General Medical Associates 10 Union Square East, Manhattan, New York,

"Long wait, aloof staff. Great location, but would definitely travel farther to seem like I'm cared about."

"Awful! The wait time is really bad and the wait time for just the elevator will make you want to just jump out the window. It's that bad."

"Yes, Yes, the waiting is an issue. However, if I go to an MD and I am not the first appointment, I expect to wait for one hour. I believe that is reasonable and fair. I assume the appointment will take two and 1/2 hrs which I plan for. Or go after work: GMA offers evening hours. My physician is wonderful. Dr. Aaron is compassionate, knowledgeable and efficient. If you need him to call you back he will. That is IF he receives the message. You can expect a call back within 48hrs to a week. It is not his fault, if every patient that he was responsible for expected him to call back, he would not have time to actually see patients. To sum up, GMA has evening hours and a great union square location: all positives. My review is poor to fair because of the HMO referral issues I consistently experience, lack follow up, and accountability consistently displayed by the staff. If you need to see a specialist within 24 hrs due to an emergency, you cannot get a referral. If you are able to "plan" your emergency in advance, and can time things so you can wait 48- 72 hrs to receive your referral, then you will eventually receive care. I have encountered numerous situations where I had an emergency, needed to see a specialist and was not critically ill (as in life or death) and could not do so due to the inefficiency of the referral system at GMA. For instance, as I write this I am waiting on a referral submitted 24 hrs ago for a specialist appointment that should occur in approximately ten minutes. The specialist I needed to see did me a BIG favor by squeezing me into his already busy schedule and I cannot go to the appointment because the referral was not processed within twenty four hours by GMA. The vomiting, vertigo, head tenderness, and fever I am experiencing will have to wait until next monday. Four days from now. Hopefully, I am not bleeding internally. The ER is often not an option in these circumstances because the patient needs to see a specialist anyway and you are simply taking time away from more critically ill patients who NEED to be in the ER. That is what the ER is there for: life and death. Based on these type of experiences, my review is poor to fair. Bottom Line: If you value your time and have a job where you are unable to take large amounts of time off you might want to consider going elsewhere. The real shame is for the talented MDs working at GMA who are not getting "a fair shake" because of the apathetic administration professionals and HMO issues that prevent them from getting one. Unfortunately, I will no longer be a patient after I receive my last referral. I will be going to ONE medical group. As consumers, we do have a choice."