Thomas Fisher

At UCSF I felt like I was using my health insurance and getting very basic care, not spending tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket, but at Spring my husband and I felt the benefits of a boutique health care experience. Things like snacks in the waiting room etc are nothing in comparison to the effectiveness of the treatment, but honestly since we didn’t have insurance that would cover the cost we really appreciated being spoiled a little. At UCSF we felt like a number, not valued at all. At Spring we felt that human connection and really appreciated the care that we received. The fact that they were also more effective is the most important thing of course. I would recommend Spring to anyone, and in fact my very best friend is starting her care there right now. That is how good they are. They have forever touched my family’s life.

Strengths - definitely felt like state of the art equipment especially during the egg retrieval and also seeing the embryologists work in SF made I was visually able to see the state of the art facilities. Extremely clean and comfortable and I could tell all the nurses and drs were extremely professional while also kind and caring. The extra touches such as the sparkling water and snacks/chocolates was definitely a plus. Though for me what is most important is the knowledge and professional of the team which was a 10/10 and the healthcare equipment which was also a 10/10. Weaknesses - the billing team was not as organized or responsive. Sometimes I had to follow up with the billing team on certain questions and one time I was told I had an outstanding payment when I did not. Right now I am resolving an issue with them where a third party billed me for more than what I was told my maximum bill would be.

I was seen at both Danville and Oakland and I was impressed with every single person I came in contact with. Everyone was always friendly, upbeat, and generally happy to see you/be at work. I always received prompt professional answers, and always felt like the only person they were treating. There is not one single negative to report.

The clinic always had a warm, welcoming receptionist. Clinic space was clean and calming. I wish there was more free parking around the clinic. There is paid street parking which can be hard to find and a very expensive parking lot next door.

our office experience because a doctor is only as good as his care team. The office ladies are always so sweet, welcoming, and maintain a level of professionalism that I truly appreciate. The ease of use of their portal to communicate with your nurse and reading important documents is also a huge plus for me because I can keep track of all different labs and results. My nurse, Tiffany has been an angel with answering all my questions and 3AM thoughts with such kindness and grace. She's the best!

Spring is a great experience. If only hospitals and primary care care providers are as on top of things as my fertility clinic, life would be so much easier. You don't have to know anything at the start of the IVF process but by the end, you will know a lot and it will have been pretty efficiently communicated by their team.

Spring has the best of both worlds. It’s equipped with latest and greatest of technology and competent providers. Yet it provides care with the delicacy of a small fertility clinic who care about their patients and don’t make you feel like you are just a paying “customer”. I had a wonderful experience dealing with staff and doctors and would recommend it to my friends and family.

Convenient location. Easy parking. Clean space, Offered snacks and drinks and all staff was friendly and polite. The environment was pleasant, equipment seemed clean and new . No weaknesses that I can think of.

I have recommended at least 5 people at my company to Spring Fertility because of how incredible the clinic is. They are organized, efficient, effective (have some of the highest success rates), and the culture and team are incredible.

Spring has a very organized system: billing is straightforward, their patient portal where we get all communications and updates about our treatment is quite helpful and user friendly, the facilities are very clean and modern and since they have different locations you could use for your monitoring, you never have to be commuting too far to get your care. Parking in the Danville office was always good, but in the Oakland office it was a bit difficult so it was good to show up with enough time to be able to find a spot and still make it on time for my appointment.

Strength - personable, experienced and knowledgeable doctors, nurses and staff. Weakness - they lost a couple of dr’s in their practice so dr’s had to split their time between offices so appointment days could be limited if you only wanted to see your practitioner in that one office.

