Holly Gilbert, MD

I was referred to Dr. Gilbert by my PCP. It was a massive waste of time and money. First, the office is kind of dark and dingy, with excess office equipment sitting out in the waiting room. It truly does not inspire confidence. Second, Dr. Gilbert herself was rude, dismissive, and lacked the knowledge I would hope someone who holds themselves out to specialize in infections diseases would have. Finally, I spent all of 5 minutes sitting across from her in her office when I was told she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, be able to help me based on the blood work that was faxed over to her in advance. No examination, not even so much as a check of my vitals. Mind you, I was referred to her by another doctor, so it was surprising to be told there was nothing she would do. Of course she did bill my insurance company $ 450 for the visit, along with my $ 20 co-​pay, when I never even made it to the exam room, though I did leave her office in tears. I’d love to see what she put down to justify that type of charge. *Edited to add that I should have read the reviews first and saw her attitude about Lyme disease. If you have, or suspect you have Lyme, DO NOT go to this woman.

I’m sure Dr. Gilbert is a great doctor, but given the scatty, rude practices of the her desk staff, I wouldn’t know. Dr. Gilbert, please consider some training out front — it’s losing you potential patients.

I found Dr. Gilbert over 11 years ago because I needed some travel immunizations. She’s been my PCP ever since. She’s AWESOME!!! She really cares. I go to her for my physical every year and she’s so knowledgeable and I feel very cared for with her. She is very careful never to over-​medicate and always errs on the side of caution. She’s extremely thorough and I would absolutely recommend her! Her assistant is LOVELY and runs a great front office.

Dr. Gilbert was my primary doctor for several years. I have chronic pain issues and she eventually insisted that I see a «pain management» specialist as she felt (wrongly) that I was taking too much pain medication. The pain doctor turned out to be a joke who didn’t have a clue how to help me, and when I explained that to Dr. Gilbert she blew me off & said I wasn’t her problem any more. I haven’t gone back, and I recommend that people stay far away from her.

Deceptive billing practices! Make sure you understand any fees or charges before you leave the office or you may end up on the receiving end of a large and ridiculous bill.

Dr. Gilbert is a really good doctor. She makes sure you get tested for things you get tested for and not extra stuff. For me, that meant getting tested for vitamin D deficiency since I am indoors most of the time. She takes the time to talk to you and answer you questions. If you have an emergency, she will fit you in.
Her office staff is not that on top of insurance paperwork and billing, but you could definitely do worse in NYC.

Dr. Gilbert has been my general practitioner for nearly a decade. She is incredibly thorough, reliable, and responsive. I’ve recommended multiple friends to her over the years and each has remained a patient after their initial visit. What I like best about Dr. Gilbert is how genuinely she listens to your past medical history, current ailments, and any concerns. She addresses each head on. In addition, whenever I’ve had an emergency or needed her to squeeze me in because I was sick, she always did her best to accommodate me and make me a priority. She has on multiple occasions even called me on my cell phone when she was out of the office to follow through or follow up. Dr. Gilbert is affiliated with NYU hospital too, so she always has good referrals for specialists. Another plus, she draws blood in her office — no annoying visit to a Quest lab! I highly recommend Dr. Gilbert. It’s great to feel you have a doctor looking out for you in NYC.

Ha, just noticed that really bizarro 1 star review at the bottom. Checking in as of August 2014, Dr. Gilbert is as helpful and attentive as ever, lest anyone think something has changed.

