The Drop In Doc

07/08/2025

🌿 Exciting news, everyone! We’re thrilled to announce that The Drop-In Doc is now offering Zepbound for weight loss as part of our Direct Primary Care (DPC) patient services! 💪

✨ No registration fees, no administrative fees – just straightforward care.

💸 Only $85/month for standard DPC patient membership dues (compare to and similar services charging $400/mo)

Ready to start your weight loss journey with a personalized approach? Do you know of Friends or Family interested in Medical Weight Loss? DM, email, or call us to learn more or book your consultation today! 📩

05/19/2025

moment. These girls sure are growing up fast. Better start saving for med school now. I figure I’ll start teaching them suturing techniques closer to kindergarten.

03/06/2025

Patient advocacy is a term that’s been circulated through medical circles for some years now, and its meaning is fairly intuitive: helping patients navigate through the nebulous and confusing myriad of healthcare-related obstacles. I became the legal guardian for a family member last year, and one of my first tasks was to re-enroll them in their Medicare supplemental plan through United Healthcare that had dropped off. I noticed there was a denied claim during the period they weren’t enrolled and looked into it further. A doctor’s office that had performed a preoperative clearance exam had billed UHC for the labs they had performed, and the billed amounts were astronomically high: nearly 5800% above the fair-market price! Now most people who receive such a bill will get bowled over, but they’ll relent and say “well, that’s just healthcare” and pay the full amount without question! Do you really want to pay $700 for a test that costs $5.00?
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This is where having a patient advocate will save you THOUSANDS of dollars. Little did United Healthcare know that they’d have a seasoned Direct Primary Care physician appealing this bill on their patient’s behalf, let alone with numerical data detailing the disparity in their valuation of these labs. Notice on the final page of UHC’s letter where it says “You have the right to appeal our decision”. For any medical expense, whether it’s an MRI, labs, a surgical procedure, ANYTHING… you have the right and the ability to appeal and negotiate the charges. However, doing so often feels like representing yourself in court, it’s your word versus theirs. That’s why Direct Primary Care physicians are worth their weight in gold. We help provide patients with multiple avenues to save money and avoid frivolous, inflated charges such as these. We’ll do a follow-up post with UHC’s response so you can see how this appeal pans out.

08/15/2024

It’s been awhile since I’ve spoken on the subject, and if not for recent events at the 2024 CrossFit Games I likely would’ve remained silent. Some of you might remember that I was a medical team lead and volunteer at a variety of CrossFit events, and a CrossFit Games physician from 2013-2015. During my last year of volunteering, Murph was programmed for the first time, and in the middle of the day. After the event, I treated multiple athletes for heat-related illness. Some withdrew and were later hospitalized for severe exertional rhabodmyolysis.

Angered by the Games blatant neglect for athlete safety, I wrote and published an article for titled “ An Open Letter to CrossFit HQ: Respect Your Athletes” (https://archive.t-nation.com/alpha-life/an-open-letter-to-crossfit-hq/) in which I detailed the glaring errors and willful neglect shown by CFHQ. My only intent was to use my role as a physician and circulate a position piece that pressured CFHQ to make significant changes to their programming. Instead, I was removed from the Medical Team and told I would never be able to volunteer at another Games event. programmed Murph again the following year, this time in the morning.

I feel horrible that I nor countless others with similar concerns couldn’t persuade CFHQ to correct what has been a continual pattern of negligent behavior for the past 10+ years, and as a result a cherished athlete lost their life. I have extended my assistance to the in their ongoing effort to advocate for the athlete community, and to push for resultant changes that definitively ensures safe competition conditions. I’ll do whatever I can to ensure Lazar’s death wasn’t in vain. Rest in peace, .

08/15/2024

06/05/2023

It’s that time of year again, parents and athletes! Just when one school year ends, another one kicks off, and - man - the school districts want those sports physicals done YESTERDAY, so don’t delay!
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If you missed your school’s sports physical day and aren’t sure where to get yours completed, look no further. offers the broadest availability and lowest prices in Orange County for high school, collegiate, and club sports physical exams, with same-day appointments & no wait times. If you’d like to schedule an appointment, feel free to contact us at frontdesk@thedropindoc.com or call us directly at (714) 577-2652 and we’d be happy to get your athlete on the schedule!
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12/14/2022

New Drop-In Doc Holiday sale!
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Are you a last-minute shopper? Looking to escape the naughty list with a present that’ll knock their stockings off? For the rest of this month, when you buy one bottle of Firm & Fade product, you get a second bottle for 20% off! (*open to CA and TX patients)
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Find out why magazine is raving about and her skincare line and make someone’s holiday season Merry & Bright with a bottle of Firm & Fade! Call our office for more details at 714-577-2652.
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11/01/2022

