Westcare Medical Associates-Obgyn Department

I have been a patient at west care for 12 years because I like Dr. Shrivastava and Dr. Liu. I don’t think I’ve ever had an appt that ran on time. Always running late. Today it was 25 min to see the Dr for a checkup. Some of the admin people are very nice and helpful — some not as much. Sigh. Wish they ran on time!

I saw Dr. Shin for 4 years at this place, and she delivered my 1^st baby. I really liked Dr. Shin, but sadly she is no longer there, so the 3 stars are for the rest of the practice. It is true that it is nearly impossible to get someone on the phone during business hours, and that the front desk reception can be short with you and sometimes rude. However, one of the administrative staff went way beyond the call of duty during my pregnancy when my insurance was going to make us pay out of pocket for my Rhogam shot, and she spent hours on the phone trying to figure out how to get the office to order it for us so we wouldn’t have to pay out of pocket for it. Also, it is much easier to contact the office after hours, so their answering service can either contact the doctor on call or leave a message for reception to call you back. Most of the doctors here were very nice, and were receptive to my desire to have a natural birth and to have a doula present. I loved Dr. Wong, and might have stayed with this practice as a patient of hers after Dr. Shin left, but I ultimately chose to go somewhere else for my 2^nd pregnancy since my experience with Dr. Lieu and Dr. Underwood left something to be desired, and you don’t know who is going to be on call to deliver your baby when the time comes.

The reviews here are spot on regarding the staff and the doctor assistants — the doctor’s assistants in particular are horrendous. They are completely unorganized and rude. No calls regarding test results — you literally have to call 3 times to get something done AND they make it like you’re bothering them or you’ve done something wrong. It has become particularly worse over the last few years, I think I’ve finally come to the conclusion to go elsewhere, the aggravation is not worth it. I can’t imagine having to deal with them if I had health issues that need close supervision/​guidance.
For those of you have had a bad experience you may want to submit the information to your insurance company.

While DR Lieu might be a good Physician, the office that she belongs to is horrendous, unorganized and the primary reason for leaving the doctor after several years
Reasons:
1: To get on the phone average wait time is over 30 minutes and only a switchboard
2: While switching medical insurance we specifically asked if they take Oscar. The said the did
On the appointment day no one answered their phones
Getting to the appointment we were informed they no longer took Oscar
An appointment was made for another doctor
Getting the records was like a dental extraction as they said it was 2 weeks
(Who has 2 weeks to wait for their records that are theirs)
Only when threatened we were able to pick them up and the worst part, we were told they switched back and had Oscar again, But they didn’t know for how long
Shame on you for not belonging to an efficient office staff that takes into consideration your patients
Shame on you for emotionally playing with your patients well being and not informing them about your current Health Insurance Carriers

I have never been treated so poorly by a Dr.‘s office. My doctor left the practice and I had to hear this from a third party (a friend). I only got a letter in the mail 2 months later.
I called looking to book an emergency appointment and I was told they don’t make appointments that day because the doctors were too busy (yes, all of them!) and I would have to go to the ER if I was in pain. I then asked for my Rx to be refilled and the secretary said that they won’t refill until I come in for an annual exam. I said OK, when can I come in, they said not until a month later. When asked how I will go without for a month, she said they can send in a one month Rx but no more than that. My insurance won’t pay for pharmacy Rx’s — only Express Scripts — when I told her that, she said I would have to wait until my annual then. NOT HELPFUL. They are literally holding my Rx hostage.
I called three times to speak to the office manager and left messages (one somehow never got passed on) about this problem and was put on hold for 40 minutes because she was busy. She is never available. She hasn’t answered any of my three messages. I called again and I was purposely put on hold until 4:55pm because the office closes at 5 and I got hung up on. When I called back, the «office closed» greeting was already playing and referred me to the emergency call service. The Physician liason is always busy, never answers her phone line so if you want test results, you are out of luck. Express Scripts calls me every time to tell me they can’t get a hold of my doctor. In what planet is this professional?

I am pregnant with my second child with a severe high risk pregnancy the first time. I called the office to schedule an appointment only to be told that I couldn’t see the doctor for another 3 weeks and I’m already more than 8 weeks pregnant. For a office that I have been seeing for more than 10’years and had a baby through, this is insulting, and their receptionists definitely do not have any «bedside» manners. I sadly will probably go with another medical group because of this and my doctor won’t even know about it since they won’t leave a message or contact the doctor for me. Unbelievable. Upsetting and sad.

the most unprofessional office ever. horrible horrible staff and policies. do not go here! it’s a s-​it hole and their ultrasound machines are old. even if convenient do not go!

