Carnegie South Imaging for Women

After visiting this place for four months and experiencing a 2^nd trimester miscarriage, I decided that it would be best to stop seeing my primary obgyn and look into new ones. I called here as they have seen me several times and have a record of my medical history so I thought it would be a great fit. I was told that it may be a conflict of interest but was assured of a phone call from management that would let me know for sure. Week 2, no phone call and I call back. I’m told that if the first person said it was a conflict of interest, they were probably right. What else did I need? Hold on. I had been seeing this practice for four months and was greeted so warmly when carrying my baby, just two weeks ago, that I thought I could see them again and start planning my next pregnancy. I was told they would call back… I said no I need to speak to someone now and I need to see my medical records. No one was available and I was initially told I couldn’t see my records without a dr requesting them. Eventually, I was put on the phone with the manager. As it goes, if I had just picked them right away, saw their ad first and called they would have seen me, but because my previous ob referred me, it is not an option now. Adiós. I said wow, she said I know! Shouldn’t it be my choice? The administrative staff was unbelievably cold and less than helpful. I will get my records though with an email. After complaining. That helps. Drs were great when I was able to see them though. Making an already unbearable experience worse. No Dr for me. My advice. Don’t get a referral to see them because if you want to change your ob later, you can’t. Cut the middleman and schedule your appointment here or avoid them altogether. Second, call billing and get coordinating codes for procedures. That way you can see what your insurance will pay for.

I’m 15 weeks pregnant, had a large amount of bleeding, and my general OB was unable to determine the cause, so she sent me to Carnegie to get a diagnostic ultrasound.
Because of the nature of the situation, they fit me into a cancellation slot same-​day, and so even though I didn’t get seen until 30 minutes after the appointment time they’d given me, it didn’t bother me because a) they wouldn’t have had to take me at all and b) their waiting room is so nice and comfortable (and has free cookies and tea and juice) that I wouldn’t have minded staying there another few hours.
I then saw their ultrasound technician, who was extremely nice, skilled, and knowledgeable (as was the first ultrasound tech I saw — a different woman named Lindita — I can’t remember the name of the woman I saw yesterday unfortunately) and who put me at ease and seemed to actually enjoy seeing my baby, which of course is always exciting to ME, but I always imagine that these people see so many per day that they might well be bored by it. Anyway, she wasn’t. She printed a bunch of pictures for me and and even showed me a weird 3D type of image that showed far more detail than any ultrasound image I’ve ever seen. Meanwhile (and most importantly) she) figured out what the problem was, and then reported all of the results to the supervising MD.
Here’s why I’m actually writing this review. I was so so happy with the MD (Dr. Klauser, I think), because since having these complications I’ve been told to not exercise, which is a very vague command, and is also extremely difficult for me to do, for several reasons that I won’t go into. Let’s just say that exercise is basically essential to my ability to maintain any level of functioning at work or school, and to my overall well-​being, so being told not to exercise, while also not being told with any specificity (no matter how hard I tried to wring it out of them) had been extremely frustrating. Anyway, that brings me to today. Dr. Klauser actually listened, acknowledged my concerns, and then helped me to understand WHY I was being told not to exercise (because it’s really only about certain particular aspects of exercise, as I expected, meaning I really don’t have to cut it out altogether. He explained the issue anatomically, and then also took the time to help me go through a list of the various exercises I might want to do, and explain the risks of each (if any), why those risks were risks, and any conflicts of opinion within the medical community in those regards.
I was so grateful because now, at least for the time being, I can resume a relatively normal, functional life. And this guy is not even actually my doctor, so he really didn’t have to give me any more than the basic assessment of the ultrasound. So, rave reviews of Dr. Klauser.
The only extremely minor negative thing is that I had a lot of trouble scheduling the appointment because they don’t have a voicemail system set up, and their phones seemed to perpetually say that they were closed, even during every conceivable part of normal business hours. Eventually I called my OB/​GYN in order to get through.
So basically: rave reviews of their medical staff. Rave reviews of their ultrasound techs. Rave reviews of their Lemon Zinger tea. Rave reviews of everything except for their lack of answering machine.

