Kips Bay Gynecology

One of the worst experiences I’ve ever had.
From showing up to an appointment that was never scheduled, to waiting an hour for an actual scheduled appointment, to frankly one of the most irresponsible handling of test results, I’m finally done.
I’ve been coming to Kips Bay for several years, and everything was relatively normal until my first abnormal pap. Then began the routine panic, colposcopy, wait, everything’s fine, schedule another annual. This went on for years until last October when I had my Annual. I was anticipating another abnormal pap, as if been getting that result for four years, but when I called for my test results some weeks later, the woman on the other end said, and I quote, «Everything was normal.» REJOICE! Finally, I thought, I’m in the clear. Cut to two months later when I receive a call from the office. «Hi, we’re calling with your test results from October. Your pap is abnormal. You’ll need to come in for a biopsy.»
WHAT.
Apparently, they told me, there’s no record of anyone ever calling me, and when they did a routine scrub of the database realized they’d never called me. Who the hell had I spoken to, I demanded. «We don’t know,» they responded. What if I had been diagnosed with an STD, or worse, HIV, and I’d been running around the city dangerous and infectious?! How ABSOLUTELY IRRESPONSIBLE. After «investigating» the issue, all they could do was apologize. Pathetic.
Finally, I went in for my fourth colposcopy. If you’ve done your research, you’re basically just waiting for cervical cancer to pop up at this phase. When I asked Dr Tessler repeatedly why this wasn’t going away and why she keeps telling me the biopsy is «normal» when clearly something is wrong, all she could say was «it’s incredibly difficult to detect. We wait for the cells to mutate and yours haven’t yet.»
I called to schedule my annual again this year, which should be this October, and the first time I called they couldn’t pull up Dr Tesslers calendar. The second time I called they told me her first opening was in late December. When I asked if I could at least renew my birth control so I wouldn’t lapse, they put me through to the nurses voicemail. I waited two days and no one returned my call. I finally got a message through their digital «Hub» that they’d seen I had called but that I had not requested anything.
You guys, I’m done. This office is terrible, unprofessional, and dangerous.

UNPROFESSIONAL! Dr. Podolsky is the coldest, most impersonal Doctor ever. The management also lacks professionalism. My experience had to do with fertility issues, and to be treated so disrespectfully is unsettling. I was forced to walk out of my appointment. I will not go into my experience as it is personal and emotional, but I will say PLEASE women, stay away from this practice!!!

I’ve been twice for 2 different minor infections to see Tessler. One time, Tessler made an error by not listening to my suggestion of what it was: she sent off for culture and I was right. If she’d taken a minute to look at the microscope to see if I was right, she could have diagnosed on the spot (as another doctor at another practice did), and I would have been cured by the time the culture came back. Primary care doctors are time-​pressured, but if the practice does not give her enough time for appointments, that’s a flaw in the practice. She was also condescending, and her advice assumed that I hadn’t followed instructions. I like the doctor I usually see at the gyn in the Beth Israel practice in Union Square much better.

I waited more than 6 months to get an appointment with Dr. Fischer and a day before they cancelled. I got back on her schedule a week later when they called to cancel AGAIN and didn’t have another appointment for 3 more months. I finally went in 2 months later to see Dr. Lau. After all this wait I really just wanted to see what the big hype.
The receptionist told me they were on PARK AVE no PARK AVE SOUTH and when i finally got there the receptionists were very unfriendly.
The nurse who took my BP before seeing Dr. Lau was also not friendly at all.
Dr. Lau was nice, no issues there. To me that was not enought to balance out all the other things that annoyed me. If youre looking for a personable office go elsewhere. Didn’t feel welcome here!

Read this about Kips Bay. This is emblematic of how bad this office is.
Stay away. Why does NYU keep them as an affiliate? Should make everyone feel that NYU has no respect for its patients.

I want to chime in for a heavy second of the majority of reviewers here. I’m writing about Dr. Ilene Fischer – a heartless human being and cold, aggressive, condescending doctor, the like of which I’ve never met in my entire life!
Had to see her when my own regular doctor left the practice.
Dr. Fischer berated – I kid you not – berated me for not remembering the last day of my period – even though I’ve had irregular periods since high school.
This woman is so without compassion for other women – why is she in gynaecology?
Stay away.

