The Dermatology Specialists - South Slope — Local services in New York

Please stay away from this location. Positive reviews are likely from the fact they give free samples if you leave a review while you’re in the office (or at least they used to). Long overdue review for my experience here a year+ ago and also my experience today. I will start with today. I have a procedure done at another Derm Specs location 2 days ago. In the past 24 hours my face went from some swelling to an egg on my forehead. The phones and the other location don’t open until 9 but this office opens at 8, so I just walked over around the 9:00 hour to see if I could see a doctor versus going to urgent care. The woman at the front desk went back to speak with the doctor on duty, came back, and told me to go to the other location in manhattan or they would have to charge me out of pocket. They asked not one question about my symptoms and the doctor did not even come out etc. Since it would take nearly an hour to get to the other location and the phones were now open, I called. I didn’t even get transferred to a doctor, because it was recommended I go to urgent care by the phone technician. She was shocked that I was turned away. I’m now sitting and waiting in an urgent care office. And this is the better story. If you love reading and bad experiences- I went back to this location many times over the course of many months well over a year ago for a growth under my fingernail. I was told it was suspected to be a wart. A biopsy was taken to confirm, but treatment was started immediately. Over the course of these months, I continued to go back for the subsequent treatments I was told I needed. This involved painful injections of the anesthetic under the nail, as well as both freezing and trying to burn the growth under the nail. Once that wore off, the pain would last hours and I’d have to keep it bandaged etc. Finally, after several months and many visits, I went in for a follow-up and due to illness there was a covering physician. This doctor looked at it and immediately did not think it was a wart. I informed him that it was biopsied in the past so it must’ve been confirmed. We were dismayed to find that in my records, the sample taken was insufficient so nothing was ever confirmed. He informed me he was quite certain it should be removed and that i should see a hand surgeon, and hands are important and need care. This is after spending HUNDREDS on copay+ all the expenses my insurance did not cover, which I’m almost certain went above $1000. The front desk told me they could not help me find a hand surgeon on my insurance and I was left with that.

When I wrote to the company to detail this experience I received a phone call (nothing in writing, should’ve been suspect) and they expressed their apologies and referred me to a manhattan office to see a surgeon. I was told my consult cost etc would be waived , but my insurance was charged and I paid my $50 copay since the office was never made aware (by that time I was too fatigued and busy to take the time to fight.. love our healthcare system). My experience at that office itself was great. The surgeon was amazing and removed what turned out to actually be a tiny benign tumor. I followed up with the Derm Specs twice after regarding the rest of my experience and the charges, but no one replied. A great strategy, because not many people have the time, energy, or money to pursue these things. Anyhow, take this as your warning. I’m kicking myself for going back at all, but was lured by the convenience and the good experience at the Manhattan offices. Lesson(s) learned. I will have to go for one last visit to get stitches out, but that will be my very last visit....

I booked an appointment at the office with Dr. Dr. Gibran Shaikh, MD for a dermatology consultation—i.e. a second opinion—on an issue I have been having for several months, and have been prescribed and taken several different medications from different doctors throughout that time to attempt to treat it.

I was sent a link by Dr. Shaikh’s office to check in for the appointment and the check-in form requested I list my current medications. I took the time to list out the multiple different prescriptions I am on to treat the issue I was seeking care for—washes, shampoos, creams, pills. As I am not a doctor nor a pharmacy I can not recall the name of them all by memory or walk with several different washes, shampoos, creams, and pills in my handbag.

15 minutes after my scheduled appointment time of 1pm, I was called in by the medical assistant who proceeded to ask me to tell him what medications I am currently on. I let him know I had submitted all that information—which again was an extensive list of about 8-10 different meds—when the office sent me a link request to do so, and that I could not possibly remember all the medications I had carefully took the time to list while I had them in front of me at home.

His response was the check in form I was sent by his office has nothing to do with them and he doesn’t know where the information I was asked to put in by his office goes, and that he would not be able find it or attempt to find it. The doctor came close to 1:30pm to tell me the same: That he had no clue where the information I was asked to put in by his office went to or is stored and that he has never known where to find that information—and that the information I put on the medical portal when I was asked by his office has nothing to do with him or any bearing on the care he will provide because he never receives it and doesn’t know where it goes.

I got no care, given the fundamental reason for my visit—a continuing issue that has not responded to several rounds of various medication—was not considered or attempted to be considered by the staff. Interestingly, I also paid my co-pay at the same online check in form that I was asked to submitted my medication information to, and the record of my payment was able to be found by the office immediately. Yet there was no interest or attempt to find my medical information, or to even tell me where it went. It was a distasteful experience to say the least and a waste of the lunch hour I took from work to seek out the care I needed. I have reported the incident to my health insurance and to the Dermatology Specialists—the latter has not responded, unsurprisingly. I do not recommend...

AVOID THIS PRACTICE AT ALL COST! As a woman of color, I decided to start coming here to treat a hair disorder that is specific to black woman. The initial dermatologist was great and very attentive to my care. However, things quickly took a turn for the worst when I realized that this practice as well as all of its locations run like revolving doors --- you never know which doctor you will see. As someone who has already had a failed attempt at treatment with a previous dermatologist, it was imperative to me that I be seen by the same doctor, a doctor who had experience treating this disorder in black women, for the duration of my treatment (6-9 months). Unfortunately, the woman that I initially came here to see moved out of NY and I was stuck seeing a different doctor - Bobby Buka. He was the THIRD person who I had seen in the duration of my treatment. Imagine receiving scalp injections from multiple people who all do the injections differently. I was okay with Dr Buka because he seemed knowledgeable on how to treat me. However, after 2 appointments with him, I was booked with a different doctor. When I requested it be changed to him, I was told that he would only see new patients and cosmetic patients. A new policy he implemented out of the blue. This is absolutely unprofessional to do to someone who is halfway into treatment. If I am expected to see a different doctor or PA every time I come in for an appointment how will the people treating me ever know when TO STOP my treatment? Why should I have to explain my experience like it is the first time EVERY time I come in? His new policy is a bait and switch, hook and sinker at its finest used to get people to keep coming even if it means having to see an inexperienced PA on the next visit. This has put me in a difficult situation where I now have to go and find a new doctor to complete my treatments in the middle of my treatment. Again, avoid his offices at all cost if you actually want a practice that cares about developing long term relationships with...