I’m a health care provider and I’m really not impressed. The person who referred me and had been seeing her for a number of years has decided not to go back to her saying she is finding her abrupt and hostile these days. My experience with her is similar. She seems scattered, abrupt, and is oddly related which makes it difficult to have a conversation about your concerns. There seems to be a monologue and no discussion. She was reviewing my medications and asked why I was taking 2 of them: 1 rx by another md and 1 over-​the-​counter. I told her what they were for and that the rx was only somewhat helpful for my symptoms but that the 2 together seemed to help. Her response was «if the rx is not working you shouldn’t be on it and the otc med can cause aseptic meningitis so you shouldn’t use it» and then walked out of the room to go see another patient. No discussion, no recommendation, no explanation of aseptic meningitis, nada. Not cool. She’s probably OK if you are going to Vietnam and need vaccines and antimalarials because this is her specialty. But I don’t think I’d trust her with my health otherwise. My friend seems to recall she was always «no nonsense» but not dismissive so maybe something is going on with her personally and it is oozing out in her practice. Seems like most of the positive reviews are from a number of years ago which was when my friend had a better experience of her services. I also forgot to mention that I have seen her for 2 annual physicals and she gave me a lab req without checking off routine labs like cholesterol profile, comprehensive metabolic profile which should be done for someone my age. I checked off those things myself. The only plus is the short wait time and it’s a convenient location for me. But, I am going to move on.

I agree with everything Kate A said in her review! Dr. Holly Gilbert is the best doctor I’ve ever had. She makes me feel like I’m her only patient & always runs on time. Dr. Gilbert answers my calls quickly (and stays on the phone for a while!). I never feel rushed. She is always able to squeeze me in for an appointment. She is wonderful.

I was so delighted with Holly I made her my PCP. Great attitude, very knowledgeable without being condescending, very informative, flexible friendly office, (I got in when I needed to get in), and she made me laugh. What’s not to love?

I read some great reviews about this doctor, but what’s the use if you can’t get an appointment?
Yes, four months to take a new patient!
I’d also like to mention it took 3 phone calls to actually get to speak to someone. Apparently, the voice mails I left went ignored for about a week. When i finally did get the secretary on the line, she made seem like they were doing me a favor by offering me something in November. I declined… thanks for nothing.

I highly recommend. I called her office when I had just moved to NYC, I didn’t have a doctor established here, and… I don’t have the best health care plan. She immediately saw me, [it was a matter of maybe having my appendix taken out], and put off the general physical appointment until after the current issue was taken care of. She was great! She even wrote me an extra perscription… to help with pain ;) !
When I went back for my normal physical, she was great! I explained my healthcare policy, and per my request, she didn’t run extra tests [which would run up my personal bill], but she did explain each one she did, and why it was necessary, etc. etc.
Putting the professional stuff aside, she is very good! New doctors are scary, and she was sooo great! I hate going to new doctors, and she was really knowledgeable, caring, sweet, and… just a good all around Doctor! She remembers who I am, even thou I have only been twice to see her, I definitely recommend her and her office to people. I agree with Nick C. in that she does no business of rushing you along, and she makes sure that all of your concerns are taken care of.

Just saw Dr. Gilbert for the first time last week, to get myself sorted for my upcoming 2 month backpacking expedition in India.
Honestly I’m pretty sure the 4 whole stars is mainly because it’s times like this that you really enjoy having health insurance. All the vaccines I got here were covered, so I only paid the $ 15 copay for a consultation with the good doctor, two shots (I was very brave), and prescriptions for an oral typhoid vaccine, antimalarials, and an emergency stash of Cipro.
Not that Dr. Gilbert wasn’t good, too. One thing I will say, for prospective patients, is that she is very hardcore. Some people might like this, other people might hate it. I tend to be a wish-​washy hippy-​dippy «vitamins, chicken soup, and lots of rest will cure me» type, so I kind of need an occasional kick in the ass from my doctor.
Dr. Gilbert tells it like it is, no bullshit. 100% kickass western medicine. You need this shot. If X occurs at any time, you will take this antibiotic. Do not eat this, that, or the other. Pack this, because you cannot get it there.
To clarify, Dr. Gilbert is a primary care doctor who specializes in travel medicine. This is great if, like me, you travel a lot and sometimes go to exotic locales. So far, I don’t know what she’s like for a routine physical, though she’s so «kickin’ ass and takin’ names» that I imagine that’s her whole deal.