Schweiger Dermatology – Midtown

WATCH OUT!!! The front desk tell you that your prodecure is coverered 100% by insurance however a few weeks later you receive a very expensive bill!!! If you have a 4pm appointment, you probably wont see your doctor until 5:45. The doctor I saw was very good, however the front desk and management staff are crooks.

I became aware of Schweiger Dermatology via a Health Fair that my company offers to us. I saw there set-​up and decided to pay them a visit, as with most of the vendors, they strongly encourage you to make an appointment as soon as possible and take up on a free consultation due to the health fair.
Before I was able to even read others reviews on Unilocal,I already received an e-​mail to fill out a full questionnaire and provide a bunch of information (Insurance, what type of services I may need, etc.) However, I also noticed some policies and potential fees.
1. You will be subject to a $ 50 non-​refundable cancellation fee, if you do not provide 24 hour notice. (which instantly made me think of The Kiss Hello Episode on Seinfeld with George and Wendie…)
2. Along with the e-​mail was new patients form that needed to filled out and was told was their way of expediting the process. However, in the e-​mail it states, «New Patients should arrive 15 minutes early. If you don’t arrive early for paperwork you may not be seen at your appointment time».- I thought that was the purpose of me doing it prior to my arrival?
3. The second to last clause which is regarding financial responsibility stated the following: «Our offices will have that all medical patients sign a Financial Responsibility Form. The form helps us document your understanding of these policies, specifically our no-​show and cancellation policy, our insurance referral policy and our credit card payment policy; which simply states that we will e-​mail you a bill, mail you a bill, and if you fail to respond to that bill we have the right to automatically charge the credit card we require you to leave on file. All credit card information is stored in our system, which is protected, and only permits access to those authorized to use this information as outlined above. Once your credit card is ‘swiped’ into our system, our staff will only be able to see the last 4 digits for verification purposes. ‘. This clause does not very well with me about holding onto my information and billing me without my authorization.
Onto the actual visit today. (¹⁄₁₉), I had a 6PM appointment with Monique Olivares, PA, and her assistant. They both were pleasant and seemingly eager to listen to my issues. However, she lacked the ability to give me alternatives. For example, I have a skin issue that causes my skin to flake and peel and I have seen doctors who have given me various oíntments, shampoos, and oral medication, to no avail. Her advice was to do the same thing again and see her in four weeks.
I had another issue with black heads and her remedy was to take a medication and see her every 90 days for a refill. It made me weary and wonder if they are necessarilly looking to alleviate your issues, or to make sure you’re a recurring billable for their business.
In sum, nice office, the employees were pleasant, nice choice of music for the waiting area, but I feel the core of my issues were not addressed. I shall update in four weeks after a secondary appointment.

I went in for a routine checkup and was told that I needed to have a mole removed. I am used to having pieces removed with a razor; however, they took me into a back room and used some sort of equipment to cut into my lower back and remove the mole. I ended up having a terrible reaction to the procedure, had to go on medication, and now have a HUGE scar on my back. After all this they said the mole showed no signs of cancer! I regret ever using this dermatologist.

I just want to take this time to thank this doctors office for having such a professional sweet, patient, employee named Ashley. I needed to change my appointment a few times due to my job and not once was she rude or become upset because I needed to change it. She was always quick to respond and was always very kind and professional with me. If all doctors office had an amazing employee such as Ashley, we would all love going to the doctors office. Thank you again for everything

We’ve nothing but good things to say about this place of business. The entire staff goes out of their way to be pleasant and extremely accommodating. How wonderful to find physicians who remember that they went into medicine to help people in a kind, compassionate, timely fashion.