My overall experience was truly wonderful. With the exception of a staff person who is no longer at the company, every person I interacted with was kind, professional, and courteous.  Dr. Fisher is truly a gem- from our first interaction to our transfer, he treated us with respect, consideration, and warmth.  I really appreciated the time he took to answer questions and his excitement at our promising results.   And although I never met Nurse Mel in person, during our phone interactions she exuded care, competence, and patience - she is truly an exceptional provider.     2. The guidance throughout the experience was, for the most part, excellent.  I really appreciated having access to the portal, and the portal is well-organized and information is easy to access.  While sometimes it felt like I was getting the same information explained to me multiple times, I appreciated the reassurance that I was really clear about what to expect.    Things that could be better: 1. The financial documents seemed excessively confusing.  The fact that the same information would appear in multiple places (see attached document) made it hard to know what we were actually responsible for. On the attached cost letter, there are things on it (like the medication) with dollar amounts listed that we didn't actually have to pay for, and other things, like the copay, which were much more than what was listed.  I would strongly recommend making the financial documents clearer and easier to understand.   Relatedly, the costs we paid for semen cryopreservation weren't included on this letter, but should have been.  If you're going to present a cost letter it should include all the charges.  2. The requirement that a known donor submit both a negative covid test and a negative antibody test conducted by Spring is both not medically indicated and an onerous requirement that places a further burden on people who are using donor gametes.  In my (totally unscientific) survey of other clinics, there aren't any that are requiring this.  3.  There were several instances in which my gender-non confirming spouse couldn't choose a box that reflected their reality, and I would encourage you to review your forms with an eye towards inclusivity of queer clients and gender non-conforming clients.(These forms were updated and resent to us).   4. The requirement for psychological counseling is both discriminatory towards people who are using donor gametes and not actually required by any accrediting body as far as i can tell. In the context of the family building process, there are certainly some people who might benefit from counseling, but I would strongly urge you to consider changing the counseling requirement to a recommendation.  Supporting the mental health of your clients who are undergoing fertility treatments is commendable, creating burdensome hoops that people who need donor gametes must jump through is not. 

Spring has great facilities and a very helpful patient portal where they post treatment calendars, medication instructions, pre & post visit specifics and where they publish all of your findings and results. The facilities are clean and modern with impeccable safety standards for COVID.

Over the course of my treatment, I met almost every provider. It was nice to be able to know each doctor personally. However, I could always choose to see Dr. Fisher for all procedures (except the egg retrieval which is more time-sensitive) but felt comfortable with the skills of all the doctors at the clinic.

Great clinic. Very organized and communicative. The chocolate at your procedure is a nice touch. Your doctor might not be the one who does your procedure, the doctors have a schedule that is fixed ahead of time abs the on call doctor is the one who does your procedure. The have a treatment calendar that you can access online and they have video tutorials for the various injections you’ll take.

Very friendly. I almost felt like I wanted to come back to see them later at my last appointment! Having multiple locations also helped as I could choose the closer location for quick visits. I also loved how quickly they moved. I was looking at different clinics and Spring was able to move fastest and get me started sooner than later.

The finance department could use help. As far as I can tell, this is one person trying to manage it all. She just seems, busy. The front staff are nice, at all the sites I’ve been to as well. Everything is clean.

Strengths: clean, good locations, always offered bottled water to us, private settings, great doctors, somewhat helpful nursing staff when we finally got the go ahead to start IVF. Weaknesses: fairly poor communication methods - if I called in with a question and asked for a return phone call, I didn't like getting a message in the Patient Portal, sometimes I had follow up questions or just wanted to reaffirm what was told to me previously. Overall it was a good experience, even though our cycle failed.

The clinic is well run. Hours open are from 8 am to 3 pm and closed from noon to 1 pm. Weekend hours are from 7:30 to 9:30 at the downtown office. Ultrasounds are only scheduled for Monday through Fridays. Hey try to accommodate your work schedule.

I love being on the west side clinic because it is way smaller then the downtown clinic. It is quieter. And by sheer volume, it more personal. You do need to go downtown for injection class, IVF retrieval, and on weekends if you need an ultrasound, but we love not having to go downtown every time.

Terrible front desk and privacy protocols. They talk opening to you in the waiting room so anyone in the room can hear what you are there for. After starting my period on my fifth failed IUI, someone called and said I still needed to come in for a blood test. I was very upset that they are asking me that because clearly I wasn’t pregnant. They hung up and I NEVER HEARD FROM ANYONE at the clinic again. No follow up from staff, nurses or doctor. Unbelievable.

Beautiful clinics- I went to both the Westside and Downtown offices for treatment. Everyone I worked with was incredibly helpful, kind and patient. I was able to get in for a consultation within a couple weeks of calling for a new patient appointment.

So far, I have not found any weaknesses with the clinic. They always get me in right away when I need an ultrasound (even on the weekends) and are always respectful and professional. I had an iui scheduled around Christmas time and was told that even if my period started Christmas morning to call them and they would get me in. I love the flexibility and support they provide.

Clinic is excellent with doctor patient communication. Most sessions are with your assigned physicians and the doctors are very easy to reach by phone. The nursing staff varied in level of experience, but for the most part were very good. Less experienced nurses seemed to have less pivotal/demanding roles

They communicate very well but i did notice a shift when staff would change over. Front desk seemed a little flustered. When Dr. Fisher left it felt like some of the morale went down or that people were all over the place. However it was temporary and seemed to go back to normal shortly after.