Doctor, Dentist, Indian Chief
August 4, 2012 2:05 PM Subscribe
Good afternoon. I am in the market for a doctor, of the general practitioner variety, a dentist and a new laboratory in NYC. Any referrals you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
Now, for the specifics:
All three of these should be located in, or convenient transit rides from, the West Village or Western Queens (i.e. Astoria, Woodside, Sunnyside, Jackson Heights).
1. The doctor must be in the Blue Cross/Blue Shield network. He or she should have decent social and communication skills. I'm looking for someone who views the doctor-patient relationship as a partnership, not the old-timey command-and-control model. The doctor should also be able to respect my decisions not to pursue certain medical choices (i.e. saw palmetto vs. proscar).
2. The dentist should accept Blue Cross and Aetna dental insurance. He or she should also have a positive, or neutral attitude, towards wisdom teeth. The last dentist I visited wanted to extract all of my wisdom teeth, three of which were perfectly healthy, because of an issue with one. When I declined to give permission for this, she wanted me to sit around for a browbeating session from her senior partner in the business. This behavior made me uncomfortable and I don't want to experience it again. So . . . yeah, a good dentist, who takes my insurance and respects my right to make decisions about my oral health.
3. Every few months or so, I have to have blood drawn because of a medication I take. The last two times, I've visited a LabCorp franchise in my neighborhood and had . . . not so great experiences. The first time, they were overwhelmed with walk-ins and disorganized; I wound up waiting much longer than I preferred, even with an appointment. The second time, the phlebotomist treated me with contempt because I was a little anxious about needles. And then he had the nerve to ask me to provide positive feedback for him on the company's website. So . . . I'm looking for a lab where the staff are not pushy, socially challenged assclowns, are organized, and where I won't have to invest forty-five minutes of my day in a five-minute medical errand. (Before I forget: --also in the Blue Cross/Blue Shield network).
These are the three things I need in my life right now. If you can point me in the right direction, I will be very grateful, think warm thoughts of you and maybe even give you a best answer!
Now, for the specifics:
All three of these should be located in, or convenient transit rides from, the West Village or Western Queens (i.e. Astoria, Woodside, Sunnyside, Jackson Heights).
1. The doctor must be in the Blue Cross/Blue Shield network. He or she should have decent social and communication skills. I'm looking for someone who views the doctor-patient relationship as a partnership, not the old-timey command-and-control model. The doctor should also be able to respect my decisions not to pursue certain medical choices (i.e. saw palmetto vs. proscar).
2. The dentist should accept Blue Cross and Aetna dental insurance. He or she should also have a positive, or neutral attitude, towards wisdom teeth. The last dentist I visited wanted to extract all of my wisdom teeth, three of which were perfectly healthy, because of an issue with one. When I declined to give permission for this, she wanted me to sit around for a browbeating session from her senior partner in the business. This behavior made me uncomfortable and I don't want to experience it again. So . . . yeah, a good dentist, who takes my insurance and respects my right to make decisions about my oral health.
3. Every few months or so, I have to have blood drawn because of a medication I take. The last two times, I've visited a LabCorp franchise in my neighborhood and had . . . not so great experiences. The first time, they were overwhelmed with walk-ins and disorganized; I wound up waiting much longer than I preferred, even with an appointment. The second time, the phlebotomist treated me with contempt because I was a little anxious about needles. And then he had the nerve to ask me to provide positive feedback for him on the company's website. So . . . I'm looking for a lab where the staff are not pushy, socially challenged assclowns, are organized, and where I won't have to invest forty-five minutes of my day in a five-minute medical errand. (Before I forget: --also in the Blue Cross/Blue Shield network).
These are the three things I need in my life right now. If you can point me in the right direction, I will be very grateful, think warm thoughts of you and maybe even give you a best answer!
Best answer: I'm not sure about your insurance, but I've mostly had good experiences with blood drawing at the Quest Diagnostics at 146 Pierrepont St in Brooklyn Heights. (easy to get to from the West Village, more annoying from Queens). The waits are fine, and no one ever seemed to mind that I tend to pinch the bridge of my nose and look away unhappily.
posted by 168 at 2:21 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by 168 at 2:21 PM on August 4, 2012
I'm not sure if he's taking more people on but Jason Psillakis is the the best dentist I've ever had. He has an Eastside office that's super accessible on the way to or from Queens.
posted by safetyfork at 2:22 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by safetyfork at 2:22 PM on August 4, 2012
ZocDoc.com always helps me find good folks in my insurance plan. The reviews section is great.
posted by manicure12 at 2:39 PM on August 4, 2012
posted by manicure12 at 2:39 PM on August 4, 2012
Best answer: I really like Dr. Avedissian who has a practice on 48th St. in Sunnyside. After some terrible experiences with another doctor, who had no idea what she was talking about and didn't even seem to try, he was a breath of fresh air. He is very kind and has a wonderful bedside manner. He appears to take Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
Like Ragged Richard, I'm unsure of how he would react to you choosing not to pursue certain medical choices, as it's also not come up, but I also trust him as a doctor.
The only downside is the wait can sometimes be a little long--he's pretty popular, so you may have to wait for about an hour. He is also only in Sunnyside on Thursdays and Saturdays--the rest of the week he's in the Bronx. But it seemed worth it to recommend him. He's really great.
posted by dysh at 3:55 PM on August 4, 2012
Like Ragged Richard, I'm unsure of how he would react to you choosing not to pursue certain medical choices, as it's also not come up, but I also trust him as a doctor.
The only downside is the wait can sometimes be a little long--he's pretty popular, so you may have to wait for about an hour. He is also only in Sunnyside on Thursdays and Saturdays--the rest of the week he's in the Bronx. But it seemed worth it to recommend him. He's really great.
posted by dysh at 3:55 PM on August 4, 2012
I love my GP, Dr. Brian Meehan in SoHo. His office is half a block from the Spring Street stop on the A/C/E. He's very much into a partnership style of patient relationships and his staff are as well.
Quest Diagnostics labs take BC/BS (at least they did last time I went) and they've been much better than LabCorp in my experience. It's possible that Dr. Meehan would just have you drop by for a blood draw by one of his PAs though, if it's a regular thing and it's not inconvenient for you.
posted by bedhead at 6:46 PM on August 4, 2012
Quest Diagnostics labs take BC/BS (at least they did last time I went) and they've been much better than LabCorp in my experience. It's possible that Dr. Meehan would just have you drop by for a blood draw by one of his PAs though, if it's a regular thing and it's not inconvenient for you.
posted by bedhead at 6:46 PM on August 4, 2012
The only dentist anyone I know goes to is Dr. Torre! We all love Dr. Torre. (And he's even let me keep a wisdom tooth of which only about 15% remains! Mm hmm. "Your mouth, your business" is sort of his mantra.)
posted by RJ Reynolds at 1:16 PM on August 5, 2012
posted by RJ Reynolds at 1:16 PM on August 5, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
My dentist is in Brooklyn, so no help there.
posted by Ragged Richard at 2:14 PM on August 4, 2012