The other reviewers aren’t wrong– this place is the pits. Although it claims to offer obstetric care, it does not. If you’re pregnant, you will be referred to NYU’s Maternal and Fetal Care department where the phone team is just as dismal. Despite being a patient of Kips Bay OBGYN for over a year, I was will told that I was considered a new patient by the obstetric side of this practice and that I wouldn’t be given an ultrasound/​prenatal appointment until nearly my 10^th week of pregnancy. Also you’re not guaranteed to have ultrasounds and prenatal visits on the same day (which is both inconvenient and ridiculous). No thanks!

0 stars, if I could. I went here because they’re affiliated with NYU and I was between ob/​gyns since my previous doctor stopped taking my insurance. I don’t want to rehash the details — too traumatizing and apparently bad doctors now sue patients for bad reviews. I’ll just say. .. not a good idea to go here if you want to be treated respectfully and want a staff that seems to care about your health.

I’ll start off by saying, I haven’t written a review on Unilocal in 6 years, but logged on to say I don’t think it’s safe to go to this office. I think the staff has a blatant disregard for their patients’ health in a way that is hazardous to people’s health. It’s not funny. It’s not cute. It’s scary.
I have been coming to Kips Bay for 8+ years. I have seen various doctors here over the years. I have had a few bad experiences but no deal breakers. This week, I had the worst encounter with a doctor’s office I’ve ever had. For red tape reasons, I needed Dr. Fisher’s office to write me a prescription to get an additional exam done. I called them 6 times over 4 separate days in a 3 week span and was repeatedly told that my prescription will get done today. IT IS STILL NOT DONE. When I voiced my concern about this, the person on the phone cut me off mid-​sentence! I’m floored by their rudeness and disregard for a patient’s health. I now have to postpone my exam and really do feel that their office inefficiencies has caused delays in my obtaining the health care I need.

I wish I could give them 0 rating. I waited for 45 mins to finally see the doctor (Dr. Fischer). She did not bother to apologize for being late and say «what’s new?». I have several questions but she answered in a really impolite way. And I just gave up on even asking.
At this point I am not coming back to the doctor for sure.

This place is horrible and I would not recommend it to anyone in NYC looking for a gynecologist. The front desk is the worst I’ve experienced at any doctor’s office in New York City and my wait times have never been under 45 minutes.
I have called several times with questions and been treated so rudely. The doctors are professional, but it’s not enough to make up for everything else that’s wrong with this place. I will be looking to find a new gyno ASAP.

I really want to like kips bay Gyno but there’s just no way around it. They are slow, inefficient, and the front desk is the unnecessarily rudest person I have had the misfortune of encountering.
In fact I am writing this as I wait for my appointment. This follows the 30 minutes I waited to be brought in and the 15 minutes since I was told to disrobe and wait for the physician. And this is when I arrived 10 minutes early for my appointed time.
I have been a patient for over 3 years, first at their old offices and then when they relocated right into my office building. Their service was always satisfactory and I thought I could justify the convenience of an elevator ride to my Gyno but this is definitely the last straw. Not only am I here just 2 weeks after my initial appointment bc they in fact did not treat properly so I am still suffering symptoms and they still charge me the full copay for their blunder. Where is your sense of integrity?
Also the horrible face at the front previously mentioned had absolutely no sympathy even as I tried to explain my predicament. I get it, your job isn’t your great passion, but do it right and don’t leave a bad taste in all the mouths of women that come through your office by staring at them like their particular brand of misery that day has no place in the waiting room.
After this session I don’t intend on using them anymore. You should also keep looking if you had considered a visit.

DO NOT GO HERE — I was shocked after my own experience I finally looked on Unilocal to see many similar reviews.
I had an abnormal test result which led to many other tests and screenings over the course of this past summer. Yesterday I received a bill for several thousand dollars. Despite being a regular patient for years and the office having my insurance information, they submitted every test I had to an out of network lab without consulting me or asking permission. I am now stuck with this bill that my insurance will not cover. I tried to call the office to discuss but am repeatedly transferred to someone else, but on hold, or hung up on. Unbelievable.

The reviews you read about the Practice’s lack of professionalism and Dr. Ilene Fischer’s ineptitude in caring for patients are absolutely correct.
— She allows misinformed and inexperienced Nurse Practitioners to provide their patients with Lab Results information (incorrect information, to boot) and LAUGHS IT OFF when confronted, refusing to take any responsibility
— She displays atrocious bedside manner, unlike any other doctor I have been to.
— She exhibits at best apathy and at best disdain for her patients’ concerns.
Frankly, do not wast your time.

