Dr. Karen Elaine Goodrich, MD

She was my first exposure to an obgyn and I remained with her because the process of exams etc were really uncomfortable for me and I was scared that it would only get worse from there. She was never welcoming and never proactive in my well-being. Like many others, years after I saw her she called wanting me to pay a bill that I guess my insurance hadn't covered. I never received anything in the mail etc and was totally shocked. Thankfully, I do have another obgyn now. Seeing the difference in how I was treated and how I should be treated is like night and day.

Dr. Goodrich is a horrible doctor. She made me bleed during every pap. Her office staff is very unfriendly. She then came back to me 8 years later trying to collect for something my insurance didn't pay because it took her 4 years to submit the claim to her. She has been banned for 2 of our local hospitals as well. Please check her license before going to her.

Dr. Karen Goodrich sent my information to a Collections office 7 years after seeing her at her location in San Luis Obispo. I never received a bill in the first place, and thought my insurance took care of it. Now I owe approximately $90 to a collection agency AND this instance has already hit my credit. So, I regretfully have to pay it. Her website is a mess of warnings to her patients about unpaid bills, contesting claims, and defensive words about her own mental health condition. To quote her website, "due to difficulties with hacking and theft of financial records, all patient accounts were reviewed in detail." Why was this never communicated to me 7 years ago? Additionally, she states "My difficulties with safety were most troublesome during the years 2010 through 2013 and have caused a delay." So her personal issues caused her to neglect her patients' financial wellbeing? How is this an allowable billing practice? This woman is clearly not stable enough to be… practicing medicine. The reviews I've read about her on Google, Healthgrades, and Yelp explicitly showcase her misconduct with patient records and billing.

Had a colpo procedure done by this doctor that was easily the most painful experience I've ever had in a medical facility without sedation. I could not walk without pain for over a week after my appointment. I've had this procedure done by another practitioner since this time with no post-operative pain. I do not recommend.

I was recommended to Dr. Goodrich by another patient of hers, who was recommended by a neonatal nurse who worked with her in Santa Maria. I was dismayed to read the reviews here, as I did not have a negative experience at all. She is very direct and unlike many doctors and nurses, she never talked down to me or acted like I did not have the right to an educated opinion of my own. She respected my wishes for a drug free birthing experience, but also was firm about the risks when I had blood pressure issues. After a 36 hr difficult labor and failure to fully dilate, she performed a c-section. I had full confidence in her from start to finish. I do agree that her bedside manner is meh - a little joking around is always nice and making her laugh is a task. But I never felt that she disliked her job or me. My experiences with the front office staff were always very warm and friendly, which made up for Karen's quiet personality.

I had a wonderful experience with Dr. Goodrich and her staff. Dr. Goodrich took the necessary precautions after I had an irregular pap. I ended up going back to her office several times and ended up having surgery. She made the surgery very comfortable for me and was very reassuring during the whole process. I've had no issues since the surgery. I definitely recommend her to anyone.

Dr. Goodrich was amazing! After switching from my previous OB a day before my due date I chose her to deliver my 3rd baby. She was courteous, professional, and empathetic. I had a wonderful delivery and she was there throughout. She listened to my wants and concerns of my delivery and respected my birth plan. Follow up was great. Will keep her as my OBGYN as she is an excellent doctor.

