BIDMC Washington Square Group

One star because my doctor is great. No stars for the extremely rude staff. Requested an appointment and they put me out a month in advance. Called to get it moved up and they told me to just go to urgent care instead. Completely offended by the phone staff and will change facilities.

After experiencing completely awful care at Healthcare Associates at BIDMC, I decided to switch to the Washington Square Group a year ago. They have been nothing short of amazing. I see Johanna Klein for my PCP, who has been extremely friendly, competent, and treats me like I’m her only patient. The customer service has always been amazing. I live in the neighborhood, so I never have to worry about parking, but it does look like it might get tight. All in all, I wish I would have found this place sooner instead of wasting my time, energy, and money with Healthcare Associates.

Dr. Kehlmann’s is the best medical practice I’ve ever been too. The doc is everything you’d want in an internist: very knowledgeable, professional and friendly, as is his staff. In this day of medical cost consciousness, he won’t hesitate to order a test/​procedure that he thinks you need. Also, although his sched is jammed full seeing patients, he will always see me same/​next day if I’m sick or have a serious issue. He respects your time and always sees me within a few minutes of my scheduled time. Thanks for reading this review.

I’ve only been a patient here for a few years, but the Washington Square Group has managed to do a lot wrong in those few short years.
First they billed me for my yearly physical. I sent back the form with my insurance information. They sent me another bill. I finally had to talk to someone and the bills stopped coming. Then they somehow didn’t process one of my referrals AFTER I’d already gone to my dermatologist and was charged for that. It took numerous calls to the office to straighten this out.
Then, the most recent incident and therefore freshest in my mind, I get a call from said dermatologist’s office telling me the Washington Square Group office told them I could no longer see my dermatologist because he’s not affiliated with Beth Israel. What? First, this makes no sense, and second, I’ve been seeing the same dermatologist for years, why should anything change now? I call the office and explain the situation, and I think I’m being pretty clear: I have an appointment with my derm and the office says they’re having trouble processing my referral, she mentioned something about him not being affiliated with Beth Israel. (pause) Well what do you want then? Excuse me, I don’t need the attitude, I need you to either give me a referral or to tell me why you won’t. In the end everything was fine and, as is par for the course with Washington Square Group, they just made things twice as difficult as they needed to be for everyone involved (including themselves). They routinely make mistakes and are then incredibly rude when you try to fix them.
For these and other reasons, I’m changing PCPs.

I’ve been very happy with the Washington Sq group. Dr. Kehlmann has really been there for me and taken the time to listen to any medical issues. Also, if something is really wrong, he makes time in his day to see me. This is very important as there are times something will happen and I’ll be freaking out. I need a doctor whom I know I can rely on, whom I know is intelligent and competent. Dr K. is that man, and I would recommend him to anybody.

I have been seeing Dr. Glen Kehlmann for over ten years now, and I have never had a bad experience, in fact, I’d say I’ve never had a doctor I’ve trusted more than I do him.
I have several autoimmune diseases, and my care can often be difficult to manage. I feel fortunate to have a doctor who will run every and any test he feels is necessary, and, should he still not be able to find the answer, tells me so, and sends me to a specialist (calling for me, so I get right in). In the past I’ve had doctors who will just guess, and give me the wrong diagnosis, or just put me on antibiotics– but this has never been the case with Dr. Kehlmann. If he can’t figure it out, he says so, and will send me to a specialist for another Dr to have a crack at it (as was the case with my second and more rare autoimmune disease).
When my husband was killed by an elderly driver in 2005, I called him from Hartford Hospital, on a Sunday. He got right back to me, and immediately called in a script to the hospital pharmacy to help keep me calm for the last day of my husband’s life, and make organ donation arrangements.
I’ve always found him to be kind, funny and professional, and would (and have!) recommend him to anyone without hesitation. He is NOT a Doctor who will just give you pain meds, or put you on antibiotics, unless you really need them. He is incredibly competent, and I always feel secure in his diagnosis and suggestions.
I feel incredibly fortunate to have Dr. Kehlmann as my Primary Care Physician, and would also add that I’ve never once had an appointment canceled on me, and have found Dr. K’s office staff to be incredibly friendly, helpful and professional. They always work as a team to get me in on short notice, and no matter how miserable I’m feeling, I tend to leave the office smiling.

I’m happy to say that I’ve had an entirely different experience with Washington Square Group in general and Dr. Kehlmann in particular.
I’ve been his patient for nearly 20 years, and he’s consistently been both professional and delightful. (BTW, I found him from a friend who was employed by one of the largest medical insurance companies in the state. Everyone at this company saw Dr. Kehlmann given his high quality of care.)
What I appreciate about Dr. Kehlmann is that he is practical in his approach: he orders tests as necessary without overlooking what could be a major issue. I trust him entirely.
A few years ago, I was in need of emergency care over the Thanksgiving weekend. My call was answered quickly, instructions were clear, and medication was prescribed.
Also, I’ve never had an issue with the team. And sure the waiting room could use better magazines. But I’m there for quality medical care – not brain candy.
I take medical care very seriously. I would not tolerate for a moment a doctor who was not responsive, caring, or involved. And because Dr. Kehlmann is all those things as well as a well-​experienced practitioner, I have remained his patient for years.

Concerning Arun Mukherjee: I went in with some check up and to ask for some blood work. This guy has terrible bedside manner. Beyond his rudeness and derisive condescension, there’s something at the same time bitter and sadistic about this guy – as if being a doctor was his disappointing backup plan to serial murder. If you want to feel slightly traumatized after your appointment, by all means give him a try!

I am a patient of this so called medical group. I have chronic pancreatitis. I called their office over the New Years holiday, as I was having considerable pain. I had to call the answering service twice, as the doctor on call did not return my call the first time. His name is Dr. Glenn Kehlmann.
When he did call back, he was extremely abrupt/​rude, and treated me as a child. He told me he did not fill pain medication over the weekends, and I should monitor my medications more carefully. I do not take pain medication on a daily basis, so his remarks to me were somewhat ignorant. He advised me he was going into the office the following day, and would review my medical chart, and then phone in the RX to my pharmacy. I received no call from him the following day, nor did he phone an RX into my pharmacy.
I found this doctor to be rude, uncaring, and extremely unprofessional. I would suggest anyone reading this review to strongly find another medical practice to go to. There are too many other practices that are of a more professional and caring nature.
If I could give this practice no stars, I would.
My primary care physician is Dr. Arun Mukherjee. I have found him to be more caring and professional. I will continue using him, however, Dr. Glenn Kehlmann is totally useless. He needs to take several courses in customer service. He may be a physician of sorts, however, his bedside manner and integrity FAIL the course. Maybe he should look into seeing a psychiatrist or therapist?

***Update: after they cancelled my appointment, they rescheduled me for one month later (this afternoon). They just called to cancel today’s appointment, once again, after confirming it. If this were Curb Your Enthusiasm, I would ask for two appointments worth of co-​pays, since that is what they would charge me.