West Side Radiology Associates

As I write this I’m sitting waiting since 12:21 for a 12:35 appointment. It’s 1:58! These people have no respect for time! ! What exactly is the point of an appointment if I have to wait like a «walk in»? To make matters worst the 3 reservationists at the front were engaged in a personal convo. Mind u the place is quiet (the only Pro about this place) so everyone could hear EVERYTHING! One lady in particular with natural curly black hair & gray streaks in front was snobby. Oh I’m sorry I am bothering u by making u do ur job & answering a single question –_​_​– She has all the attitude of a child who has been scolded by her parent. Have some professionalism! If you hate ur job QUIT! Don’t ruin someone else day because u r stuck behind a desk with people u don’t like in a company u hate. This is my second visit here & I pray I never return. All I came for was an X-​ray! DO NOT COME HERE UNLESS U HAVE TIME TO WASTE!!!

An absolute shit hole — RUN for your life
AN ABSOLUTE FUCKING DISASTER !!!
Anyone who says this place is decent has their head in their anus
Looking forward to the health department shutting them down FOR GOOD !!!
But most of all — SUING THE SHIT OUT OF THEM !!!

I’ve been waiting two hours and there’s no end in sight. Nor is any information volunteered. When I ask if I’m looking at waiting another 10 minutes or another hour, I’m given attitude and no answer. Show a little understanding that this huge inconvenience is your doing, please. A simple apology would go a long way.

I’m kind of surprised by some of the reviews. I was sent to this place for an emergency scan… on a Friday… midday. So I expected to wait forever and planned to read a whole book while I waited. I arrived, was greeted by a very nice lady, waited maybe 10 mins and was taken in! They gave me a dressing room with a locker that had a key which is great b/​c not a lot of places offer this and your stuff just kinda hangs in the room unattended. I had the scan with a very nice lady that made me feel comfortable and reassured me that all will be ok.

Never posted a review before but this place has filthy dressing rooms, and still waiting to be seen more than 1 and a half hours past my appointment. Avoid this place.

One of the technicians was very rude and brusk in her manner — when gathering my history she was rude and insensitive. I told her I didn’t want her to do my sono as a result. She was also clearly sick, coughing and sniffling — she should not have been at work. When I asked for my sono referral back so I could go elsewhere, they offered up another technician to do the scan. I accepted this offer. Although the second technician was pleasant the scan was very quick. I was surprised they got what they needed. Even my doctor noted (without my prompting) that the results were not thorough, so not helpful to him, so as a result I need to go for another scan. I’m going back to my usual center on the east side, instead of this place on the west side close to my home. I wouldn’t recommend West Side Radiology (floor 6C). I left a comment card with this feedback as well as my name and number, I will update if I get a response.

Face it, no one wants to have medical testing, but sometimes it is necessary. Having unfortunately been to several different radiology facilities in recent months, West Side Radiology was the best on the phone with scheduling and rescheduling, 5 stars for speed, efficiency and no waiting, you get to a person promptly!
The office is in an older building and the hallway reflects the wear. The reception area is nice, the check-​in person was pleasant. I was early and seen on-​time. The changing area is very cramped. Gowns were the standard, miserable ones. The technician was a little abrupt at the beginning, but we worked it out and everything was fine at the end. Btw, warming the gel was appreciated!
By far the cleanest toilet facilities I’ve seen in any radiology/​health-​care office, 4.5 stars, someone obviously keeps it clean regularly throughout the day.

Update 1 — someone from the main office at least reaches out to apologize. Tl;Dr?
Summary:
–Main scheduling line good
–59^th street reception? Horrible. Faxed in correct prescription three days prior to exam only to be turned away morning of with the excuse that they don’t have prescription. Weird since I have email confirmation re fax.
–receptionists at 59^th are combative, rude, cuss at you (saying «God») while you’re still on the phone without remembering to mute themselves… Thanks! Can still hear you. They also leave you on hold without telling the next receptionist…
–asking the receptionists at 59^th to confirm an appt or the right script is like fighting a lawsuit… Go through at least two people, field off lies that the patient is downstairs… (nope! Not true) to finally get someone to confirm.
One star for the effort of someone calling to look into it. Hopefully, it was not just to use the excuse that they «never had such trouble with this office» when the reviews here clearly show otherwise.
To be updated if next appt actually goes as scheduled now that two different people confirmed the appt and the prescription.

