Fairview Care-East

Pros

• Utah Cancer Specialist staff were great.
• They are always attentive and listen to patients' needs.
• They like their jobs and it shows.
• Dr Kara Chaudhary and her team were amazing; they made patients feel welcome and safe.
• Instacare has short wait times and amazing doctors, and the staff are great.
• Eli provided helpful assistance in the lab.
• Kiela and Dr Kimball offered a calming imaging experience and guided patients through every step.
• The service is excellent.

Cons

• A staff member was described as rude and unprofessional, cutting the conversation short.
• The phone system was frustrating, with extremely long holds and few live agents.
• The clinics were accused of over-reliance on automated systems, ignoring patient preferences.
• The Pain Clinic was criticized for long holds and not answering calls, suggesting no one was monitoring the lines.
• Intake staff were described as unfriendly and lacking empathy, making conversations feel clinical and cold.
• Cancelling appointments required multiple calls, and desk staff were perceived as ignoring patients.
• Overall patient services were labeled the worst, with perceived profit motives and privacy concerns in communications.
• An AI booking system was described as useless and a waste of time.

Review

Across a broad slice of Utah clinics and care centers, patients share a remarkably mixed picture of modern healthcare access. On one hand, there are moments of compassion, skill, and reassurance from individual doctors, nurses, and lab staff. On the other hand, a recurring chorus centers on frustration with wait times, automated systems, and difficulties actually connecting with a real person when urgent questions or cancellations arise. Taken together, the feedback paints a landscape where good medical care can be undermined by frustrating administrative barriers and uneven customer service experiences.

Several reviews center on the Salt Lake Clinic and its affiliated networks, where lengthy phone holds and opaque processes have left patients feeling dismissed or ignored. One caller described an encounter with a staff member named Kathy as discourteous and unprofessional, recounting how she was cut off mid-sentence and became upset about the patient's attempt to discuss a genuinely complex process. The caller even supplied a precise moment - October 15th at 9:55 am - as a potential reference point for the experience, noting that the staffer hung up during the conversation. This kind of interaction, paired with repeated reports of long holds and a preference for automated responses over human contact, has left many feeling that their needs and preferences are not being prioritized.

Beyond the interpersonal dynamics, there is a broad sense that systemic bottlenecks in scheduling and follow-up make even routine care more arduous than it should be. Numerous reviews describe inboxes and call centers that fail to connect patients with actual staff, or that operate with "huge wait times" and a heavy reliance on automated systems. One patient contrasted this with the experience at U of U clinics, saying the latter are "so much better at customer service" and are more competently staffed. The repeated experience of being asked to use portals or messaging systems rather than speaking directly with a receptionist intensifies concerns about privacy, delay, and the perceived profit-driven orientation of some departments.

Yet the story is not uniformly bleak. There are bright spots where patients felt heard, cared for, and listened to by doctors and support teams. Positive notes include praise for Dr. Gomez, who reportedly answered questions about prescriptions and other medical issues promptly and with care. A patient spoke warmly of Dr Kara Chaudhary and her team, describing the first appointment as welcoming and safe thanks to visible attention to staff friendliness and a cheerful sign-in environment. What stood out in these accounts was the feeling that when clinicians or their immediate teams took the time, patients felt seen and valued - an experience that stood in stark contrast to the more frustrating call-center and intake experiences described elsewhere.

There are also mentions of alternative care settings delivering smoother experiences. Instacare clinics are described by some as having shorter waits and consistently good doctors and check-in staff, suggesting that not all clinics in the region share the same administrative struggles. In some departments, lab staff and imaging teams received appreciation as well - one reviewer thanked Eli for help in the lab, and another celebrated Kiela and Dr. Kimball for a imaging session that, despite procedural discomfort, was delivered with enough empathy and clear communication to earn high marks. These moments illustrate that excellent patient care can exist within the same broader ecosystem, often dependent on the personal approach of the individual care team.

Not all experiences were framed as occasional missteps or administrative inconveniences. A number of patients spoke with particular intensity about specific departments - most notably pain management - where the sentiment was that the care they received was not aligned with their pain needs. Some described the pain clinic as a group of "clowns" who failed to provide timely or effective pain management, and at times suggested that the recommended path - going to the emergency room when pain was severe - felt inappropriate and costly. The financial dimension of care came up here as well, with complaints about unnecessary or poorly explained charges, including a cited $1,000 bill for a prescription the patient already had on hand. The takeaway was clear: when communication breaks down in pain management, patients bear not just emotional burdens but real financial ones as well.

