Garcia Miki Shirakawa MD

I had severe acne prior to going to see a dermatologist. I guess you could say I was pretty desperate. I waited a long time so scars accumulated and didn’t get the treatment I needed before hand. I must say, I’m quite impressed on how the medications fixed up my acne. I must admit I do get couple pimples here and there, but I can’t really change that. Main thing is the cyst is gone. I like Dr. Garcia Shirokawa because she’s nice, I can tell she takes great care of her face, on the younger side, pretty, and straight to the point. I don’t like to waste my time. So now to the reason why I am going 4 stars instead of five.
I hate that my appointment would be at 11:15 am, or any time you could think of, but I’m waiting 30 – 45 minutes extra to go inside… Then when I’m sitting inside the room all by myself ready to be examined, I have to wait even more?! Now I’m paying extra for my parking ticket that’s suppose to be 30 min complimentary. Time is money for me. It shouldn’t be taking long. That’s why there’s an appointment time. If I’m on time, and my appointment is at 11:15, I expect to be seated and ready no longer than 11:20.
All in all, I am fond of this dermatologist. It’s all a personal preference and everyone will have good and bad things to say. But honestly just trust. Everything else will work out as long as you are hygienic and keep your face clean and follow instructions.

I have never written a Unilocal review before, but I am so displeased with the level of service I got from Miki Garcia that I need to share. I would NEVER recommend Miki Garcia to any of my friends or family. I want to share my experience with you so that you can find a dermatologist who is actually worth going to — she will waste your time and money.
I am a 33 year old, asian female. I went to Dr. Garcia for acne on my face. It’s not horrible, but bad enough that I am self-​conscious about it at times and wanted it to be treated. Dr. Garcia has a poor bedside manner and is very cold. As a new patient, I’d expect that a Dr. would be more engaging but she was the complete opposite. Upon entering the room (and meeting me as a new patient for the first time), she barely greets me, doesn’t shake my hand, walks straight to the computer and has her back towards me. When she finally gives me her attention, she does not take much time to examine my face — it’s almost as if she doesn’t want to touch or get too close to patients, which makes you feel awkward.
She gave me some free cream samples and told me I should think about changing my birth control pills. She mentioned there are few other prescriptions out there that I could look into, one being Spironolactone & the other Accutane. If you know anything about Accutane, it is for severe acne and is usually the last resort Dr.‘s will recommend because it can be very toxic. I have a few pimples here and there, and I am appalled that she would suggest I look into Accutane. Then when I asked about Spironolactone to learn more about it, she provided me with limited information and told me I could do some research on my own, schedule another appointment, and let her know if it’s something I’d be interested in. As a PATIENT, that is why I scheduled an appointment to see her in the first place! I am coming to her for medical attention and physician’s expertise. Not only do I feel that Miki Garcia lacks professional knowledge and expertise, but she lacks the soft skills that distinguish an excellent doctor from the sub-​par doctors.
So for a $ 17.40 copay, at least it got me to write my first Unilocal review.
Don’t waste your time by seeing Miki Garcia. There are other doctors out there who are actually good at their job and care about their patients.

Since moving to Honolulu and receiving insurance from my first real job, I obviously had to find new doctors. At first I was frustrated with the quality and professionalism of many, but can honestly say my experiences at this officer have been perfect since my first visit.
The office itself is located in Queens Medical Center. The building itself is not very clean, especially the restrooms in the lobby that receive heavy traffic. Dr. Garcia’s office is always clean. The waiting room is small, which can be cramped when they are busy, which is often. The office staff is always quick to schedule appointments or call back when leaving messages. Wait times in the office are acceptable.
Dr. Garcia herself is great. I’ve gone in for basic/​simple skin issues and have always been treated quickly and efficiently. I feel I am remembered beyond just a patient number. She is also friendly, which is always a plus.
With the right insurance, you may never need to pay anything out of pocket. I’ve never had any issues with billing. Recommended dermatologist in Honolulu.