Jumped ship from The American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians and joined my fellow colleagues in the National Board of Physicians and Surgeons.
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Credentialing bodies in the healthcare professions have historically imposed redundant and even punitive involuntary requirements just for physicians to maintain their board-certified status. For example, The American Osteopathic Association used to REQUIRE membership in order for osteopathic physicians to hold their board-certified status, but thankfully a group of Ear Nose & Throat physicians successfully sued the AOA and the requirement was dropped. At present, a one-year membership with the AOA is $593!
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A substantial portion of a physician’s income goes toward licensure renewal fees, malpractice premiums, continued medical education, conferences & associated travel costs, and many other expenses that just allow a physician to practice medicine. For example, a “low” monthly malpractice premium is $1200/mo!
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What made the NBPAS appealing is they don’t require physicians to jump through a bunch of hoops and charge a reasonable fee for membership. No gargantuan board exams, no linear assessments, just keep up with your medical education and you’re all good.
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10/25/2022

Flu Season 2022 PSA!
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Just when you thought you could relax and enjoy the brisk fall weather, along comes some brazen doctor to ruin this joyful moment for you with some doom & gloom message. Just kidding, that's what government agencies are for 🤣
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Flu season usually kicks off for us here in the U.S. around Thanksgiving when air travel and large gatherings occur in concert with the arrival of the Holiday Season. Health officials and infectious disease experts typically follow flu patterns in the southern hemisphere because those populations experience their flu season before we do, so it serves as a sort of barometer for what kind of flu season we can expect. So what kind of "Flu 2022" can we anticipate? On a scale of 1-10, somewhere in the range of a 7 or 8.
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There are a variety of contributing factors being purported, such as a lack of transmission over the previous two years from COVID-related isolation, but the same prevention and treatment rules still apply. There is a sizable amount of vaccine fatigue circulating right now, and understandably so, but for the very young/very old/very sick, the seasonal flu vaccine has historically been the most successful method of preventing severe consequences of acquiring influenza. If you'd prefer to take alternative measures, taking Vitamin D and Zinc supplements can be helpful. If you start developing flu-like symptoms, seeking treatment early is essential, as the available antivirals (Tamiflu, Xofluza) need to be initiated within 48hrs of symptom onset to reduce illness severity and duration. Covering your cough, frequent handwashing, and limiting exposure to others round out the list of effective transmission prevention methods, and if you follow these simple rules, then you and your loved ones are far more likely to enjoy the holidays together flu-free!
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10/17/2022

: what is it?
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Previously referred to as “the mask of pregnancy”, melasma is a type of skin tone imbalance affecting women commonly during and following pregnancy, often persisting throughout their lifetimes. It can be a source of self-consciousness and embarrassment, but the good news is there are treatments available to correct it!
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is now a proud clinical partner with and ! Along with their home skin line variety of products, our office now prescribes the internationally-sold Firm and Fade skin lightening creams for use in the treatment of melasma, dark spots, blemishes, and other skin tone imbalances.
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Call or text our office today at 714-577-2652 for a free consultation to learn more!
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10/03/2022

Aesthetics special offers!
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Now that fall is officially here, in addition to throwing on your hoodies and boots, come take advantage of some intocing fall savings on some out our aesthetics products!
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For the month of October, members can get Botox for an unheard of $7 per unit, and guests can enjoy standard member prices of $9/unit! Additionally, all Juvederm products are $75 off!
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We have a surplus of supplies, and this is a limited-time/first-come, first-serve offer, so call our office today to schedule your appointment!
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09/29/2022

Guilty indulgence: I LOVE making look bad. And I really don’t have to do anything, they do it to themselves! All I do is say “yes” when they say “no”
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Some of you may not know this, but Kaiser Permanente is considered by many to be the best business model for healthcare, both inpatient and outpatient. Notice that I used the word BUSINESS model, not CARE DELIVERY model. That’s because I’ve seen how unhappy Kaiser patients are when they come to see me. Everything’s micro-managed, runs on a flow chart, and the docs there RARELY deviate from the list of things they’re permitted to do.
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Maybe it stems from my prior work experience in both urgent care and family practice settings, but the stuff that Kaiser primary care physicians refuse to do seems absurd, and I feel all the more validated for choosing to open a center instead of selling out to Big Healthcare like Kaiser. If a patient wants a particular blood test, just freaking do it! If they want a skin lesion looked at or removed, don’t refer them the Plastic Surgery or Dermatology! Do it yourself!
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I hear patients use the phrase “I have really good health insurance” far more often than I’d care to, because it’s a flagrant misnomer. If this is what “really good insurance” gets you, then find yourself some smelling salts and take a biiiig whiff, because that’s the only thing that’ll snap you out of this delirium. Or, alternatively, come pay us a visit and see for yourself. It’ll burn your nostrils far less.
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