I had my initial consult with Dr Nazarian and it was great. She was thorough, asked a lot of questions and seemed to really care about my skin. She put me on a med that I had previously been on that did not work and it was pretty much pointless to go on it again bc it still didn’t work. She told me that my insurance covered facials and that I could book it through her but when it came time to submit through insurance they said I had to pay the full amount and that insurance doesn’t cover it. $ 175 later, my facial was amazing but I don’t appreciate being bait and switched like that. I don’t think it’s right to advise patients of something when it’s not the case.
I will be back since I need to be monitored for my oral medicine to treat my acne but it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. Overall the facility is clean and nice so I would recommend.

I’ve been going here for yearly check-​ups for a few years. This year, I had to have a few spots removed. They had me sign some form on an iPad as they were prepping me for the procedure. Before I knew it, I owed over $ 800 as there were certain aspects of my visits and procedure that weren’t covered by my insurance (which has never happened with any other doctors). There are plenty of other doctors in the city. Don’t visit this group unless you want surprise bills!

Schweiger has its hits and misses. First, PA Julie Zuckerman is really kind, compassionate, and knowledgeable –as are the rest of the staff and the receptionists. They are always very considerate, asking how you are feeling during treatment and always with a smile. Booking appointments is very easy and can be done online (though they typically call to confirm or move you around a bit), and they have amazing hours /​flexible times beyond the usual M-​F 9 – 5 other dermatologists supply. The offices are immaculate and they have great, state of the art equipment. They also offer great packages that provide cost saving benefits on a variety of treatments (Isolaz, red light /​blue light, PDT).
However, in my time there, a few incidents have occurred that are unprofessional and severely lacking in customer service and quality –especially for the high price charged. Appointments almost always feel rushed (and that’s usually after waiting in the lobby for 20 – 30 minutes past the scheduled appointment time), and often it feels a bit like an assembly line. Recently, I arrived six minutes late to an appointment. This is after having five-​six appointments there over the past three years or so (spottily), and literally every appointment had a 15 – 30 minute wait… and usually closer to 25 – 30! I commute here from Brooklyn, and it takes me around an hour, and my train got stalled. After arriving a whopping six minutes late, I was made to sit in the lobby for an additional 10 minutes while a receptionist phoned the PA. I was called to the front desk to ask «How long do you want to sit under the laser?» Uhhh. I don’t know? I’m not a dermatologist? This was a huge lapse in customer service and professionalism for me –that the people treating me didn’t know what my treatment plan was. After a few more minutes, I was informed that because I was late, I couldn’t be seen, and that the PA (not Julie, who was out that day) was too busy… even though my treatment involves me sitting with a chemical on my face for an hour, unattended, and then sitting under a laser for 15 minutes, also unattended. I usually don’t see my PA during treatments, save briefly (5 minutes) before treatment begins. So it felt like a huge waste of my time and I felt really disrespected. Another time, after sitting in a chemical for an hour, I was told there wasn’t an available room for my skin to be cleaned and prepped for the laser, so could I go to the bathroom and do it myself? Uh sure… but if I booked this appointment in advance, and for the price I pay, could you not plan ahead of time to have a room to prep my skin in by a technician? Not ask me, the client? I find the bed side manner is lacking, not because any of the staff are unkind, but because it seems they are allotted such little time for each patient. This too means that sometimes procedures aren’t explained as thoroughly as they should be, and aftercare instructions aren’t thoroughly explained. For example, I received excellent aftercare instructions and supplies for ²⁄₃ of my laser appointments, but not the first one. This lead to harsh reactions that left my skin leathery for two weeks.
An easy solution to ALL OF THESE ISSUES would be to hire more PAs –even one additional person may significantly improve things. Better yet, whoever is booking the PAs back to back in appointments –stop. You may lose money initially due to a slight decrease in volume of appointments, but I am sure the increased level of customer service would create more customer loyalty. After finishing my laser package, I’m left feeling like I want to shop around for another dermatologist, not necessarily commit to this one. Again, all the staff is competent, friendly, and warm. It is not at all an issue of staff incompetence. Just poor management.
And despite the poor management, the place is definitely pricey (that you should be able to tell just from walking into the building and offices!), and while I fortunately don’t have any experience with them padding the bill as other reviewers mentioned, twice they have tried to charge me for something I shouldn’t have been. It is lucky I was wise enough to save the invoice they printed me (I paid cash), else they would have tried to make me pay an additional $ 1000 for a package I had already paid for. Another time they tried to charge me $ 50 for a no-​show on an appointment even though they had cancelled the appointment and I had to find the voicemail to prove it. Again, in both of these scenarios, I had to be the one to dig through my archives to show proof of payment versus them just keeping their accounts in order, which is pretty irritating –even more so if I had not been able to find proof!
TLDR: All members of the staff are friendly /​knowledgeable /​kind. but heavily overbooked, thus rushed, due to poor management. Because of this, the customer suffers, and does so at a premium price. +Save your receipts for all treatments in case of a mishap with the billing department.

