrived early enough because I knew there would be paper work to be filled out. The lobby was full of patients waiting to see her. Mom's appointment was at 2:15, we finally got herded into the back at 2:45. No apologies were given by the staff. Mom had her weight and height checked. Then we were escorted to the examining room where a nurse came on and checked her blood pressure. Mom was restless, she has RA so sitting for long periods of time is too painful for her, so she has to walk and keep moving. Finally, I said "let's get out of here". There must have been 3 patients before Mom that wasn't seen yet. We walked back to the lobby to reschedule, the receptionist assured me that the doctor was with a patient right now and soon as she's gone, Mom would be next. So we went back to the room , I gave her fifteen minutes. And we walked out, told her nurse I would reschedule. Asked the receptionist if I could reschedule, she says " I'm on the phone". I said okay, I'll call you we're leaving.
The entire staff looked busy, so busy that no one could tell us why she was late, let alone APOLOGIZE for making us wait so long. My Mom was in pain waiting to see a doctor, not cool.
So "my review" is find another doctor. Unless you have time to waste waiting on a doctor that is 2hrs late for your appointment. Starbucks barista's are more professional. I wouldn't waste 1 star on this Doctor and her staff.
CG

Dannielle F.

Front office staff is rude. I don’t even want to give 1 star, should be 0. New patient and appt was made for me for follow up after being seen at the ED yesterday. Had an appt at 10am and waited over 3 hours to get seen. Absolutely ridiculous. I work in healthcare and haven’t seen such lack of customer service. At the very least staff should be kind to inform patients in the lobby of the doctor is running late and at least give an estimate of how behind the doctor is running. Save your time and find another provider. Don’t go here.

arthur M.

Looking through all the previous reviews it is obvious that the major complaint is the amount of time waiting to be seen. I can sympathize with these complaints but I feel that patients with unpleasant experiences are more likely to post reviews than those patients with satisfactory experiences. Satisfied patients are more likely to accept their treatment as simply what was expected and not think about posting reviews.
I have had approximately a dozen appointments with two different Doctors and two different PAs in urgent care and had to wait an extended amount of time only twice. On the other hand, I have had appointments with other practices where I was seen on time and received only a cursory examination and told to come back next week. Dr. Polak and her staff are in great demand as evidenced by the length of time before a future appointment. The two Doctors I have seen, Dr Georgia Aljawadi and Dr. Carla Stillwell, listened patiently to my needs with compassion and understanding and at no time was there a sense of being rushed. I was given a full explanation of their diagnosis and was given a role in determining my own treatment.
If this meant that patients down the line might have to wait a little longer, so be it. They, in their turn, would receive the same level of honesty and courtesy as I did. It is impossible to predict when a patient will require an extended amount of time and absurd to force patient's visits to fit into a set amount of time in order to meet a schedule.
It is easy enough to find Doctors with unsuccessful practices who will see you on a moments notice and you will not have to wait - until next week when you have to see them again! Dr. Polak's is the very best practice I have encountered in my 74 years and it was worth the wait! I come to my appointments with music and reading material prepared to wait patiently. After all, we are called patients because we endure without complaint - until we see the doctor.