Joannow Melanie, DO

I’ve been going to Dr. Joannow since 2003 and I adore her. In the interest of full disclosure, I did send two friends to her and they didn’t love her– Doctors are a very tricky thing and I can make no promises that she’s the right doc for you just because she’s right for me.
Here are just some of the reasons I love going to Dr. Joannow:
1) She gives me an HIV test as part of my annual exam. It has nothing to do with my sex life, it’s just a routine thing that she believes in and I think all doctors should follow suit.
2) In seven years she’s maybe bruised my arm drawing blood once. I have colitis so I get a lot of blood tests, and this kind of track record is amazing
3) She’s very concerned with female health and likes to be kept in the loop with my ob/​gyn.
4) She loves to chat, but also listens and is very responsive to concerns and requests.
5) She’s on call. I know it sometimes frustrates her because people take advantage of this, but it really is reassuring knowing that I can ping her on her cell phone in an emergency.
6) She supports local business and turned me on to Olympia Chemists, which is my new pharmacy and beats the hell out of CVS.
7) If she’s booked up and you need to get in to see her she’ll make every effort to squeeze you in– you just have to be comfortable with waiting patiently for her to have a window of opportunity between scheduled patients.
She’s not in her Astoria office everyday because she’s sometimes at the hospital and I believe also has a practice on Long Island (I might be wrong about that) but she’s a tireless and devoted woman who genuinely cares more about the patient than the money. We’ve shared many a gripe about Insurance companies and poor interpersonal skills within the health care industry. Again, I can’t promise that a doctor that’s right for me will be right for you, but I recommend giving her a try. Oh, also of note, she has a policy for referrals and other types of paper work. She prefers to have a week to get that sort of stuff done, because doing it all at the time of request would eat-​up her time with patients. It’s a bit of a pain, but I understand why she has that policy and I appreciate the thought behind it.

I love Dr. Joannow, I visit her Astoria office on 23^rd Avenue. She never rushes me, really listens to what I have to say, and will squeeze me in on super short notice if I’m really not feeling well, absolutely love her!