I came here for my 20 week anatomy scan. It was a great experience. There were a few basic forms to fill out, but they weren’t too long. Staff is courteous and friendly. They have an option for you to get your sonogram images sent to you via text or email, which only costs $ 20. I chose to pay the $ 20 bucks and feel it was worth it. I got most of my 2D and 3D pics all sent to me via email and was able to share the link with everyone. Very clean space. They also offer free tea and snacks. Wish I could come back here to see my baby again before the big day, but my doc says theres no medical need for another sonogram. Womp womp!

Terrible. My wife, at 39 weeks was scheduled for two sonograms back to back here. Because we live in Queens we give ourselves extra time due to train travel, today we budgeted 90 minutes so that we could get to Manhattan, possibly get a bite to eat and have our scans done. The day of our appointment the trains were horrendous, requiring us to get to a different neighborhood in order to get a train to Manhattan.
Realizing how bad the trains were, we call the office to inform them we would be late (again budgeting 90 minutes for a 40 minute commute). Their response was that if we are more than 15 minutes late our appointment would be cancelled and we could be helped at 1:30 – in other words wait around for 3 hours. Even after explaining how bad the trains were, and speaking to a manager to explain our case, and actually arriving 20 minutes past our appointment time (instead of 15), there was nothing anyone was willing to do. Even the courtesy to invite us in, to see what could be done for a woman 39 weeks pregnant who had two sonograms and had made all previous appointments on time, was frustratingly absent. We we turned away, with no sonograms completed.
If you are having a family, and your doctors use this location, ask your doctors if there is anywhere else they use, especially if you live anywhere outside of Manhattan. There is no willingness for anyone here to risk going above and beyond for you, no matter how extenuating your circumstance.

I’m starting my third trimester, and so far this place has been really great. The staff is professional, efficient, and nice, and I’m especially a huge fan of Dr. Klauser.
We found out that our fetus has a cleft lip/​palate at 16 weeks, and the staff has taken extra care to get us clear images of the deformity so that we can take these with us to our specialist consults. Dr. Klauser has spent substantial time with us at each of the appointments to ensure that all of our questions (regarding the cleft or anything else) are answered, and he comes across as very well informed.
The check-​in process is pretty seamless, and I have never had to wait more than 10 minutes for my scheduled appointment to start. Everyone has been great, and I would highly recommend this place.

Technicians — thorough, warm and great bedside manner. 5 stars.
Doctors — 3 stars, felt meh about the doctors I saw, but to be fair I was just going for scans. It’s not my primary ob.
Front desk — nice, polite, but a little slow in waiting area (that may be a reflection of the doctor manpower) 3.5
Phone — 4 stars great service, asked great questions, just a little slow
Billing — not bad for me so far (can’t give stars yet because I haven’t seen all my final bills)

My wife and I used Carnegie South Imaging last year on the recommendation from her OB. While the staff and doctors were competent enough, we had HUGE headaches with the administrative/​billing staff. After our baby was born, we started receiving «final notice bills» for bills that we had paid, which were dated July 2014. We had receipts proving that we paid for the stated services. We called to inquire and after multiple strained calls, it was revealed that while we owed that set amount it was actually a sum for multiple services over our entire pregnancy that they had just arbitrary applied to this bill. The bill was absolutely FABRICATED. We had to pay them and were left with no documents with what specific services we actually paid for.
This is a HORRIBLE business practice. You can’t just arbitrarily select services to assign amounts to and say «oh no, we know you have a receipt that you actually paid but that’s actually wrong.» Again, we are left with no accurate documentation. They were taking our checks and randomly applying it to things. After this incident we received a few more bills, even though we were told we were settled. We called again and they apologized and said to please disregard. How can you keep sending people bills? I don’t understand. Get your business in order. They made us feeling like we were in the wrong and the crazy people.
To top it off, when my wife was on the phone with the billing manager — after being hung up on — they had the nerve to tell her she should be really be tending to her child and not getting so worked up.
We’ve already steered multiple pregnant couples away from this place. I would give this place negative stars if I could. DO NOT COME HERE.