BEWARE — this is a chain of radiologists — eager to get your money, double-​bill you, and not credit you when you pay (and they pocket your checks in a heartbeat.) With questionable customer service, their billing staff are rabid. No interest in customer service or ethical business practices. Keep a record of all your procedures and your bills — you’ll need it when you get a threatening letter claimed you never paid them!

I was there for over 3−½ hours today. I was left waiting after two sets of mammograms for over 30 minutes each for the radiologist report before moving onto an ultrasound. Had to wait a good 45 minutes for the ultrasound. For someone with a history of cancer, this is like having needles stuck under your fingernails. Growing anxiety. Out of frustration I finally went into the back — erm no patients please — and found all of the exam rooms empty and the technicians and office staff just hanging out talking in an office. I demanded to see the radiologist. Then the ultrasound tech was so defensive. It was torture. And it’s not the first time it’s happened. Once they left me sitting there for two hours. They said, «oh, I’m sorry we forgot about you.» They do good films and imaging, but the management of the facility is atrocious. Really bad.

Zero stars should be an option on Unilocal.
This place runs very late. They run about an hour and a half late. They do take you in promptly and have you change into a gown but then you have to wait. And wait. And wait. The facilities look a bit rundown. The front desk staff is very friendly but I recommend you look for another place for exams. The technician was amazing and very thorough and professional. It’s the wait time that sucks.

Terrible. Rude. Why schedule an 8:00am appointment in hopes of getting to work at a decent time then be forced to wait for an hour before being seen. Really just awful. Don’t come here

The receptionists are knowledge and generally monotone, but they do not know how to keep or handle a schedule. I should have listened to the numerous reviews noting the long delays because they have zero regard for your time and will absolutely be waiting for at least a half an hour past your appointment time. They request you to come in 15 minutes early to fill out paperwork, so expect to stay at least 45 minutes before you see a trained medical professional.

This is ranks as one of the most unpleasant places i have to go in my life. And I have been coming here for years because this place takes my insurance.
Where shall I start? Surly miserable unfriendly women are behind the desk they talk to each other while you wait and don’t acknowledge you as you are standing there.
Long, Long waits, no decent magazines to read. Dirty unkempt looking waiting room.
I can say the technicians when you finally get to see them are pleasant enough.
The person who is responsible for running this place clearly does not care.
This place sucks.
If you can find another spot, go there.

Unfriendly desk staff. Waited 30 min past appt. time. No empathy. Use the location at Columbus Circle. These people need to find a job where they can smile. They are clearly miserable. Complete opposite experience at their other location. Warm, friendly and kind people at Columbus Circle location.

I’ve been a few times. Everyone’s always polite and professional, but there are usually waits, sometimes very long, and with no way of knowing how long.

Terrible… I went in for follow-​up car after being hit by a car. The extremely rude and incompetent receptionists could not figure out where I was supposed to go for my appointment and sent me limping back and forth across the facility at least 4 times before I had to beg them to use the phone to figure out where I was supposed to go for my X-​ray. The receptionist refused to accept my no-​fault insurance even though I had all of the policy information and billed my private health insurance instead, resulting in a $ 117 co-​pay. West Side was paid for services first by me and my private insurance, and then later submitted the same bill to the car insurance company, and were paid again… I tried to straighten it out, but with their Manhattan offices, all billing questions go straight to a call center in Bangladesh.
The doctors, techs, etc are all competent — but the battleaxes guarding the front desk are just too much to handle… I quickly switched to a different medical group.