They are re still notifying me of appointments I don’t have and updates. Please leave me alone I have found a wonderful Dr.

I’ve been seeing Dr. Kleinerman for a few years now and she has never been anything short of excellent! I came to her with cystic acne and within months I had perfectly clear skin. She also found and got rid of a precancerous mole she had found while doing a body scan on me. She is very thourough, very compassionate, and very dedicated to her patients. My only complaint is that I can’t have her for my General Practitioner! Lol!

It’s not often that you find a dermatologist who makes you feel like their intentions are of genuine origin. One who isn’t pushy on products or services and who gives you both confidence in what they can provide, while also boosting confidence in yourself. This is what I found in Susan Hirsch. While I’ve never been one to have severe acne or critical skin issues, as a woman, I’ve always been self conscious about the appearance of my skin. Hirsch was very realistic while also being gentle and reassuring. In any aspect of medicine, you need professionals that will be personable, passionate, informative, and empathic. I received all of these at the office which, might I add, is extremely clean and professional. From the front desk receptionist to the clean white walls and calm cheesy elevator music in the background, I have no complaints. I look forward to building a relationship with both Hirsch as well as Schweiger Dermatology Group. Thank you

I came here for a yearly skin check up. It was very easy to make the appointments and they send the documents to be filled out electronically prior to the appointment. The receptionist were friendly and the waiting area had free wifi, bottled water, and coffee along with a charging station. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait very long. Roughly 15 — 20 minutes before I was called in. The nurse who saw me took down my reasons for visiting and filled in the chart. Dr. Hammerstein came in and was polite but didn’t say or do much. He seemed very rush and the entire visit took less than 10 minutes. He said to follow with him about an issue and I called twice and it’s been 2 weeks and I still have not received a call back. This left a bad taste in mouth and I could no longer give this place a 4 star review as originally planned.

I scheduled a screening with this practice and the practice identified moles to be removed, at a later date. I scheduled to have one of the moles removed from my back and when I showed up, the practice couldn’t identify which one it was so the appointment had to be postponed. I was told later that day there was a mix-​up, and they were ready for me whenever I was available again. I rescheduled, took the day off from work, and went in again, and the SAME THING HAPPENED. This is a basic aspect of a dermatology practice — identify, remove, and they failed. TWICE. If this practice cannot complete this basic element of dermatology, how can I trust them to cut into me? The same person who identified the mole to be removed was never there for the actual procedure.

Terrible terrible experience. I went there for a skin appointment. Ms Salma Pothiawala wasn’t that great. All she did was confirming my own suspect on my condition. Further she asked me to do a diagnostic biopsy, which she told me would be all covered by insurance, so «why not do one as its all paid for». I recently got billing for that and realize I had to pay everything out of pocket. She gave me the wrong information about charges and asked me to do this bioposy with no knowledge on my insurance information. I called later and the billing person was very rude as well. She was impatient. Lastly, I NEVER received my bioposy results after hundreds of dollars of lab work. NO ONE was tracking me and kind to at least have the decency to inform me. Overall, it’s terrible experience and I would NOT recommend this place to anyone.