WOULD HAVE BEEN 5 STARS… OFFICE AND STAFF ARE GREAT, BUT BE FOREWARNED ABOUT THEIR OPTIONAL GENETIC COUNSELOR — INTERGRATED GENETICS
Even the NY Times has reported on them…
I would have given this office 5 stars, but their genetic counselor subcontractor and billing system ARE TERRIBLE. Physicians, technicians, staff are all great –so nice and professional.
If I had to do it over, I would waive the optional genetic counseling from Integrated Genetics. They are next-​door at one of those over decorated coop offices and staffed by non-​medically trained people. FYI most insurances do not cover 100% of it.
Also, my genetic counselor was a nice person, but seemed like she studied a manual and all her answers were from their training package (not like she had been educated with medical training.) The «visit» was her reading from a PowerPoint presentation of questions so I’m not «exaggerating» or being overly critical. The worst is that she would stalk me on the phone with LATE info (the Carnegie MDs or my OBGYN would have already called me 2 – 4 days prior). I called to ask that she no longer be my counselor and her «superior» ended up never following up –so be forewarned that once you sign up it no longer becomes optional. I asked CSIFW and my OBGYN if they could intercede and they said just to ignore her. Unfortunately that same untrained and unnecessary genetic counselor STILL kept calling me –now I know why because she’s paid for checking off her quota list = $ 250. Perhaps it was because I didn’t have any genetic issues (I’m grateful), but not only was this visit a waste of time, but I ended up paying for it too.
Billing is confusing in that the front desk would say I didn’t owe anything and I was current, but then would send a late bill –yet I never received any «first» invoices… and unlike Quest, NTD, LabCorp, everyone else out there –they don’t offer online payment services. Reading the 60% reviews that state the same issues with their odd billing system –looks like they shouldn’t be surprised by this one too.

My blood pressure spiked after trying to set my first appointment. I waited half hour on the queue and when it’s finally my turn, the lady kept wanting to put me on hold because she has someone else on the other line. She took all my personal info but didn’t know if they accept my insurance. She transfers me to someone else to check by insurance and once confirmed (and I made sure she said I was in the system), transfers me back to wait on the queue. By this time my lunch break was over and I wasn’t able to call back until the end of the day. I called back and a man picked up and told me they don’t have any records of me from the morning. He then puts me on hold but hangs up on me. I tried calling again and waited 15 minutes on the queue. Just when it was my turn, it turns 5:00pm and they hang up on me again. I tried calling back again and how they are closed. My doctor will have to refer me to someone else. All this aggregation for nothing.

My husband and I really enjoyed our experience at Carnegie South.
— Phone calls. I was always able get through to someone promptly. They were polite, professional and happy to help. They also had great availability so I was able to be seen within a week.
— Front Desk/​Waiting Room: Front desk staff was polite. Assisted me with paperwork. We hardly had any wait time and were seen quickly.
— Technician who performed my sonogram was kind and gentle and soft spoken. She had an overall endearing, personable attitude and because I was so nervous, this helped me through the process. We never felt rushed. The room was also warm and comfortable.
— Doctor who came in after was helpful and gave us as much information as possible.
Very pleased with everything. Excited to go back for my follow up.

I went to Carnegie for my Anatomy scan. From the very moment I walked in i told the technician and then the doctor that my husband and I did not want to know the sex of the baby. We were adamant about it being a surprise. The technician turned off the screen while we were in the room so we thought we were safe.
Additionally, we paid for a service to have select images sent to us so we could have them on email.
Several hours after the appointment today i received my email with the scans. In the email was a scan of the baby where it clearly identified the sex of the baby. Our surprise was ruined
We trusted the team to abide by our medical wises and they completely stole this moment from my husband and I. To find out the sex of my child while sitting alone at my desk at work went against all of our wishes and was a complete disregard for us as parents.
Incompetent.

My wife Melissa has been going to Carnegie for some time now and every time has been a pleasure. Great staff and very helpful. Appointments are very on time and sonograms are very detailed. I recommend Carnegie to all my friends who wives are having a baby.
Danny

I was really intimidated by the negative reviews of this place. I went for a panorama blood test. I was seen promptly at my appointment time, and the nurse was friendly, very gentle, and fast. The waiting room is clean and they provide complimentary juice for after a blood test.

GREAT STAFF. Sometimes the wait is a little over 10 min but I am fine with that because they take time when they are reviewing your sonogram. I had a high risk pregnancy and switched to Carnegie Imaging and couldn’t be happier. Like any office and insurance check that prior to making an appointment– I had no issues, just an FYI.
They are also really friendly with the 3D imaging and don’t get mad or charge you a ridiculous amount just to see a picture of your baby. GREAT GREAT PLACE!