I would leave zero stars if I could! Neena Agarwala was without a doubt the worst doctor I’ve ever been to in my entire life. She was uncaring, brusque, personality-​less, and never even gave me a breast exam during my annual! I’ve NEVER not gotten a breast exam during my annual. I asked for a blood test to verify something and she said, «it’s not necessary… I’m telling you what it will say.» Okay great, so I WANT A BLOOD TEST. When I got the results in the mail she had HANDWRITTEN a sarcastic message on the bottom, «Just as I said.» She was so rude. I have Lupus and my good doctor in Florida said it was very important to get a blood test because my symptoms could be thyroid or a number of other things.
Seriously, RUN to another doctor. Anyone is better that this woman.

THIS PRACTICE DOESN’T EVEN DESERVE ONE STAR!
I have never in my life been to a practice that is so utterly incompetent. For me, it’s a 3 strikes and you’re out kind of deal. With them, all of these strikes happened within 2 months!
1^st MAJOR and I repeat MAJOR strike — I had an STD screening done. Apparently my test didn’t even reach the labs!!! THEY LOST MY SCREENING AND DIDN’T EVEN KNOW IT!
The only way I even found out it was lost was because of this:
I had switched insurance companies and now needed to get a new pill. I had explained to them that I need to try and stay on the same pill or something extremely similar. It took them over 4 days for them to finally get back to me (I called them every day) which by now, it was too late to even take because it would not work as contraception. (2^nd STRIKE) So now, I would have to go an entire month without being on the pill (I haven’t been off of it in 8 years). In order for my insurance to allow this pill I would need to come in to see the doctor.
While I was there, I had said I was glad that the last screening came back negative (since I had CALLED THEM to check my results and they explained to me that no news is good news and to not call again!) she then went to double check the chart since she didn’t see the results and realized that MY SCREENING NEVER EVEN REACHED THE LAB! I then needed to redo my screening (which luckily came back negative because I called every day until I actually got the result!) But god forbid I had something, I would have never knew!!!
Now for my final 3^rd strike — one which has thrown me over the top…
I called at 9:30 AM because I had terrible symptoms of being off the pill (hence why I am on it to begin with) I was shaking, feeling nausea, seeing double, becoming delirious and had heavy bleeding. The receptionist told me someone would call me back today. I told her will someone please, it is an emergency and I need to know if I should go back on the pill today or if I need to wait a certain amount of days before I can take it again…
I got no phone call back and saw the clock at 4:30 PM. So knowing their history of never returning my phone calls I called and she explained to me that 1^st, the message didn’t even go through until 11:30 and that because it is not an emergency (even though I said it was) she will call back tomorrow. I told her I would not hang up until I please spoke with someone. She then said well, since you’re on the pill…(again got the ENTIRE message wrong)! I then asked if there was any hotline or just ANYONE that might be able to help me. She said there was nothing she could do and that I would have to wait until tomorrow.
Basically this place is seriously incompetent and if you’re ever in an emergency this place is not to be trusted!!!

I have been to see Dr Fischer a few times and never was totally impressed with her. She does not follow up with test results, was 1 hour late for my appointment with no apologies but the kicker is I finally called for my results and was told they could not find the urine results which was extremely important to me. There was no explanation and the person I spoke to seemed very uncaring about how upset I was.
This is totally unacceptable to me that results could be lost…

If you want to show up and find out you don’t actually have an appointment, this is a great place for you.
I got an automatic email from ZocDoc saying my appointment had been cancelled because the office could not reach me. Only I provided all of my information from ZocDoc and other doctors have had no problem with it. Also, phone records and emails demonstrate that they made no attempt to contact me.

