HRC Fertility Group

I rarely leave reviews, but after my experience with this clinic, I feel compelled to share it. Fertility treatment is already an emotional, stressful, and expensive journey especially when you’re paying completely out of pocket. Patients deserve compassion, communication, and to feel like they matter. Unfortunately, that was not my experience here. From the beginning, there were ongoing issues with scheduling, communication, and excessive wait times. At one appointment, I sat in an exam room so long that the lights automatically turned off before anyone came in. During my surgery, I was left waiting in the procedure room for approximately 25 minutes with my legs propped up and exposed from the waist down before the doctor arrived. I was left in that position so long that my legs began to go numb, and I had to tell the staff that I was becoming uncomfortable and ask, “Where is the doctor?” It was embarrassing, uncomfortable, and honestly ridiculous that I was left waiting in such a vulnerable position for that long. The final straw was a scheduling mistake that directly affected my treatment. I was seen on May 18th and was specifically told to return on May 22nd. I rearranged my schedule, showed up for my appointment, and was then told that I wasn’t even on the schedule. There had been a mix-up on their end. What is most upsetting is what happened afterward: absolutely nothing. My last interaction with this clinic was on May 22nd. As of June 23rd more than a month later not a single person has reached out to apologize, explain what happened, discuss next steps, or even check on me. No phone call. No email. No acknowledgment whatsoever. At this point, it honestly feels like nobody gives a damn. And that’s heartbreaking because this isn’t just another doctor’s appointment. This is fertility treatment. This is something I poured my heart into after years of wanting to become a mother. I paid for this care out of pocket, invested my time, trusted this clinic with something incredibly personal, and in return, I was made to feel like I simply didn’t matter. I don’t know why my experience was handled this way, and I don’t want to assume anyone’s intentions. I only know how I was made to feel: ignored, forgotten, and never a priority. When you’re trusting a clinic with something as emotional and life-changing as building your family, the lack of communication, accountability, and compassion is devastating. I will never return to this clinic, and based on my experience, I cannot recommend it.

Highly recommended!!

We had an excellent experience working with Dr. Mandelbaum and her team. From the very first consultation, she took the time to listen to our concerns, explain all our options clearly, and guide us through every step of the process. Her approach was both compassionate and thorough, which made what could have been a stressful experience feel manageable and positive. The clinic staff were equally wonderful—professional, responsive, and always willing to answer questions quickly, whether by phone or email. We appreciated how organized the entire process was, with clear instructions and regular updates, which made us feel supported and confident in our decision. 10/10 would recommend!

Had the most positive experience freezing my eggs with Dr. Mandelbaum. She was so kind and took her time with me. She did each of my ultrasounds and checked in on me every step of the way. Her needle free medication system is a game changer. Super grateful she was recommended to me. 10/10.

I’m currently going through the process of freezing my eggs with Dr. Mandelbuam at HRC Fertility and I couldn’t be more pleased with the her and the entire staff there. I am 37 and have found out through this process that I have low ovarian reserve so freezing my eggs has not been an easy process. I started this process with UCLA and found it to be extremely impersonal, expensive and difficult. I switched to HRC and was blown away by how attentive, knowledgeable, and kind Dr. Mandelbuam is. Our first meeting, she spent over an hour just explaining the process and my condition to me in a way that no one had ever explained it before (with visuals!). Every time I need to go get a scan, Dr. Mandelbuam is the one doing it. She even called me personally on a Friday evening to check on me after a cycle didn’t go the way I had hoped it would. This journey, whether trying to freeze your eggs with low ovarian reserve or going through IVF or dealing with any other infertility issue, is SO emotional and you want someone like Dr. Mandelbuam on your team. She even invented a Needle-Less IVF catheter system that is amazing for anyone who is uncomfortable poking themselves with needles day after day. On top of that, the other staff members like her nurse Jasmine and the financial advisor April, are kind, supportive, communicative, and helpful. Jasmine responds quickly by email or text, making herself available for any questions or concerns. She walks you through how to administer the medication and even offered to FaceTime with me the first time I did it to make sure I felt comfortable. Every person who has drawn my blood has been amazing and shout out to Leah at the Encino surgery center who held my hand through a painful ovarian cyst aspiration procedure (my advice: spend the money on the anesthesia!) and was so kind. All this to say, I highly recommend HRC Fertility!

They never answer the phone and I felt like all they cared about was selling me on egg freezing instead of caring about what was best for me. Terrible doctor that didn’t even review our test results before recommending IVf.

I had an appointment scheduled for 8 AM, but no one arrived at the office. It is now 8:45 AM. This level of unprofessionalism and lack of respect for customers is unacceptable and does not meet the standards of good customer service.

