NY Spine Medicine – Schottenstein Pain & Neuro

Doctor Schottenstein is phenomenal. The staff is very hospitable and very accomodating. If you are looking for a real spine center look no place else. I could not be more happy with the results from Schottenstein Pain & Neuro.

So here’s a story… this doctors office staff made me travel 60 blocks in a cab in rush hour while PASSING A KIDNEY STONE into a CVS diaper because its young, beautiful receptionists didn’t know what kidney stones were, or grasp that rescheduling an appt. in an iPad is actually easier than passing jagged demon rock out your urethra.
I tried to explain to the young receptionist calmly: «Passing a kidney stone is like pissing a lemon covered in razors out of your pee-​hole, it is louder than childbirth and agonizing and usually involves vomiting too, I don’t want to do this in your office and neither do you, pretty please move my standing appointment to another day?» The girl on the line said, «Look, this is when you are scheduled to see us, there are no other appts for the next 2 months, so just come in now, it’s easy.» (Girlfriend, you think I wouldn’t rather have my feet up reading your free NY Mags and drinking bottled water vs. PISSING OUT A HAND GRENADE COVERED IN FIRE ANTS??)
I’ve actually been a patient of this practice for two years, and it guts to me write this stuff because I loved the care I was given, but the new FOH seems to know so little about basic medical conditions and patient safety it should not be legal for them to schedule people with severe health issues. I see Dr. S (a truly great doc) for major autoimmune related nerve pain and disc injuries. I randomly developed them kidney stones (good times!), and having to cancel my existing standing appt. with Dr. S was an emergency anomaly.
I asked to speak to the manager but was told «no.»
I don’t get it. People too physically ill to leave their apartment bathroom should not be forced outside into cabs under threat of being denied all future treatment by poreless 25y/o’s with iPhones where their hearts should be. I think Dr. S and his medical assistants are so great, but an office is only as good as its office staff. In related news, my kidneys can suck it.

Doctor Schottenstein worked a miracle with my shooting nerve pain. I had been to two different orthopedists, and had been through physical therapy before a second physical therapist mentioned it could be a nerve issue. A friend referred me to Dr Schottenstein who reviewed my problem, explained my options and treated me. Since my injection I have been pain free! The doctor and staff are incredibly friendly and the office runs on time to schedule and is very clean.
The only minor issue I had with the office was that they would not treat me until insurance approved (car insurance) and did not confirm they had approval prior to my coming in for my appointment which caused me to come in for nothing the one day. Make sure you follow up before going in for an appointment if you need approvals.

Dr Schottenstein is an excellent doctor who can correctly diagnose your source of pain. He is highly educated and really open to all of your concerns. Living in pain was very tough for me but Dr S was able to alleviate the pain to the point that I was able to continue on with my daily life. He is very thorough with his explanations and has great bedside manner, guiding me through my plan to fixing my chronic back pain.
His staff is also very friendly and accommodating. I was in severe pain and needed to see a doctor immediately, and I was able to come in within a short period of time. When talking to any of his staff members, I could sense that they are really caring and attentive towards my concerns. Dr S is also amazing, as he is very compassionate and humble.
I would definitely recommend anyone in pain to see Dr S.
PS. They also have an awesome sign that lights up

Sadly this practice is focused on making money rather than on people’s well being and health.
I have suffered from chronic back pain for 4 years. I was looking for a new doctor in hopes that he/​she may come up with a new solution. At NY Spine and Medicine I met with a clinical assistant who took all of my history. I then met with Dr. Schottenstein and decided on an epidural to try and alleviate the pain I was in. I set an appointment for 2 weeks later.
When I returned I was met by another clinical assistant (not the one I originally had even though I saw that he was indeed on shift). The new clinical assistant asked me a bunch of questions and then disappeared and returned with my prescription.
I was shocked that the doctor was not going to see me. Did he not want to check in on how the injection did? Or discuss the results of my new MRI with me? Or ask me questions about my level of pain and discuss which medication might be best since I had not received medication at his office before? Clearly not. I left with a bottle of pills and a lot of pain. It’s clear that Dr. Schottenstein’s main focus is making money off of people’s pain. Shame on him and shame on this practice.
Update: Apparently Unilocal called this practice and an assistant from the office did call me to apologize.

Dr. Schottenstein has been my doctor for the last 3 years. When I met him, I’d lived in chronic back pain for 8 years and had pretty much resigned myself to having to live with it. It was debilitating at that point and only getting worse.
Then I met Dr. Schottenstein. I couldn’t ask for a better doctor. He not only treated my pain but he’s done multiple procedures on my back to try and lessen the pain so I may not have to be on medication forever. He’s realistic but he attacks the source of the pain.
They have got me in ASAP when I fell and hurt my neck badly in 2012. They actually wanted to get me in same-​day. As soon as the message was given to the doctor — they told me he wanted me to come in right away.
His staff is nice and polite despite the very heavy patient load they have. They will answer questions you have — if they don’t know they’ll ask the doctor. The level of medical care given here went well beyond any expectations I had. I’ve been repeatedly blown away by Dr. Schottenstein’s knowledge and the procedures he does. He knows his stuff, that’s for sure, and he does everything in his power to help his patients.
In addition to being an excellent physician, he’s also extremely compassionate and kind. I feel like I didn’t just gain a doctor, I gained a friend. He goes the extra mile and genuinely does care about his patients and how they’re doing. He’s the only doctor of mine keeping tabs on my love life like my friends do. Lol. He actually listens to the answer when he asks me how I am and will answer all of my MANY questions with patience.
He knows that on procedure days I get nervous right beforehand so he’ll goof off and joke with me to make painful procedures easier on both me and my nerves. He tries to make me laugh just to make the whole ordeal less stressful. Just one example of what I mean when I say he actually cares.
I could not have asked for a better doctor. If you’re dealing with chronic pain and/​or spinal problems — this is the guy you want on your team. He’s thorough, good, knowledgeable and very caring. It doesn’t get much better than that.

This place is designed well and the PA’s are very friendly and knowledgeable but the reception staff is the worst I’ve ever encountered. I literally just called and was hung up on 3 times I’m assuming bc there are so many calls coming in but instead of answering and saying their famous line «NY Spine please hold» they are just picking up the phone and hanging it up… Who does that at a professional medical office?