Daryl M Isaacs, MD

Dr Isaacs has been dead on with some tricky diagnoses for me.
I’ve been going to him on and off for years (only when I have insurance that works with him). Yes, he’s quirky but knows his stuff and is one of those brilliant but socially «different» kind of guys.
He does see a gazillion patients a day, but that is why you do not wait 3 weeks to see him, and that causes the dreaded wait.
I do have a problem with taking people out of order, which seems to happen. The front desk staff should TELL you if you are being pushed back. At the old office, [HINT TO CURRENT STAFF] I would ask if I had time to grab a coffee after checking in and they USED to say
«you’ve got a good 90 minutes» and then the wait was much more bearable.
Bottom line: I trust Dr. Isaacs to find out what’s wrong with me and give me the best treatment for it. The wait is hard and the front desk could be more helpful.

An absolute scam artist and pill mill who is only of value if you want plenty of easy pain meds and don’t mind waiting several hours to see a disheveled, confused, and inept charlatan who’ll bark pointless questions at you («Family members deceased?») and then wander off muttering platitudes. My 17-​year-​old son went in with a terrible flu and was told that his coughing was due to «excessive drinking and smoking.» (He neither drinks nor smokes.) Isaacs followed this gem up with the suggestion that he visit a gastroenterologist. It provided great comic relief until we saw that he’d charged our insurance $ 450 for this inane 5-​minute diagnosis. When we took my son to a real internist at Beth Israel later that day we were charged half that amount – and got a real doctor who provided treatment and actually knew what a flu was. I am amazed that this guy still has a medical license. He’s got to be paying somebody off.

I am very fortunate to have found Dr. Isaacs. My back specialist recommended him, and immediately I found many reasons to like him:
— He listens for details and takes detailed notes, and cares about understanding and clarifying details as I convey them. And he is thorough.
— He lets me ask questions, takes his time listening, and gives me thoughtful answers. I felt very comfortable from the outset sharing painful things that were not exactly medical, but important for a good M.D. to hear, and he was sensitive and had constructive things to say.
— He notices things that I have missed, and wouldn’t have thought to bring up with him. He also thinks ahead one or two moves, rather than sending me out and expecting me to know what to do next.
— He doesn’t seem to think in black-​or-​white terms, but looks at a larger picture, and has recommended a balanced approach at times rather than picking one approach over another. I have found that as a medical doctor, he appreciates what medicine can do, but doesn’t treat a pill as a cure-​all and doesn’t rule out other strategies.
— Based on his recommendation for a specialist on one occasion, with whom I was very impressed, I have every expectation that when he recommends someone, they will be top notch.
— His office manager and billing office are friendly, smart, and easy to work with. When I was a new patient, they made sure I was aware of his scheduling environment, and because they did so, I am never surprised. I would rather have a doctor who provides service more like Le Bernardin than McDonald’s.
— He has created an amazing office of art; a collection reflecting not only great taste, but humor and heart.

I went to him for a few years when my insurance covered him and I worked nearby.
–He’s generally absent-​minded but he does come through in a crisis. When I had a car accident he took care of all the referrals to physical therapy and follow up.
–Yes he’s kind of a nut but diagnosis, especially preventative, is kind of an intuitive art. When I went to see him he skipped the usual questions, barely examined or talked to me and focused in on three issues that seemed odd at the time. He wanted to test my HIV status, run nutrition related bloodwork and do a series of complicated tests to see how my blood circulation was. I was primarily lesbian at the time so very low risk for HIV and as a person in my 20s with no heart disease the circulation tests seemed weird too. But lo and behold the bloodwork came back with a pretty serious B12 and folate deficiency. I guess I looked pale and jittery to him and he was trying to figure out the cause. I’m ovo-​lacto vegetarian not vegan and it takes several years to get a B12 deficiency. But I was pretty broke in my student loan debt days and I guess I did live on bagels for a few years. I was lucky he caught it when he did. I already had symptoms like muscle spasms, chills and ridged fingernails. I don’t think most doctors would have caught it and I probably owe that to his nutty, intuitive diagnostic method.
–Why the star off? His manner really is pretty odd. I got a mystery phone call after my bloodwork came in saying it was an emergency and only the doctor not the staff could give me the results. Like most people after an HIV test my mind jumped to HIV not poor diet and I spent a weekend in hel* before I got in touch with him and found out it was just a treatable deficiency.

I am shocked by some of the comments about Dr. Isaacs. He is profoundly intelligent, spends a lot of time with his patients and I admire his uncanny ability to recognize symptoms and make correct diagnoses. So what that he looks harried. His brain is the reason to go and if you have to wait, its because he has spent additional time with someone who needed the attention.