I wish I could give this place zero stars. Everyone who works in reception is missing brain cells. They cannot schedule or communicate appointments, they cancel last minute and take no responsibility for it. Do not go here– you will wait all day and have to talk to morons. Unfortunately the doctors are wonderful but since they hire only incompetent people, you probably won’t get to them.

To all potential pregnant ladies looking to find a new OBGYN — please do not go here. I thought Westcare was going to be a great option for me since it’s so close to my house, but I was wrong. I am 16 weeks and needed to find a new doctor that was closer to me, since trekking downtown to see my old OBGYN was going to become more difficult. I made an appointment online on ZocDoc, and received an appointment confirmation through email. When I called the practice to see if they needed any medical records, they said that I never had an appointment! So I had to re-​book a new appointment and wait another week to see a doctor (Dr. Lieu). It was already getting late because I haven’t had a 2^nd trimester appointment yet. When I arrive, they tell me that I don’t have an appointment in their system! I explained that I made it by phone and that I took off a half-​day from work to trek uptown to have this appointment. They couldn’t accommodate me with another doctor, and I left annoyed at it all. Anyway, no accountability on their part.
I really hope that the management is reading these reviews. I’ve had two other friends who started at this practice and left because they were so disappointed in the way they were treated, or the quality of service, or operational problems such as this. I should have listened to them! There are so many great practices out there, take the time to find one that really cares about their patients, because this one obviously doesn’t.

First time at this clinic and I could say it was just GREAT! Came in signed in was given documents to fill out and honestly within 10 mins I was taken to the back. I seen Dr. Amy Huang and let me just say she was absolutely AMAZING, such a sweet and kind doctor that makes you feel comfortable, she took the time to listen to why I was there and answered all of my questions. Such a great experience.

If you want to have a low stress pregnancy GO ELSEWHERE! The staff is rude, unhelpful and MEAN. They get a kick out of creating hurdles for pregnant women looking for simple answers, like genetic testing results and medical record questions. They are mean and difficult and will pass you around from person to person for 30 minutes until you give up. Dr. Wong’s Liaison was completely unprofessional. NEVER would give me my genetic testing results till I tracked her down after many many messages. Her excuse was she was «she covering 8 physicians». She lied to Dr Wong stating she left my results in a voicemail which she did not. They need to completely REPLACE THEIR STAFF in order to have a professional, smoothly ran practice or they will find themselves out of business. I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU GO ELSEWHERE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE PREGNANT OR YOU WILL CONSTANTLY BE STRESSED AND FRUSTRATED WITH THE LACK OF TREATMENT YOU WILL RECEIVE THERE.

I try to give businesses a chance. Maybe it’s a really stressful day (or two). Maybe there’s a lot going on. Whatever the reason may be, I try to be courteous and give doctors’ offices some slack because I know they have to deal with frustrated people all day and it gets old. However, I’m VERY quickly running out of excuses for this place.
Since I’m new to the city, i asked a friend where she goes for her OB. She recommended this office albeit a different doctor. I feel most comfortable with a woman, so I chose to go to another doctor within the same practice. I called and scheduled an appointment with one of the receptionists and I go in 20 minutes early just to ensure that all the paperwork is complete and my appointment can start on time as I needed to get back to work. Of course, 30 minutes after sitting in the waiting room, I’m told my doctor isn’t even there; that she had left in the morning after seeing an «empty» schedule for her afternoon. Fine, i let it slide and rescheduled for the next day.
I go in, 15 minutes early this time and check in and proceed to wait 45 minutes AFTER my scheduled time to see the doctor. I was only shown in after I asked TWICE why there was such a delay and how long it would be for the doctor to see me. After finally being taken in, my OB came in, apologized for the delay and did her check-​up. She was nice, but EXTREMELY quick. I spent more time waiting than actually with the doctor.
The third time I had to come in for a follow-​up was quick-​ish. During the procedure, i was extremely nervous and afraid and my doctor was less than comforting. The follow-​up was slightly painful and stressful, but my doctor was in and out within minutes, not really making herself available to answer any of my questions to really calm me down, as I think is an integral part of a doctor’s job.
The FOURTH time I had to go in for another follow-​up on new symptoms, i had to wait 1 hour and 45 minutes AFTER my scheduled appointment time to see the doctor. She was «running behind», which I can understand but seriously? I had to tell the ladies at the desk twice that i’d been waiting for an hour+ and needed to see the doctor ASAP. The fact that i need to take out 3−4+ hours of my day for follow-​ups is ridiculous.
The doctor asked me to come in this week for an additional follow-​up. I made sure to make appointment for first thing in the morning so I wouldn’t have to miss TOO much time at work. Two days before the appointment, I received a call from the office but I missed it, and no voicemail was left. I received another call later in the evening reminding me of my appointment. The next day, I called the office just to make sure I didn’t miss anything in their first call and lo and behold, the doctor is actually OUT until the next week, meaning not only did the office NOT leave me a voicemail telling me of this, but they didn’t call me again the next day during business hours to tell me!
What kind of a doctor’s office IS THIS?! I’m from the midwest, and I don’t know if this is just an east coast thing or what, but I’ve never had this much difficulty with a doctor’s office in my life. This is ridiculous and is in NOT how a doctor’s office should be run. At this point, it’s best if I just fly back home to my old doctor instead of wasting my time at this place. As for my doctor, it’s like a roller coaster relationship. Every other time that I see her, she’s helpful. Otherwise, nice, knowledgable but needs work on her bedside manner. THe only reason I’m going to go back is just to keep with consistency with my final follow-​up, otherwise I would’ve been out the door a LONG time ago.