Contrary to other reviews — my experience at Carnegie South has been fantastic. I saw them for the NTS, Anatomy and Detailed Anatomy Screenings (three separate visits). Each appointment was easy to schedule and I actually appreciated their ability to schedule appointments far in advance so I could make arrangements with work. I had very little, if any, wait time (I prefer to schedule 9am appointments). The technicians were friendly, knowledgeable and took the time to talk through all of the fun details of seeing your growing baby on a big screen. One technician was actually just as excited to tell us the sex of the baby as we were to hear it — it made the experience much more personal and much less medical — which we appreciated.
The doctors were also fantastic — little to no wait time to see them after the ultrasounds were finished and they had excellent bedside manner in delivering results and next steps. I also would like to give kudos to the on-​site lab technician since she was very friendly and quick the one time I had blood taken for the quad screening. The receptionists and billing department have also been prompt and helpful in resolving any questions related to co-​pays or referrals — the process has been seamless.
Maybe it’s my insurance, maybe it’s my luck — but I would definitely recommend Carnegie South to any of my girlfriends.

Reception is the worst! They mess up appointments and are horribly disorganized. Rather unprofessional as well.

Compared to the other Carnegie Imagining in the Upper East Side, this one is below par. Although being early to each appointment, they are always running behind (and it does not seem as though it is from the amount of patients being seen, although many are seen here) no urgency in even trying to make the appt. The front desk reception could be a bit friendlier too. The ultrasound techs and doctor are quite knowledgeable and have a good bedside manner.

I wish I could give ZERO stars. I made an appointment with this facility for a very important test A MONTH ahead of time. At the time of booking, I gave my information and insurance and we confirmed an appointment. Two days before the appointment they called to confirm. And then… LESS THAN 24 HOURS BEFORE MY APPOINTMENT (a time frame within with they would have CHARGED me for canceling), another employee called to tell me that they don’t take my insurance and they had to cancel or I had to pay out of pocket. Are you kidding me??? Less than a day before an appointment which was made ONE MONTH ago and very difficult to schedule time wise? This is completely unacceptable. I wish there was more I could do, but even though they would fine me if the situation were reversed, the only thing in my power is to tell everyone else here on Unilocal.The woman I spoke to on the phone even admitted to me that this has been happening a lot. HOW DO YOU RUN A BUSINESS LIKE THAT? Completely unacceptable. Now I have to take more time off from work and wait another month to go elsewhere for something that needs to be done this week?!
There are other options. PLEASE TAKE YOUR BUSINESS ELSEWHERE.

I want to give a 1-​star review and a 4-​star review. Like the other reviewers, my experience with the bureaucratic side of things was very unpleasant. I didn’t receive the full information about registering before sending over my referral, thus resulting in my referral not going through. It took multiple phone calls to both Carnegie and my midwife to finally set up the appointment. I felt the woman over the phone was impatient with me and ready to cancel my appointment if any detail wasn’t consistent with their policies (which I didn’t know about).
Actually going in for the ultrasound went well. Everyone was very nice, wait time was reasonable, and I really liked the sonographer and doctor. I appreciated having the results interpreted by a Carnegie doctor right away and not having to wait for my midwife to tell me what they found. Results were faxed to my midwife the same day. We got two souvenir photos of the fetus too.
In the end, everything worked out, and most importantly, everyone is ok.

Scum of the earth billing department. My wife went here for two ultrasounds when she was pregnant. They sent us to collections twice for two bills in a 3 month period. Both were paid within 6 weeks of receiving the service and were just for a small co-​pay. No reason to send either of them to collections.
Since they wasted our time on the first visit with collections, we thought we’d pay the co-​pay at time of service. Nope, they wouldn’t allow it. We had an ultrasound two days before our baby was born and received a notice from a collections agency before he was 1 month old. Classy!
After we paid our second bill, we noticed that they messed up and over charged us. They owed us money and still managed to bone us through a collection agency. Their billing department made a lot of accusations towards us, but we eventually got them to admit their over billing and they eventually sent us a check in the mail.
Their billing department adds too much unnecessary stress for the pregnant women they serve. I’d estimate my wife and I spent more time dealing with their inept and shameful billing department than actually receiving services. Do yourself a favor and ask for a different if your midwife or doctor tries to send you here.