I took a lot into consideration when I was searching for a good and compassionate dermatologist. I of course used Unilocal and had read all the great reviews for both doctors in the office… so to me I really didn’t have a preference as to which one I wanted to see.
Pros: the receptionist when I first initially called was very kind and hilarious. She explained that the other doctor was completely booked (no problem) but that I could see Dr. Garcia sooner.
Cons: As a new patient I was already flustered being a few minutes behind my appointment time. Garage parking, elevator, office not being in main building, etc. I approach the front desk receptionist… no smile, no greeting, nothing? I told her who I was and she asked for my Id and insurance card. No smile, no personality. My husband was fuming with discontent due to how she was talking to me but we shrugged it off thinking it must’ve been a bad start to her morning.
A new patient waits, right? Oh! Did I mention I filled out the new patient forms prior to my appointment to not wait that long? No big deal. As I get called back I wanted my husband to go with me since I have the tendency to forget to ask or talk about other things if I’m wrapped up in a topic. The lady that calls for me has no issues with it and we get seated in the exam room. She looks over the documents I filled out and as an MA myself I knew that just telling her the very troubling issues at hand to be primarily focused on are of more importance than anything else. She was a Caucasian woman and the two times I’ve been there she has been a blast to encounter. :) So anyway, she says that the dr will be with me shortly. As a patient that’s never had issues with acne or severe acne (teen years and even after having my first child) like I had experienced after having my daughter I felt a sense of relief and answers were just around the corner. I was wrong.
The doctors I’ve worked for and the doctors that I’m patients of have always had good bedside manner. Especially to their new patients. Sadly, Dr. Miki walks in with her MA introduces herself with no handshake and not really a sincere personality. Which made me feel awkward. She goes over my problems and i explain it to her and sadly my problems were linked to one thing after another which led to the horrible acne I had, BUT she wanted me to explain it to her one by one and cut me off by doing so. Which kinda threw me off. I understand one by one in order to approach each concern differently but to be rude and blunt and to tell me to stop… I was thrown back. So I’m already annoyed and upset. She took a very sensitive matter that I trusted her with and approached it with little to no empathy. Before seeing her I was literally in tears daily about how severe my acne breakout was after I had my baby girl and that’s why I was quite particular about who I wanted to see (a female dermatologist).
She then wanted me to ‘continue on’ with other concerns but one by one. At the point I’m over it and just want out. She cleans her hands, barely touches my face and calls it a day. Hands me samples and directions and tells me what moisturizer to use. I assume at the end of the appointment she would’ve smiled genuinely and shook my hand and said «see you in six weeks». Instead my husband and I stand up and that’s that. She turns her back on us and faces the computer and types away. WOW! The MA hands the check-​out lady my paper and I buy a whitening cream for $ 65 (sun spots from hs beach bum days). I got no diagnosis or anything. Just faxed RX and coupons to be used…& samples. Came early only to wait and only to be rushed out of her exam room.
**I did go back the second time for my follow-​up visit to inform her that one of the medications was not working. She gladly had her MA fax over a new one. Barely looked at my face and said «it looks better. Keep up the treatment. Just come back when needed.» And that was that. Six weeks I waited for her to tell me this. **
I waited two months to write this review. Three stars:
TWO stars because of the first person I talked to who was kind and took my initial appointment and has a personality. One star because even though she may not have a personable approach to patients at least one of her medications has been working on my face.
Sadly, it’s not worth the drive from the west side to queens to be treated the way I was treated and to only wait and to then to be rushed out of the room afterwards. I should have just listened to my previous boss and took her suggestion on another dermatologist nearby.

She was the worst dermatologist I’ve ever been to! I have a burn on my face, and all she gave me was aveno. I paid $ 150 just for the visit, and all she had to say was «time will tell if it’ll scar» wow! Who ever gave this lady her dermatology license needs to get fired. I’ll make sure non of my friends go to her. She is a waste if money, and time.

I’ve been taking my daughter here now for three months and in that span of time under Dr. Garcia’s keen directions and precise knowledge, my daughter is now free of the skin disorder that brought us to here to begin with.
What I love the most about Dr. Garcia is that she is not a firm pusher of medication of any sort. I was impressed with the way she prescribed meds and encouraged my daughter to give her skin/​body a break from the meds so as not to build a tolerance or adverse reaction to the drugs. She is holistic in her approach of treating my daughter’s condition and that’s the kind of stuff that is important to me.
Also, I don’t know about many of you, but I just hate it when I am on time for an appointment and the doctor has me waiting way past my appointment without an explanation or apology. My time is just as important. We arrived there at 2:30 pm and was promptly ushered into an examination room for a quick assessment by the medical staff and Dr. Garcia came in shortly after. I appreciate the spacing between the appointments so that patients are not waiting unnecessarily too long. That type of practice management comes from the top and the staff that implement it. Kudos to the staff for not double booking the appointment books.
Dr. Garcia’s bedside practice is awesome and we sure do appreciate all that she has done to make us feel important and cared for.

I have going to Dr Garcia for about two years now. She is great and very knowledgable! I have gone to here for chemical peels. I also love the products that are sold in her office.

REASON FOR GOING:
There were two main reasons why I went to visit Dr. Miki Garcia.
The first was during Memorial Day weekend, I was have a blast at the beach — and six hours later, realized I had a little too much fun in the sun. I was burnt to a crisp and in tremendous amounts of pain. A friend of mine recommended Dr. Garcia as she was a patient as well.
My second reason for visiting was I wanted to find some products that would work well with my sensitive skin. I had tried many products and was looking for a skincare line that would be aligned with my active lifestyle.
SERVICE:
Dr. Garcia is very knowledgeable, caring and compassionate. She treated my sun burn with care and gave me tips on how to be active while sun safe. I have tried many sunscreens and skin care lines in the past — and some would clog my pores, give a greasy/​oily feeling to my skin, or worse — cause me to break out. Dr. Garcia explained that I have sensitive skin. She recommended the Elta MD line.
it is good for sensitive skin and will protect even when I am running/​swimming etc.
I would highly recommend Dr. Garcia — she is patient, knowledgeable and understands her clients. She will help them protect their skin with out compromising their lifestyle. Thank you so much Dr. Garcia!
PRICE:
HMSA picked up my bill. Love seeing Dr Garcia. With great advice and part of my secret beauty squad — I am hoping to look fabulous for the next 30 years!