I saw Karen Goodrich in 2008 when my NP discovered an enlarged fibroid uterus requiring hysterectomy. I was very uncomfortable and having severe pain and bleeding with this condition which prevented me from working or taking care of myself. I needed surgery as soon as possible. While I had no trouble making an initial appointment, when I arrived at her office I was told by her staff she'd been called away to another patient. No one had bothered to call my cell phone either before I left or while I was en-route so I could turn around and go home. I was rescheduled 10 days later, and during my next appointment she just talked to me about possibilities and did not do a physical exam or determine which type of surgery would be best, which she saved for another expensive appointment that pushed everything back yet another 2 weeks. During that appointment, she examined me while being interrupted by her staff 3 times who walked right into the exam room without knocking. A few weeks after… this appointment, she scheduled a biopsy of the uterine lining which was extremely painful and should have been done under a local. Again, chaotic staff interruptions during the procedure while I was stuck up on the table in pain and crying she actually left the room to deal with something elsewhere. Instead of offering a local to finish the procedure she suggested I come back yet another day when I 'wasn't so upset'. I told her to finish up NOW or I was NEVER coming back. I left that appointment not just frustrated, worried about my condition and traumatized by the procedure but having questioned her competency doing an intricate laparascopic surgery. I had lost all confidence but didn't want to start over with another doctor thinking this was standard for this type of medical care (it is certainly NOT) and I would be even further delayed. Once all the preliminary appointments had been stretched into eternity, she kept delaying my surgery saying she was still waiting on authorization from the insurance. Finally, I called Blue Shield and was told they'd not been contacted by her office about authorization at all, and authorized it immediately. Still Dr. Goodrich would not schedule, and wouldn't return my phone calls inquiring about status. Her staff kept taking messages and putting me off. Finally I said I would walk into her office to discuss this and stay there in the waiting room until she talked to me in person. At that point she came to the phone and explained that she was still waiting for her own medical permission to operate in SLO county (she'd been in Santa Maria before)and wasn't allowed to do surgeries until that was cleared up. She admitted she'd known for a month. So she put me off for over a month + spreading out the preliminary appointments more than a month...2+ months of unnecessary waiting. Then she asked if I wanted to wait for her to get her authorization in another month or two...she wasn't really sure when. I'd had enough and told her to get me a referral to a long-established gyn who came highly recommended and if I didn't have an appointment within the next two weeks I would take legal action. Fortunately, I got my referral and had a very successful surgery within 10 days. In my case, I gave her an F-.

Dr. Goodrich is a great doctor. She delivered my 5th child and I had a wonderful experience. I had an epidural with each of my 4 previous births and was always disappointed that I did not trust myself to give birth naturally. She was very encouraging and I was finally able to deliver a child without any pain medications because of her strong support. She isn't the warm and fuzzy type of doctor, but she is very direct and to the point when giving medical advice. Her office was a bit disorganized when I was a patient. Her front office staff was coming and going (this was back in 2010 though, so things may have changed). The only down fall was that she was the only doctor for her clinic, so if she was in a delivery during the time of my appointment I would need to reschedule or have to wait (anywhere from 30 mins to 2 hours) and I was coming from a bit of a drive. I do wish she had an NP to see patients if she was called out to the hospital. The good thing though was that she delivers… all her patients so there was never any anxiety about having another doctor deliver.

It makes me sad to do this as Dr. Goodrich delivered my son, but for the safety of other women and mothers out there I feel I must. Dr. Goodrich, first of all, has a terrible bedside manner. She seems to dislike her job. I went to her with a pregnancy and she seemed put out to have to do an exam on me. She rushed through the internal ultrasound, and failed to catch a pregnancy complication that almost cost me my life. After multiple trips to the emergency room and a final surgery to save my life (by another doctor), Dr. Goodrich called me and seemed to imply that it was all my fault... like.. wow! You sure did go to the emergency room enough times, didn't you? Now, I am facing the fear that I may not be able to have another baby, and this could have probably been avoided if Dr. Goodrich would have taken time and initiative with me. She seemed overly eager to push the care of me onto another doctor.I got the overwhelming impression that she does not enjoy her job. I thought she was just… shy as well, but this time I felt that shyness as something different. I don't know her as a person. I don't even feel I know her as a doctor. But I do know that if you are expecting a hands-on, confidant, and take charge doctor, this is not the one. I know that honest people make mistakes. But Dr. Goodrich did not take the time and due caution with me that she should have. What if I had died?????????????Who would look after my baby then?Doctors need to be the most careful, the most proactive of people. They need to care!!!!!!!!!!!