Sadly, as much a like Dr. Fisher, I’m forced to give this practice a poor rating.
The receptionists are rude, cold, and incompetent. I came in today for an 11:45 appointment. As soon as I checked in with reception, I was told that I was scheduled with a nurse practitioner who did not accept my insurance (a mistake that could have easily been avoided and would have been very costly) .
Fortunately, Dr. Fisher had an opening at 12:15. Since the appointment was in the middle of the day, and since I work, I politely asked the receptionist if she knew whether Dr. Fisher is running behind schedule. She told me she can’t tell me until I fill out my paperwork. Odd, I thought, and asked why I had to wait (as I did not want to waste more of my time filling out paperwork for an appointment that I can’t make)… She just brushed off my question, told me that’s just what I have to do. The way she said it was irritating and a simple question that required a simple answer.
So I waited 20 more minutes to see Dr. Fisher. I walked in the office at 11:45 and left after 1pm. This could have all been avoided with competent staff, and could have been a lot more tolerable with nicer people working at the desk.
Dr. Fisher is nice, though.

This review is a hard one to write because there are few words that can adequately express my absolute disgust with this medical practice — if you can even call it that. What is probably best is if I describe the most infuriating /​horrifying /​emotionally traumatizing experiences I had while I was a patient here and let you decide how to best describe this place.
(1) At my first check up (which was very standard), the doctor wrote me a 12-​month prescription for birth control since I only had a few months left on my prior. About four months later, I ran out of pills on my prior prescription and went to have this new prescription filled. The pharmacist told me that, for some absolutely inexplicable reason, the nurse who sent it in (only after much cajoling and repeated phone calls from both me and the pharmacist) made a specific note to give me only one pack at a time instead of the usual three. For someone who travels on a monthly basis, not having a pack handy to toss in my bag is impractical. So, the pharmacist and I both placed calls to the office to get this changed. When someone finally responded after repeated attempts to reach them, they refused to simply authorize three-​month pick-​ups. Instead, they insisted on submitting a brand new prescription but only for eight months so that I would be forced to come back in for another appointment sooner than expected. To be clear, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology’s official guidance on screening for women under 30 who have never had children is every two years — so I didn’t need to go back for another 20 months. This office was just trying to extort more money out of me for a sooner-​than-​needed visit.
(2) Most of the staff is incredibly rude and callous. They could not care less about the patients and have absolutely terrible attitudes — which is especially unacceptable in an office environment in which you’re dealing with highly emotional women (pregnant women, women with extremely stressful medical situations, etc).
(3) Now for the real kicker — the aforementioned «emotionally traumatizing» experience. After my third routine check up at this practice, I received a phone call from a doctor I had never met or spoken to telling me that I might have cancer and need to come in for a biopsy. She was extremely cold and harried, hanging up on me before I had a chance to ask any questions. Obviously, I was terrified. I spent days researching and panicking, not knowing what was happening to me or if I would be OK. When I went in for the procedure, the doctor tried to start immediately without any conversation or explanation. I had to actually ask her to sit down and explain to me what was going on and what the procedure entailed. She wouldn’t even give me a full five minutes. When I asked her questions about the lab results that prompted the procedure, she refused to explain, telling me that I wouldn’t be able to understand the complexity without many years of medical school under my belt. Um… it’s my health. I deserve to have all relevant information, whether you think I can understand or not. Then came the procedure itself. I have dealt with anxiety regarding female procedures for most of my adult life, have a generally low pain threshold, and was obviously very scared. The doctor showed absolutely no compassion. When I started crying, she began to berate me and tell me that I was «abnormal.» She then suggested I need to see a psychiatrist because my reaction wasn’t «acceptable.» She also told me that I probably ruined the accuracy of the test because I was giving off too many negative vibes. WHAT!!! In no way, shape, or form is anything about this experience acceptable. I left bawling — and I am not one to cry at the drop of a hat. Afterward, I made the decision to see a different doctor at a different practice. When I requested my medical records, however, I was DENIED. In clear violation of HIPAA laws. They forced me to come in for ANOTHER appointment to get my test results and the rest of my medical record, simply to extort more money from me /​my insurance (which seems to be a trend here). This was very scarring for me, as I clearly had no interest in setting foot back in a place where I was so mistreated. They had me see another doctor on my return visit, but she was equally cold and uncaring. She tried to book me for a surgery the following week that she admitted carried serious risks — again, only giving me a few minutes of her time to ask one or two questions. To put things in perspective, my new doctor had a 35 minute sit-​down with me to discuss the issue, has called me multiple times (unprompted) to see how I’m doing, and is taking a more practical /​less risky course of action.
I cannot caution enough against going here. «Bad» or «not great» doctors are one thing, but I truly feel as though I was taken advantage of and, frankly, abused here.