Dr. Schweiger came recommended by a couple of coworkers so I decided to give them a shot.
I’ve given this place several chances and felt disappointed each time.
I had two or three visits for some skin discoloration that was wildly misdiagnosed; not only that, but they prescribed me skin solutions that made be break out in itchy hives. I should also mention that I was assigned a physicians assistant, not a trained MD. My PA spent maybe 5 minutes with me, wrote me a couple prescriptions and sent me on my way.
I went back for a last minute cortisone shot to deal with a giant pimple that I needed to get rid of before I had headshots taken that weekend. I now have a pock mark on my nose that I will probably have for the rest of my life.
And to add insult to injury, these guys also flagrantly pad their bills with surprise charges. I pay for my insurance through my company every month and I paid my copay every time I visited and somehow I still owe $ 60. I was billed twice for the same visit and billed an extra $ 75 for «evening/​weekend/​holiday scheduling.»
I will pay what they say I owe but I will absolutely never return. I ended up going uptown to dr. libby rhee and had a much better experience.

Update: After my summer vacation where I was outdoors most of the time I decided to come back for a touch-​up. Diana was great as usual. This time the treatment was so relaxing I almost fell asleep. Thank you for your amazing work. Keep it up. ~ Debra

Your typical bad medical experience of a human puppy mill… every single extra legal charge is and will be added. They will take samples, not out of patient care, but out of a desire to boost billings. I had a skin screening with two biopsy’s. I was told the results would take two weeks and if they came back clear they’d run more. I should’ve known at that point but have them the benefit of the doubt. Two weeks passed and I got no results. 3 weeks, nothing just silence. I then emailed and called to ask for them. I got I voice mail back saying «Oh I heard you were looking for your results, they fine»… Umm… ok thanks, sorry to have bothered you for results of a skin cancer screenings… this really irritated me and I decided there was no doctor patient relationship here or care. What would have happened if the result came back bad? Would you have let be known earlier then? So your model is to only follow up and let you know if the patient will have to pay more? Remember you still are a medical professional
The business model is get them in, get them out, and bill for everything you legally can. This gets me onto the next point. I get my bill and was charged an additional $ 75 form swing them outside of 9am to 5pm on a weekday. I’ve seen a number of medical professionals in the city outside of these hours and never come across this. When asked I just got a legal paragraph back. Ummm… ok, thanks for that. Again telling me upfront about your extra charge would’ve been best practice? Yes? No? Well I’d guess yes if you were building long term relationships based on putting your patient first. Anyway, there are way better Derms in the city. These were by far the worst I’ve come across. Rather try somewhere else. I’m going to make the trip back to Union Sq Derm in future.

This review is for Dr. Fenton: if I could give 5 stars I would! I cannot say enough about this amazing place and Dr. Fenton. I swear this doctor changed my life.
Last year I suffered a terrible, disfiguring bout of adult acne. I saw multiple doctors with no improvement. I honestly have never suffered so much, anyone who goes through this knows how much acne and poor skin affects self esteem and well being overall.
Dr. Fenton came in calm, cool and collected. He took the time to listen to me, created the best game plan for me and saw me through. He has helped me wean off my treatments slowly and to this day (despite the fact that I relocated to the west coast) he is my dermatologist. When I come to NYC I come by for a check up.
Words cannot thank him enough. Please, do yourself and your skin a favor and see this doctor!

I can’t say enough. Been going here since 2014 and seeing Julie Zuckerman who is the QUEEN of dermatology. She is amazing, their care is amazing and they don’t just try and get you to take every treatment. She’s passionate about her patience and results show it.
I’ve bounced around for many, many years to whoever has a great deal or an advertisement that is intriguing but this is now my families home.

Very happy with my experience at Schweiger Dermatology. The office staff was friendly and courteous. I saw Dr. Fenton, and he spent a good amount of time talking to me and examining my face. He prescribed me a cream that was covered by my insurance, and cleared up my problem almost immediately.
Also yay for free WiFi!