Ellen Mellow, MD

Dr Mellow has been my doctor now for over 7 years. She is very caring and professional. While I agree with some of the other reviews that the wait times can be long, this is your health you’re talking about. The wait times are only because she is incredibly thorough with every patient to make sure that nothing has been overlooked. Wouldn’t you rather fully understand any potential issues about your health and be able to ask questions directly with your doctor vs searching online and being misinformed? She takes pride in her work and your health. You will not be disappointed with her care as you’re in great hands.

Listen… Would I say that she is fast? No. But to be honest, I find it really nice in a world of fast pace– get ya in and get ya out to make the most money possible to have found what I consider THE BEST DOCTOR IN NYC! I’ve read the other reviews and I will tell you straight… You will wait. But when it comes to your health who the hell cares!!! Dr Mellow is the first and only doc I’ve ever met who texts me at random hours to see how I am (I had an irregular heartbeat which she found and treated, along with hypertension I didn’t know I had and am now in remission thanks to her!!) So that other girl can complain about Dr Mellow being thorough and asking for tests, but without the tests she did for me I don’t know if I’d still be here today. ALSO my sister, over 15 years ago, worked with her at Cornell on the cardiac unit, and when she found out I was seeing Dr Mellow responded by saying «She is the absolute BEST doctor I have ever worked with and a brilliant cardiologist!» This FROM A NURSE. And for those of you that don’t know,… Nurses don’t usually have too many nice things to say about doctors. So for her to say that is saying something. Bring a book… But get ready for the BEST doctor you’ll ever have.

Have you ever been in a zone where you lose sense of time because you are so intensely focused and engrossed with the subject at hand? This is how I would describe Dr. Mellow. No one is more important than YOU and YOUR HEALTH and she will take enough time to satisfy her quest to be thorough and accurate. She is a rare find in a city where most NY physicians have revolving door policies, allocating face time limited to 3 – 10 minutes where money/​time drive their practices, rather than quality care. After a series of such doctors, It was a relief to find Dr. Mellow. Your health is far more important to her than your time or her money. She is simply the best physician I have ever met.
If you are young and very healthy, not sure you or your time are worth her efforts, the long waits being the major complaint in the 1 star reviews. What a bonus that she is both an internist and cardiologist. If you have health issues, or are middle-​aged or beyond, with Dr. Mellow you have a health partner for life who has taken the time to know you. She is exceptionally accessible and humble in her manner, belying her brilliance, Princeton and other Ivy League training.
Tip: The way to avoid the long wait is to call the office before leaving for your appt for a time check… or bring a good book. Just know the patient before you who you wish would leave already, and the one after you, waiting for you to leave, are truly lucky to be under her care.

Although Dr. Mellow is very caring, the wait time is absolutely awful! Be prepared to wait over 1 hour just to be seen. Once you are called in, be prepared to continue to wait. Dr. Mellow does take her time with her patients, but for working folks it’s not convenient at all. Unfortunately, I must find another doctor in NYC. The wait is certainly not worth it, considering that there are excellent doctors throughout NYC.

I have to agree with the other five-​star reviews. It is true that Dr. Mellow is often running very late. The reason for that is that she actually spends significant time getting to know her patients and answering every single question they may have. I have never felt so thoroughly looked after by a doctor. You may not be rushed in, but she also does not rush you out, which is more than I can say for any other doctor I’ve seen in New York. And yes, she is thorough – she orders more tests and schedules follow-​up appointments to discuss your results. However, it’s hard to see how this is a bad thing. She makes sure that she has not missed anything. Do you want your doctor to be fast or to be good? She isn’t quick, but Dr. Mellow is the BEST.

I have never wasted so much time or money dealing with a doctor. She does not care about your time as she will keep you waiting many hours before seeing you. She will refer you to a dozen specialists even though nothing seems to be amiss.
Don’t waste your time or money here.

I really liked Dr. Mellow, and felt she listened to what I was saying and showed compassion and concern for how I was feeling.
Unfortunately, I have found her office staff to be massively unorganized. Twice, I have had my appointment time mixed up. I had the piece of paper, from a previous visit, that stated one time, and the office either didn’t have me at all, or at a completely different time. I’ve also been trying to get records for months! Every time I call, I’m assured that I’ll receive a call back by the end of the day and it never happens.
Very disappointing.

Dr. Mellow is a very sweet doctor. That being said, if your time is of ANY value to you, do NOT come to this doctor. Their office is the most disorganized, chaotic place I have ever been to. Besides the fact that this doctor never, ever runs on time, they just cannot keep anything straight, including even their medical charts. After waiting TWO hours to be seen by the doctor (I went in multiple times mind you, I gave her a chance and it was like this every single time), they didn’t even have my chart ready. The doctor and her receptionist/​assistant were fumbling around for a while trying to locate the results of various tests I’d had done, and even after 20 minutes couldn’t find the results for something I’d had done over three weeks ago. No excuse for that! No test should take a month to result.
Seeing Dr. Mellow takes a little bit of the frustration away because she is just so sweet and caring, but I cannot put my trust in a doctor who can’t manage to run an office. It’s really scary how disorganized they are, makes you wonder if they miss important things because of it. Sadly, I will never be coming here again and my quest for a primary care doc in New York continues. I would not recommend coming here to anyone, unless they don’t have a job and have hours to spend waiting around in an office to be seen. Even then, the disorganization would make me stay away.
You can just tell that the office is falling apart and they have no idea what they’re doing. During my last visit four people had been overbooked for the same appointment and there was nearly mutiny in the waiting room from how long everyone had been waiting. Two people had to reschedule and one walked out.
You’ve been warned!!!

