Columbia-Presbyterian Dermatology Associates

Terrible terrible experience at this practice. They pressured me into an invasive and awful procedure that turned out to be unnecessary and not covered by insurance. They then billed me in full but refused to give me the results of the tests, even though my medical data is my property under NY law! Nobody from their office returned calls and the physicians were rude and terrible. Never again!

Dr. Geskin did not explain procedures and the staff made it impossible to get questions answered. There was no patient care or follow through. Totally agree with Erin M.‘s review.

The doctor that I saw at Columbia-​Presbyterian Dermatology was great, but I overheard this very loud conversation between two doctors while I was sitting in the waiting room:
Older male doctor: I had a patient come in today who has 13 children.
Older female doctor (with bad hair dye job): What were they Catholics?
Older male doctor and Older woman doctor (with bad hair dye job): hahahahahahahahahaha!
Then they continued to discuss the details of the patient’s health until a woman in the crowded waiting room finally yelled out «doctor-​patient confidentiality!» At this point they looked dismissively at the woman and moved away.
This is something that they don’t tell you in all of those Columbia Presbyterian testimonial ads that they run on PBS. In fact, I have a script that they can use if they would like to record a new testimonial ad to run on PBS:
Ed Koch: When I was treated at New York Columbia-​Presbyterian I got the best care possible. I’m sure that had nothing to do with the fact that was wealthy, the former mayor of New York, or famous. They sure as hell never discussed my medical issues in front of a room full of strangers. If you are a nobody, a Catholic, have a lot of children, or just like to see people treated respectfully when they are sick, you can always go down to St. Vincent’s and get treated there. Oh, wait. They’re closed. Guess you’re screwed. (Then fade to black and show the hospital logo).

DO NOT SEE Dr. Larisa Geskin for skin cancer identification/​treatment. I have a history of skin cancer, including melanoma as well as other types of skins cancers, and have been a loyal customer of CU dermatology for more than 20 years. I made an appointment to see Dr. Geskin to examine a suspicious spot on my hand when my longtime dr. left the practice and moved away from NY. However I didn’t exactly see Dr. Geskin. A physician’s assistant conducted 99.9% of the visit including a full body exam. After the exam, Dr. Geskin breezed in for about 2 or 3 minutes to look at a few spots the PA had found suspicious, including the spot on my hand as well as a suspicious mole on my back. Dr. Geskin then instructed the PA to biopsy the spot on my hand but told me I would need to make another appointment to have a suspicious mole on my back biopsied because they could only do one biopsy per visit. Two weeks later, the PA called with my results, which were positive for skin cancer. I was advised to make another visit to discuss treatment options. The PA could not answer any of my questions and Dr. Geskin was unavailable to talk. I found it so off putting that Dr. Geskin would have her PA deliver such serious news, and immediately called back to speak with a manager of the practice. To my surprise the woman who I was directed to at 51^st street location (site supervisor Vanessa Riveiro) defended Dr. Geskin and indicated that using a PA for such serious matters (like skin cancer identification) was a perfectly acceptable procedure at the practice. Given my strong history of melanoma and other cancers, I will not risk leaving such serious health matters to a PA – so I immediately transferred to another practice. If you have a history of skin cancer, or think you may have skin cancer, I do not recommend seeing this doctor OR seeking care at Columbia Dermatology. Skin cancer is far too serious to simply delegate to a PA. I don’t know what has happened to Columbia Dermatology but it is extremely disappointing that they would be so irresponsible with the health and lives of patients who rely on them for care.