Spring Street Dermatology - Uptown — Local services in New York

Funny that after the appointment I got this message “If you had a great experience, would you mind writing us a review?“. Well, sounds like an interesting request, as in they’re not interested in my not great experience, but still here I am. My appointment got cancelled by mistake/misunderstanding without any cancellation notice. So basically, I show up and appointment is not there. To be fair, they did a great job fitting me in, which might not have been as difficult as to do it later in the day. My appointment was at 8:15am and I got there right around opening 8am. Also a manager called me in the evening and explained to me what happened, so that was a great touch. But! My second appointment as well as first with Dr. Pustover was not on par with my expectations. Dr has a hair loss listed as on of the possible reasons for visit. However, her research on my hair and scalp condition was limited to her briefly looking at my scalp (and even that only on the first appointment), prescribing generic shampoo against dandruff/seborrea and lotion followed by Nutrifol recommendation and oral medication, which is hormonal, and all that without taking any blood tests. When I did ask the doctor whether she can address my hair issues holistically and take a closer look/images of my scalp, she recommended to go to a trichologist instead (so not sure why is hair loss was in the list at the first place. Please explain to me if you have a better understanding). Then I asked for a recommendation of one and she just said to Google them lol I said I did and would prefer a recommendation if she has any, when she started googling on her device and wrote down first two links she could find for me 🤷🏻‍♀️ Then I asked her about an issue that I’ve been having on a particular area of my face and instead of even taking a look she said that my skin is too dry and she can’t see anything properly (she didn’t even try talking a closer look). Not exactly sure what I paid for on this visits. I guess prescription shampoo and the doctor googling what I had...

Updating my review in July 2024 (old review is below the line):

Upgraded from 3 to 5 stars. Dr. W got her own staff that handle any issues directly, whether it’s an appointment request, prescription, question, etc. There’s a direct line to reach them and they also have their own email, which they respond to in a timely manner. Kudos to Dr. W for recognizing the frustrations on the administrative end of things and having a solution!

Also, I’ve had some issues with post-laser pigment. She’s been great about handling any complications (medication or offer to re-eval for a different laser). This is why I go to a highly experienced dermatologist, as opposed to a med spa: she knows how to handle potential complications and stands by her procedures. I really appreciate that she wants to do right by her patients.

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Five stars for Dr. Claire Wolinsky. However, I don’t love how this office staff runs. At my first visit, they were extremely confused because I was told that my consult would be covered by insurance, which it wasn’t. Someone at the front desk was also gaslighting me into thinking that I misunderstood; going through the previous text messages, I didn’t.

Dr. W quoted me a price for a procedure for which I have an appointment a few weeks from now. I asked the office (via text), will you please confirm the price of said procedure? I did not tell them what Dr. W had quoted me. The response? “Yes, that is correct!” I honestly feel as though half of these people don’t even read their messages.

Today, I was running late and I called the office - or what I thought was the office. I spoke to someone at some call center who said that she would call the front desk and let them know that I’m running late; however, it was unclear as to whether or not she would be able to take me after all. I jumped out of my Uber and ran, and thankfully made it before the 15 minute grace period was over. However, I don’t understand the purpose of calling if I can’t even reach the office staff that are...

Update: I received a call personally from the office manager, who reviewed that it was my first cancellation so she waived my $75 fee. I appreciate that they value me as a long time patient of their practice.

I’ve been a patient at Spring Street Dermatology for over a decade. The doctors and staffs are extremely helpful and efficient. My only problem was that my appointments were getting canceled last minute by the office. This happened at least 3 times last year. One time the cancellation was so last minute I was already on the train to go to my appointment. I had one cosmetic procedure done by Dr. Palep and it was fine. However, I decided to go to another office for my cosmetic procedures due to frequent cancellations by Spring St Derm. I stuck with this office for medical appointments because Dr. Palep is an amazing doctor. I missed my last appointment due to an emergency at work and the office didn’t want to hear it, I was slapped with a $75 cancellation fee for not even seeing the doctor for my skin issue. Strict cancellation rules should only apply if it goes both ways, I will be looking for a new office...