Wilfredo Talavera, MD

Dr. Wilfredo Talavera is truly a superb human being and an amazing, top-​notch doctor. I stumbled upon him when going to a local walk-​in clinic near my job due to chest pains and shortness of breath. I thought I would find a typical «doc in a box» doctor who couldn’t care less about me, and who would just slap a bandaid on me and send me on my merry way. However, I was extremely pleasantly surprised to find a kind, compassionate, caring doctor who took the time to painstakingly go over my medical history and address and resolve my issues. He also took the time to explain medical conditions, side effects, and answer all my questions in an intelligent, patient manner that is not above my lack of medical expertise. I have been seeing him as a pulmonary specialist for just over 6 months, and shortly chose him as my PCP. When he first saw me for a consultation, I had wheezing, an extremely painful chronic cough, chest pain, and a scary/​sad 53% lung capacity. Today, through the daily medical regimens he prescribed me, I have no cough, no chest pain, and my lungs are at 83% lung capacity in just over 6 months. I cannot thank, recommend, or praise him enough. He has given me my quality of life back. Although I still have asthma, it is controlled. I am truly grateful and delighted to have found this diamond in the rough. Dr. Talavera is truly a blessing.

***Please note Dr. Talavera also has an office in Queens at 53 – 14 Roosevelt Avenue in Woodside. This is the office I visit.***
I am writing this after nearly a year of visiting Dr. Talavera — roughly four or five visits. if you’re like me, and need to see a pulmonary specialist regularly, you can kill two birds with one stone by visiting Dr. Talavera. He used to hold the post of Chief of Pulmonary Medicine at a hospital in Manhattan. My insurance requires me to see my primary care doctor before seeing a specialist. It was an incredible inconvenience before I stumbled upon Dr. Talavera in my provider list.
My previous primary care doctor ignored my repeated calls and requests to see a pulmonary specialist. He convinced me all I needed was to see him. But after a few months of of not feeling like myself I decided I had enough and searched for another primary care doctor I took a chance on Dr. Talavera simply because his office is close by to my home, he took my insurance, and he also practices pulmonary medicine as a specialty. Well, lucky for me. Dr. Talavera is the most patient-​centric primary care doctor I’ve ever had. And trust me, I’ve had plenty over the years. He really takes the time to get to know his patients and will answer all your questions. I really appreciate his candor.
He looked at my medical history and in only a few minutes figured out what my previous doctor missed in my previous blood test — the likely reason I was not feeling like myself. Dr. Talavera told me he was angry at my previous doctor for not catching such a simple blood test result.
Anyhow, after some treatment, some new meds, and some follow-​up visits, I feel great.
But like most other primary care doctors’ offices, be prepared to wait anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes past your scheduled appointment time. It’s the nature of the beast. It’s hard to predict what may ail patients on any given day. Honestly, it’s only a minor criticism as he is worth the wait.

Went to their woodside office for a routine physical exam. Waited 50 mins which was quite frustrating and not to mention waste of time, the whole exam took 2 hours 40 mins, only about 15 mins with the doctor. Doctor was very nice, asked lots of questions and answered all mine.
update: 7÷14÷2014
Just received a phone call from their staff in Queens office who could not speak very well English, telling me that she forgot to take one extra tube of my blood to run some test she did not know how to pronounce in English properly, so I have to go back for another blood test. I am super upset. I mean, isn’t it her job? I have no complaint to the Doctor, he was great. but I think he needs to replace his staff in the Queens office.
I’d give 5 star to the doctor, 0 to the staff.
update: 7÷28÷2014
Went again for my physical exam result. The nurse asked me to follow her, then disappeared in the hallway, seconds later beckoned me to enter one of the rooms. She said: Stand on the scale. Later: Open your mouth. Finally: Go wait over there. No facial expression, no «please», absolutely no manners what so ever. I give 4 stars is because I really like Dr Talavera, he was very patient and he apologized about his staff’s bad attitude when I complained to him.

I needed to see a doctor in the neighborhood to make sure an issue with my thumb wasn’t an infection. Dr. Talavera quickly assessed the situation, correctly noting that it wasn’t an infection and prescribing a cream that quickly did its job.
Despite coming in for a very specific issue, Dr. Talavera was extremely thorough, ensuring he understood my full medical history and providing some advice worth noting that I hadn’t heard from previous physicians. He’s also extremely friendly, polite and a great listener. And the office space itself is modern and comfortable. I’m glad I have the good fortune of living nearby!