if stars were strictly about waiting time, no doubt this would be one or two stars. I bring my laptop, pull up a side table and work for a couple of hours in the waiting room if my appointment is after noon. I think of it this way: my doctor takes two hours to get to, so I come prepared, as I would for a train ride.
That being said, after a long search and incredible experiences with doctors who don’t actually see you, but have the phys. asst do testing and come back with prescriptions, my husband and I feel blessed to have Dr. Mellow in our lives.
She listens, she cares. I can’t imagine her over-​prescribing. She is conservative and admits when something is not her area of expertise, finds someone who is. She calls others for advice. We love her. But if you can’t deal with waiting, look for someone else. Then, when they shove you out after 15 min ask yourself if it would be worth the wait to have someone knowledgeable, caring and humble to relate to… and, I mean relate to.

Dr. Mellow is an amazing, knowledgeable, and caring doctor. As far as the bad reviews go, when I have recommended her to friends, I warn everyone first — she’s not someone to go to if you need a quick in and out at the office. You’ll wait for her, especially later in the day. And she’ll spend forever with you. She’s like an old fashioned doctor — she will always fit you in, no matter what, she will thoroughly look into any question you have, she’s even called her husband when I’ve been there late at night to go online and access files and help her get more info! She’ll take everything seriously and is always courteous and respectful. If you do make an appointment, aim earlier in the day, and still — call before you head over to see how far behind schedule she’s running and ask if you should come in any later than your appt. Because she does spend so much time, and because she’ll always let you squeeze in last minute appointments, she’s pretty much always running behind. But if you are willing to deal with that, she’s the best doctor. Her specialty is cardiology, so she always runs echos and ekgs at my physicals, and if it weren’t for her, no one would have ever caught the thyroid cancer when we did. In regards to the one reviewer who mentioned having to go in different days for the echo /​ultrasound, since she is a smaller office, she has specialists that come in on certain days to perform those tests. Echos are on Wednesday evenings; I believe the ultrasounds are on Fridays. I highly recommend her and the friends and coworkers who have met with her love her, too.

I don’t often write bad reviews, however, I felt like I had to. I went to this doctor since I wanted to have a doctor that’s local and close to work. The first time I went to her I spent 30 minutes sitting in the waiting room area, which I thought was more or less okay for NYC. I had a bad cold and she prescribed me a medication. Later when I went to the pharmacy I found out that that medicaiotn was really over the counter (that should have been my first clue!). She claimed that there were many potential things wrong with me and I needed to get both an echocadriogram done (I’m 27 years old!) and an utlrasound for my stomach. She then said that I would have to come back once I got all the tests done including my blood tests and only then she would review the results. This was puzzling to me, but I decided to go with it — maybe it was becuase I was sick. I had to come back two different times to get the echo and utlrasound done — not sure why they couldn’t do it the same day. Both times I had to wait at least 20 minutes and take time away from work. After about a month and a half I finally got all my tests done. I went back for a follow-​up so she can review my results. I ended up sitting in the waiting room area for 2 hours! After one hour I asked if I would be up soon, to which the receptionist replied, oh yes you’re next. After 2 hours the receptiontist called a different girl, and claimed she never told me I was next. At that point I had to leave and requested to have a copy of all my results. The doctor never called to appoligize and never called me with my results. After showing the results to another doctor, I was told that there is a small problem that needs attention. Good thing I asked for a copy of my results since I have yet to hear from that doctor. I would not reccomend her to anyone and if anything tell people to avoid her at all costs. This is not the way to treat patients.

My wife and I have been patients of Dr Mellow for over 15 years. She is a one of a kind doctor, and a wonderful person.
How many times have you been to see a physician only to be rushed in and out in 15 minutes with none of your concerns addressed? This will never happen to you with Dr. Mellow. No matter what reason brings me in to see her, she checks me head to toe and is truly concerned with my total well being. I would guess the average time she actually spends examining me is 30 minutes minimum! She never rushes people in and out just to get your insurance money. She always gives great referrals to specialists who are at the top of their game.
Once, when my wife had a stubborn cough, Dr. Mellow called her husband (a pulmonary specialist) in the middle of his busy day for a second opinion! Where else are you going to find an Ivy league Princeton/​Cornell educated doctor who really, really cares about every patient? THANK YOU Dr. Mellow !!

Stay away! Dr. Mellow is very nice and will spend time w/​you but she over-​prescribes and goes with her IDEA of what is bothering you rather than listening to your symptoms. I went in for a cough once and left w/​3 prescriptions, including one that could potentially make me worse in the event that she misdiagnosed (WHICH SHE DID). she was convinced I had asthma despite having shown almost no signs of asthma and no difficulty breathing. After 5 days of bad reactions to what she had given me, I went to another doctor who said it was an infection and gave me the proper medication.