This is the worst gynecologist I have ever ever ever been to. WHAT A HORRIBLE FRONT DESK STAFF. I have to wait 10 minutes on hold to make an appointment for my annual exam. No one ever calls or emails or sends a letter with any test results. They never have the correct contact info on file. Amazed that the doctors don’t do anything about this! How they can be allowed to function the way the do is incredible, and i blame them for letting this continue.

Wow if I could give negative starts I would! I went to Dr Shin to confirm my pregnancy. I had a follow up appointment a month later. I told Dr Shin something was bothering me she told me not to worry the did not do a urine test (which I learned after should be done everytime) I called a few days later to ask Dr Shin if I could come in I told her I was getting very hot and very cold and felt ill I also told her I had an odd discharge and she told me not to come in rest in bed. I went to the hospital that night when I was bleeding they took blood and told me right off I had a bladder infection (which actually was a kidney infection since it had been let go so long it moved to my kidneys) I had called Westcare all along but no one bothered to check in with me. The next day I kept calling Westcare they told me go to the hospital. Dr Shrivastava was actually at the hospital but never came down to the ER to see me – They went to set me home and I had a miscarriage – Dr Shrivastava still did not come down to see me. They gave me some pills let me sit there and bleed and sent me to Westcare the next day for a check up. I kept getting calls and paperwork from the hosiptal (little did I know I was a walking time bomb of infection,) I went to Westcare for a check the following day – she sent me home and told me I was fine even though I said the hospital kept calling Dr Shin did not check into it she also sent me home with infected fetal tissue in me which is quite dangerous. Not only did I lose a baby I almost lost my life. I went to a different Dr a few days later who immediately looked at the hospital results and did a sonogram and found the fetal tissue I was on the verge of becoming septic. He checked me in the hospital immediately and removed and treated the infection. After having it be left for so long he had to take aggressive measures and i have ended up with uterine scarring and may never become pregnant again. SO if you feel like risking your life the life of your unborn child Westcare is the place for you but if you want a good caring doctor go somewhere else.

I’ve been seen here a few times by Dr. Shrivastava and Dr. Shin. Though they were nice I probably won’t be returning. This has to be the most unreliable OBGYNs office I have dealt with. It’s not only hard to get an appointment it’s hard to even get in touch with the front desk. I’ve been put on hold for hours. I’ve had to hang up and call again & again because my hand would tire from holding my phone up, and waiting. I’m disappointed that I haven’t even gotten a chance to even speak with a receptionist about the possibility of a walk in today. This doesn’t seem likely at all. I will be looking for an OBGYN practice who put their patients health first, are reliable and are there for them. Especially for emergency situations.

I would give this practice 5 stars if someone would take the time to train the staff on hospitality, warmth and professionalism. Dr. Matut is a wonderful doctor and has been my ob/​gyn for 12+ years, but the assistants are miserable women, young, flippant and exorbitantly rude. From making an appointment on the phone to getting blood taken in the lab, you will feel scoffed at and unwelcome. It has always been this way and I’m sure the doctors have heard complaints hundreds of times but nothing is ever done about the attitude patients receive.
I will continue going there because my doctor is terrific and trustworthy, gentle and sincere, but someone PLEASE TEACH THOSE GIRLS TO SMILE!
PS. The women who took my blood this afternoon had neon orange nail polish and was listening to gangster rap in the lab. Classy.