The reviews also illustrate a tension within the broader health system around privacy, direct access, and LGBTQ-specific care. One patient who switched to a different network because of insurance and identity considerations described IHC as having issues with private communications and excessive delays, to the point that they advised others - especially LGBTQ+ patients - to consider alternative providers for more direct access and better privacy protections. In contrast, another patient noted a great experience at Utah Cancer Specialists, where staff like Sarah and Maggie were highlighted for attentiveness and enthusiasm, underscoring that positive, patient-centered care is possible and perhaps more common in some specialty groups than in others.

Taken together, the collection of reviews portrays a healthcare environment with a wide spectrum of patient experiences. The most resounding themes are: the critical need for reliable access to real people when patients call in, reasonable wait times, and respectful, empathetic communication; the value of clinicians who take the time to listen and respond to questions with clear, actionable information; and the ongoing challenge of balancing automated systems and human touch in a way that serves patients, protects privacy, and reduces unnecessary costs. As patients navigate this landscape, their voices - whether praising a specific doctor, lamenting a poor phone interaction, or appreciating a well-run lab - form a complex map of where care shines and where it could improve.

This area of Salt Lake City, Utah, offers a variety of amenities and services that may appeal to seniors looking for a convenient and vibrant community to call home. With multiple parks nearby such as Liberty Park and Reservoir Park, there are plenty of opportunities for outdoor recreation and relaxation. Additionally, there are several restaurants offering diverse cuisine options within close proximity, as well as pharmacies, physicians' offices, cafes, places of worship, hospitals, and theaters all easily accessible. Public transportation options such as UTA FrontRunner North Temple Station and TRAX Central Pointe provide convenient travel possibilities for those without a vehicle. Overall, this area provides a mix of convenience and cultural attractions that may make it an attractive location for seniors looking to enjoy their retirement years in Salt Lake City.

Parks

• Liberty Park (0.2 miles)
• Reservoir Park (0.9 miles)
• Washington Square (1.1 miles)
• Sunnyside Park (1.3 miles)
• Bonneville Glen (1.4 miles)
• Popperton Park (1.5 miles)
• Pioneer Park (1.9 miles)

Restaurants

• Chipotle Mexican Grill (0.3 miles)
• Cafe Niche (0.3 miles)
• Greek Souvlaki (0.8 miles)
• Beer Bar (1.2 miles)
• Sushi Burrito (1.2 miles)
• Hub & Spoke Diner (1.3 miles)
• The Green Pig Pub (1.3 miles)

Pharmacies

• Walgreens (0.6 miles)
• Smith's Food & Drug (1.3 miles)
• Harmons (1.3 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (2.2 miles)
• Watson Pharmaceuticals (2.2 miles)
• Walgreens (2.3 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (2.4 miles)

Physicians

• Ear Nose & Throat Center (0.7 miles)
• Barr Facial Plastic Surgery: Lucy J Barr MD PC (0.7 miles)
• Barr Facial Plastic Surgery (0.7 miles)
• Central City Community Health Center (0.7 miles)
• House Call Doctors (0.8 miles)
• Kroencke, Rachel Dr - Madsen Internal Medicine Clinic (1.5 miles)
• Avenues Sleep Clinic (1.5 miles)

Cafes

• Coffee Garden (0.7 miles)
• Salt Lake Coffee Break (0.7 miles)
• Java Jo's (1 miles)
• Publik Coffee Roasters (1 miles)
• Three Pines Coffee (1.4 miles)
• Publik Coffee Roasters (1.7 miles)
• Starbucks (1.7 miles)

Places of Worship

• Cathedral of the Madeleine (1.1 miles)
• Salt Lake Tabernacle (1.6 miles)
• Conference Center (1.7 miles)
• LDS Foothill Stake Center (2.7 miles)
• Worldwide Gospel Church (2.9 miles)
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (4 miles)

Hospitals

• George E Wahlen VA Hospital (1.3 miles)
• United States Government (1.4 miles)
• Intermountain Pharmacy - LDS Hospital (1.5 miles)
• Primary Children's Hospital (1.6 miles)
• Moran Patient Support (1.6 miles)
• University Of Utah ENT Clinic 9 (1.7 miles)
• University of Utah Hospital (1.7 miles)

Theaters

• Imax Theatre Clark Planetarium (2 miles)
• Megaplex 12 at The Gateway (2.1 miles)

Transportation

• UTA FrontRunner North Temple Station (2.3 miles)
• Salt Lake City Intermodal Hub Salt Lake Central (2.3 miles)
• TRAX Central Pointe (2.9 miles)
• TRAX Millcreek (4.4 miles)