The staff here are great, but I honestly couldn’t tell you whether this doctor has a brain in his head. I arrived on time for my appointment and he strolled into the office an hour later, looking like he just rolled out of bed. I waited for another half hour while he walked around saying hello and good morning to the other employees.
When I finally got into an exam room, his physical consisted of the questions «Are your parents still alive?», «Are your siblings still alive?» and «No cigarettes?» He didn’t even ask about my health. It lasted 60 seconds. He didn’t come near me.

My cousin referred me to Dr. Isaacs several years ago, and I absolutely love him. He is knowledgeable, caring, and has great bedside manner. He does have a bit of a quirky personality that some reviewers on another site seem to have misinterpreted. For example, when you’re telling him about your concerns or symptoms, he doesn’t always maintain eye contact. This also goes for when he talks to you. In fact, he sort of mumbles half the time. That’s just how he talks. He’s also seemed frazzled every time I’ve seen him, whether it’s early in the day or late. I think that’s just his persona. In addition, he repeats what you’ve said to himself when he writes his notes, which I initially did not know what to make of. Rest assured he is listening, cares, and is simply doing something to help him take accurate notes. I’ve jabbered on for several minutes, and he’s answered all of my questions, then repeated everything I said back to himself nearly word for word as he wrote in my file.
When I’ve gone in for an appointment during the day, I’ve been able to see Dr. Isaacs pretty much on time. I did get a late day appointment once, and then there was a bit of a wait. That said, I would rather go to a doctor who is willing to spend more time with patients who need it rather than someone I can always see on time because he runs his practice like an assembly line.
Also, although the front desk staff can seem brusque, they are very efficient, whether it’s dealing with my insurance company, conveying my symptoms so that Dr. Isaacs can call in a script, or calling the script over to my pharmacy. Everything has always been handled very quickly and accurately.
As an aside, Kate Lieber, who is Dr. Isaac’s PA, is also very capable and nice. I literally have no preference whatsoever when it comes to seeing either of them. They are equally great, although Kate might have more of a conventional bedside manner. If you find Dr. Isaac’s quirks a little off-​putting, I would recommend you see Kate.

Worst doctor I have ever been to. I met with him twice, and both times I had to wait for over an hour and a half although I arrived to my appointment on time. He has an odd way of walking his patients to the reception desk after examining them, all the while talking about their conditions and prescriptions so that everyone in the waiting room can hear him. When he finally took me in, he was extremely hurried, scatter-​minded and even dismissive. It seemed like he wanted me out of there as fast as possible. He asked generic questions without making eye contact or even sitting down, wrote down notes while mumbling to himself, and hurried to see his next patient. I was out of there in less than ten minutes (except for the waiting time) both times.
I get that he’s busy, but that shouldn’t compromise his schedule day after day (I got the sense that the 1.5h wait was nothing out of the ordinary) or his bedside manners. On top of that, he looks like he doesn’t take care of himself at all. I’m not saying that doctors should look like movie stars, but it’s hard to take a doctor who looks homeless seriously.
While I was waiting for my appointment both times, plenty of young Soho/​Williamsburg type men and women walked in to try to catch the doctor while he was walking his patients out, seemingly only to kiss his a** to get him to prescribe Xanax, Ambien and other drugs. His willingness to do so explains a lot of his attraction. I’m sure he’s a nice person and a good physician, but I prefer my doctors to even pretend that they care about whatever I’m there to see them about.

What a mistake.
I fell for it, what can I say. He’s the «rock and roll doctor» that «Lots of celebs go to him».
I had my first appointment scheduled for 4pm (took time off work for), arrived 20 minutes early expecting a longer wait for being new.
In the hour and a half I was waiting, I saw at least 3 pharmaceutical reps come in dropping off samples, and several other patients walking in and being seen before me.
When I asked the receptionist how much longer, her attitude was almost robotic and scripted, as if she says it all the time, «Dr. Isaacs is running a bit behind, just have a seat», without eye contact for any actual engagement of my problem. Before I could respond, she already moved on to her paperwork.
Shortly thereafter, I was called and Dr. Isaacs just said aloud not acknowledging anyone «_(my name)_ go inside». I didn’t know where to go, it was my first time there. So I stood up waiting further direction, and he looked at my confused as if I was should know what is happening. I was told to walk into the room in the left — which had another patient inside still getting dressed.
And now the wait in the exam room. Yes, another wait, at which point I couldn’t handle it anymore. I took my chart, brought it out to the reception and said I can’t wait I’ll have to reschedule it. She said ok, not even trying to help me. There was another gentleman there who might have been a very casually dressed doctor, but he was mostly hanging out. He said Dr. Isaacs is probably just in the back, do I want him to grab him and he’ll see me. I just said I couldn’t wait any longer and didn’t want to rush my visit. I believe he was probably in the back with the rep who came in right before I was called.
That visit was the perfect example of what is wrong with American healthcare. No attention to patients and catering for the latest, best drugs.
This was a mistake, and I hope you avoid it too.

