Sierra Medical group - Lancaster Ca

Hello,
My PCP has put in a referral for me to have a consult with the surgeon, the referral is still in review from the medical group, I just wanted to know if anyone has gotten a referral approved  thur Sierral Medical Group in Lancaster.

Thanks

Not by choice I went back to Sierra in 2007. Hubbie changed jobs and I had to leave Kaiser.

My doctor put the referral in for WLS. Then my insurance company (Pacificare) said I had to do 6 months of a program over the phone. My counselor read stuff off powerpoint slides to me -- yep, really helpful. After three months of this, open enrollment happened and I decided to change to High Desert Medical Group because they have more hours of urgent care (I have a 2-year-old and want to avoid AV Emergency as much as possible). Then Pacificare said I didn't need to do their telephone program anymore, but it didn't matter anymore because I was changing.

In 2003-2004 I had a lot of problems with Sierra managing referrals for a different surgery I needed to have. I nearly had a nervous breakdown with all their screwups and delays. I hope they've fixed that problem, for your sake. (Diagnosis August 2003 -- surgery January 2004!)

Anyway, I read in the AV Press that Sierra is merging with High Desert Medical Group. So by the time you get all your ducks in a row you may have HDMG. HDMG requires you go through 6 months of nutritional classes. They have one gatekeeper doctor -- Dr. Dulgeroff. You have to make him happy before he'll give you a referral to a surgeon at Cedars-Sinai down in LA. He requires you lose some weight.

I'm in my third month of nutritional classes and I've lost the weight he requires -- but I don't see him again until September. So maybe I'll get an appointment with the surgeon in Novemberish.

Hang in there and good luck!!

I don't have particular experience with Sierra Medical group. I had High Desert Medical Group. IT is my understanding that High Desert and Kaiser are now the only medical groups in Lancaster. My mom goes to High Desert and she told me they had recently purchased/taken over all the other medical groups in town , with the exception of Kaiser.

I know many that had High Desert Medical Group, so if this is truly the case ( the take over) it should go ok for you.

Lori,
SMG was purchased by HDMG but I have been told that everything is going to be the same.  THey were actually purchased by Heritage Health Care which is a division of HDMG or the actual parent company.  So as far as I know it will remain the same.
Liz