On a positive note, the facility looks clean and modern.
However, the staff were confrontational to the point of bullying me about my getting a sonogram versus a mammogram. My doctor had warned me that they don’t like doing sonograms, and want people to get mammograms. But, my doctor still kindly gave me paperwork for the sonogram, and supported it.
When I called to make the appointment, they told me that my script had to be more specific for a sonogram, that my doctor first wrote. So, I called my doctor who wrote me a new prescription, according to their «specifications».
When I arrived at the sonogram office, the receptionists still gave me a hard time, questioning my getting a sonogram, and not getting a mammogram. Finally, things got straightened out, three receptionists later.
Then, the sonogram tech was relentless in insisting that I should be getting a mammogram and not a sonogram. To the point of bullying me with interrogation, and lecturing me on the importance of mammograms.
To appease her, I finally said that I was fine with leaving, and NOT getting the sonogram. It seemed like my only option, and to get her to stop questioning me.
My saying that I was fine leaving, made her panic. She told me to stay, and that she’d talk with the radiologist. She returned, and said the radiologist gave the go ahead. But, she continued to treat me rudely, like I had no business getting a sonogram.
Then, she left me for 15+ minutes on the exam table in the dark covered in excess goo, while she went to talk with the radiologist again. She returned and told me to get dressed. The whole time it felt like she was trying to punish me for getting a sonogram, and not a mammogram.
I’m going to look elsewhere in the future.

What can be so hard about making an appointment for a simple xray, mri or CT scan after your doctor writes you the script and gets approval from your insurance company… If you dont want ot find out, AVOID WEST SIDE RADIOLOGY AT ALL COSTS
There are dozens of places to go in Midtown, so why go to a place with rude reception, fraudulent billing practices and SHEER INCOMPETENCE
Unbelievably, this was my FOURTH horrendous experience with this location (my doctors office has an affiliation agreement with them, but has assured me they will be cutting them off due to other patient complaints. The first 3 times, I showed up after the doctor had electronically sent the prescription (that is the benefit of being an affiliate as you are set up on the same billing system) and ALL THREE TIMES, West Side Radiology had no record of it. When the doctor resent it, with me on the phone, 2 of the 3 times, they claimed to have never gotten it either
Today was the icing on the cake. Knowing the past issues I had with them, I called ahead and spoke to them to confirm I was in the system, and after a frustratingly long 15 minute back and forth, they finally assured me I was. When I got there and they asked for the script, I told them my doctor has sent it electronically. 30 minutes later they called me (I assumed it was to go in, but no, they called me to the front to tell me they had no script. Thankfully, I was able to reach my doctors office, and they resent it again, and 20 minutes later, I was told there was no script. I then put my doctor on the phone, and he told them it was simply a chest X-​ray, yet they refused to take his word over the phone, SINCE THERE IS NO ONE LICENSED THERE AFTER 4PM,.
My doctor then re-​sent the script twice, 20 minutes passed and they told me they still didnt have it (I thought i was being PUNK’d), and I walked out in frustration over the incompetence.
Amazing that I have not had issues anywhere else, and this place I have had 4 separate issues with 3 different doctors writing the prescription, this place truly manages to defy all odds

I just had a big honkin’ needle shoved into my boob!
Surprisingly, it wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as it sounds.
Thanks to Lizette the Tech who explained exactly what was going to happen in great detail before the biopsy. And thanks to Dr. Handler who did the same, as well as asking me how I was doing at each step of the procedure. Seriously… thank you! Because I was a ball of anxiety the night before and if no one bothered to explain the horrendous sound the biopsy needle makes in advance… That loud stapler sound would have had me jumping off the table with a punctured lung.
Who designed that thing? Was «CLACK!!!» the kind of sound you were going for with a surgical instrument?
The entire staff is friendly and helpful. I mean everyone. And if they’re running behind, you just might get juice and snacks! Whoo hoo! It really helps to have such friendly staff for anything as nerve racking as cancer screening.
So, don’t let nerves stop you ladies! Go get your boobies smashed yearly. And screw the «wait ’till 50» thing. Go get a baseline mammogram at 40.
Yay Boobies!