I’ve gone through ups and downs with Isaacs. He’s a funny character, this frenetic doctor. It’s very endearing in a way. And in some ways its annoying. It’s hard to connect with him, because he just comes in, turns his back to you, and starts scribbling down diagnosage before you’re even finished speaking. He seems like he wants to be with the next patient immediately. It’s great because he really crams people in, so you can usually get appointments even the same day as you call. And he puts up with my probably too frequent visits and conviction that something’s seriously wrong, when 90% of the time it’s notthing. But he’s misdiagnosed me a few times, and kind of has an air of not really caring at times. It’s like you’re a number and not a person.
I also like that he has a range of patients. Lots of high end clients because of the location, but he accepts people for less money to help them out if they don’t have insurance, but he’s also the Dr to the stars, or at least somewhat famous New Yorkers.

the doctor was very helpful to me. He really seemed to care.
Went to the new office on broadway — and its really nice — the art is still there thankfully.

Dr. Isaacs is a good doctor. He listens, he prescribes, then he prescribes you some more. He’s one of those doctors who will give you anything you need, just don’t abuse it too much. What can you say, he’s a rock and roll doctor. He’s appeared in a documentary… I believe it was «Fast Food?» and also has a gazillion personally autographed works of art and such from famous folks in NYC. His office really nice and is centrally located, smack in Soho. The draw backs are well, he seems a little scatterbrain from the few visits I’ve had, and the wait is longer than usual… about 30 – 45 minutes from appointment time. For a PCP, he’s A-​Okay.

I’ve been going to Dr. Isaacs for almost 6 years and have been very happy wtih him. He does take you seriously and seems very thorough. When I first started going, the wait times were very long, but I haven’t had a problem in a long time and I think the office has gotten much more efficient. I would definitely recommend him as a great primary care physician.

Best way to see him is try to get the first appointment in the morning, or the first after lunch.
He is very popular but it’s because he is amazing. He’s nailed whatever I’ve had every time, the specialists have been redundant, and he recommends awesome specialists. And he’s extremely respectful of his patients’ intelligence, he talks to you like an equal. Rare!

Dr. Isaacs was a nice guy, seemed thorough and relaxed. I am in search of a new doctor now, though, because of the wait in his office. All three times I visited Dr. Isaacs I waited a minimum of an hour past my scheduled appointment time. I’m sure he’s big and important, but my time is valuable too.

I recommend going here if you have a lot of time to kill. I called to make an appointment, explaining I was a new patient and needed a complete physical. They were able to schedule me that same week. Based on the reviews, I assumed he was very popular and I was surprised to get an appointment so quickly.
I called before my appointment and asked if the doctor was running on schedule. The receptionist explained he was running 30 minutes behind. I gave her my name, asked her to add me to the list and explained that I will be arriving 30 minutes later than scheduled. I arrived 15 minutes past my original appointment to see that I was on the list already. I thought I was off to a great start.
1.5 hours later the doctor finally saw me. Was apologetic for making me wait. He seemed very sincere. Fine. He asked me what the reason for my visit was and I explained it was for a physical. Ok, we only do physicals in the morning. I will schedule you for one. My appointment was done. What??? Are you kidding me???
Aside from the 2 hours of my life that I lost and will never get back, the doctor has a horrific case of dandruff and was extremely frazzled when asking me questions, repeating questions unnecessarily. I think he asked me if I had siblings at least three times.
If you really need a celebrity doctor with great art in the waiting room, then he’s all yours. I myself prefer doctors who are attentive, don’t over schedule, and have good personal hygiene.

After a little research I picked Dr. Isaacs because he seemed to have a reputation for taking people seriously and actually spending time with them. I was not disappointed with my physical today. It was actually pretty involved, at least more involved than I’m used to, complete with and EKG, lung capacity test and full blood work up. His office looks like an art gallery and I actually walked right passed it while looking for it because I dismissed it as a store.

Awesome. Have been going to him for 7 yrs now. Dr. Isaacs is always able to squeeze me in last minute when I’m feeling very sick. Lots of celebs go to him and apparently some fly in from LA too because he’s just a good doc. One time I thought I needed antibiotics and he said I had allergies and only needed Claritin. I was happy because I like to avoid strong meds when at all possible. Dr. Isaacs was also one of the physicians in that movie «Supersize Me». Go Dr. isaacs!