HRC is the most disorganized medical practice I've ever experienced, and an already traumatizing time--going through IVF--was made so much worse by what I saw as extreme carelessness on the part of HRC. And I just read a news article that reported that HRC is being sued for implanting the wrong embryos (it won't let me link here, but if you google "HRC wrong embryos" it should come up), which doesn't shock me at all considering how incompetent their staff was. While there are a few good things about this practice--short wait times, a Dr. who seemed nice enough, kind surgery center nurses-- those positives are outweighed by HRC's mistakes which ranged from being extremely irritating, expensive, and inconvenient to causing emotional trauma. First, dealing with the financial counselor at HRC was a nightmare. She made countless mistakes with my account--costing me extra money-- and it took a lot of work on my part--some of which I had to escalate to management--to even get someone to finally acknowledge that she messed up and forgot to issue an owed refund and forgot to provide records and bills (I think she hoped I'd just ignore the extra charges!). It should not take multiple emails to get a response to a simple question. Whenever I pressed for clarity or information or asked her to look into a potential mistake, she would either refuse to, or give me an answer that seemed like an outright lie--as was evidenced when I got a COMPLETELY different explanation from her manager while she could only muster up that a quote was "no longer valid," which was impossible given the time frame . The other questions you have simply get ignored or you are told to "contact person X '' but then person X never ever responds, or "responds" weeks later but doesn't actually answer your question or hangs up on you. Their inability to communicate clearly--or punctually--is astounding. While issues with billing and record-keeping were frustrating (and pricey!), they paled in comparison to the what seemed to be extreme sloppiness on the medical side. All treatment/medical communication goes through the nurse coordinator, which was frustrating because she made so many mistakes. I caught a bunch of those mistakes and sent replies to her emails asking for clarification, for her to make a correction, etc., but many times, those requests were ignored or significantly delayed. For example, a medication was ordered in excess, costing almost 1000 dollars. I asked about this via email and the issue was skirted until the next time I was in the office with her, and then, when pressed, admitted that HRC "estimates" medication and they often order (and charge you for!) too much on purpose (which I can't find disclosed in their medical forms, nor was it ever told to me verbally). Then she said my only recourse (for the extra medication SHE ordered that I didn't consent to!) was to sell it on the "black market." She even suggested Facebook groups were a great place to sell excess fertility medication! I also had one of the PAs give me the same medication-selling "advice", making me think that miscalculating meds/encouraging patients to do sketchy and illegal things to cover HRC's mistakes might be common practice at HRC. She also failed to provide key details including schedule changes/timelines for treatments. Instead, she pretended that this was the plan all along until pushed to admit she changed things (without telling me). She also had to be reminded to send necessary lab request information for my treatment/testing and address other key administrative duties. The last straw was the mistake made in my transfer procedure instructions--once again this nurse coordinator failed to provide essential details about requirements for taking the Valium that resulted in my not being able to get them to fix their mistakes in time for me to be allowed the medication during the (extremely unpleasant and invasive!) procedure. As a result, it added a level of extra pain and trauma to an already-stressful day.

The first time I went to HRC was back in July 2018. I had just been to Pacific Fertility, and had been VERY mishandled (they prescribed medication without taking my blood). I had already started an egg retrieval cycle, and thought I might have to start all over again. In a panic, I went to see Dr. David Tourgeman to see if my cycle could be saved. Immediately, I was put at ease by his demeanor and knowledge. He took time to explain where I was in my cycle, and how he and his team could help me. He assigned a team to me, and I had 24/7 care and felt like I was their only patient. We ended up being able to salvage my cycle and I was happy with the result of that egg retrieval cycle. Years later, in April 2022, I went back to HRC and Dr. Tourgeman with intent to use the eggs that I had retrieved. We ended up having to do another egg retrieval, and two transfers. I'm really happy with the treatment I got, and with the result (spoiler alert: I'm pregnant). Not only was he incredibly kind (as he was before), but the team assigned to me made me feel like I was their first priority. My care coordinator Mei was consistent and dependable - I could always rely on her to respond to my numerous questions and emails - usually well within 24 hours (typically within a few hours). My nurse Maria was always kind and professional - she had to take a lot of blood draws from me throughout the processes, and it never hurt. She has such a gentle touch when it comes to needles. Maira handled the finance part, and was always helpful and answered questions I had. I always understood the costs associated with my care. I can’t more highly recommend HRC and Dr. Tourgeman, and his team. They are incredibly supportive, and helpful. Dr. Tourgeman is thorough, caring, knowledgeable, available, and best of all, he assembled an incredible team that has exhibited nothing but the highest professionalism and dedication to my care.

I’m not one to write a negative review. We scheduled an apt here weeks ago. We went off grid camping in Arizona before our appointment. WITHOUT NOTICE they said we needed to reschedule because we didn’t quarantine for 72 hours coming back…...