Maria Betancourt, MD

I have visited this office twice in the last 6 months and have no complaints. I showed up on time and was seen on time. The staff and Dr. Betancourt are polite and efficient.
The Dr. and staff will do their best to make you feel comfortable and informed.
If you have an issue, do your research before your visit and ask questions to find out your options.

The problem is two folds. The front office and the doctor herself. I give zero stars to the front office, the girls are the poster child for the ghetto service. There are so many of them and they are all rude. God forbid, you have a question in person or on the phone. In person, you can stand in front of them for 5 minutes before they look up at you! I used to go to this office and after I changed my insurance, I called to see if they accept my new insurance. They said yes and I got an appointment for the next month which was their first availability. They called and cancelled the appointment the day before because the doctor had something come up and rescheduled for another month. After two months of waiting for her, I went to the office and the girl at the front desk looked at my insurance card and said that they don’t accept it! She was dismissive and rude about it and had no problem with wasting two months of my life. I was appalled.
The second problem is the actual doctor herself. She makes you wait a long time and spends 5 minutes at most with the patient. She is cold and her bedside manners could definitely improve.
All and all it is not worth your time or dignity to visit this office1

This office has provided me with the most problems of any other doctor I have ever had. The doctor and nurses are mediocre, but the worst part is they are not thorough. I had several issues and they were not explained to me at all. I felt left in the dark as a patient and thought for a brief moment that a medical situation was fatal! Well, my situation was not fatal. Not even close.
Also, any time I call the office to deal with a prescription they are completely incompetent. PLEASE go somewhere else. Save yourself the trouble.

My appointment was with Dr. Sachedina (the nurse practitioner) and I was SO impressed. The front desk staff is fine– not warm and friendly, but professional enough. The facility is pretty big for Manhattan. And the NP took sooo much time with me at my appointment. I was just there for a checkup, and she was so thorough. She asked me a lot of questions and really seemed to have plenty of time for me. I will definitely return to her if I have any problems in the future.

I’ve been going to Dr. Betancourt for probably close to 10 years — since her office was in that other building on the first floor. She’s great, smart and thorough. And i go on my lunch breaks, a 15 min train ride from the Meatpacking over to her office and I’ve never had to wait more than 10 minutes. That was one of the reasons why i’ve never switched to a doctor closer to my office or home, b/​c I can go to Dr. Betancourt and be back at my desk in 75 minutes. I always see the same medical assistant and receptionist and never had issues. Both Dr. Betancourt and the NP Rahela have been responsive, good listeners and helpful. Thumbs up.

I would have given no stars but that wasn’t an option.

I disagree with most people here. Dr. Betancourt is nothing but friendly and smart. She does a thorough exam, asks all the right questions and is patient. She is very helpful and easy to talk to. If you have any questions she is very accessible by phone as well. I also must mention her front desk secretaries are some of the nicest Doctor office staff that I have encountered. They are super helpful and eager to help you out. The nurse on staff is also great, she draws blood with no pain and is nothing but kind and easy to talk to. I’m starting to wonder if we are all talking about the same doctor here. The only reason I have given four stars instead of five is because the actual office could use a little updating. The bathrooms are old and outdated as well as the exam rooms.

I went to this gynecologist at the recommendation of a friend. Unfortunately over the past few visits, I’ve decided to change practices. Maria herself is brusque and unfriendly. The NP (an Indian woman whose name I’ve forgotten) was judgmental and wouldn’t answer questions directly when I wanted specific answers. On one of my frist visits I told the Dr. I was interested in an IUD. She scared me out of getting one by saying «it’s gonna hurt.» I said, «I know, I’ve looked it up,» and she followed up with, «a LOT.» Turns out, after reading reviews here on Unilocal,one reviewer — Liz D. — claims her IUD was *Incorrectly inserted* by Dr. Betancourt. Makes sense to me now why she might just not want to do one on me.
Do yourself a favor and find another doctor.

Dr. Betancourt and her nurse practitioner were fine, and I would return to see them However, I am looking for someone else because her billing department is extremely unprofessional and unhelpful. Unfortunately, to see her I have to deal with them, and it’s not worth it.

It will never be a great experience for me to go to see an obgyn. I wish I never need to go. However, Dr. Betancourt was good enough. I can’t be enthusiastic about an obgyn, so I will not rave. But her mannerism was good. She was informative. And she was quick, so I was able to get out of that uncomfortable table very quickly. I only go for my annual exam, so I can’t speak for her care for pregnant ladies. The only gripe that I have about my visit today was that I had to wait 45 minutes to see her. But despite that, I would still go back to see her.

Dr. Betancourt was very unapproachable, and never seemed to have time for any of my questions etc. She also has a heavy hand when doing routine checkups, so unless you like to be roughed up during your PAP (I bled every time) find a different doctor.
I had my (first) IUD put in by her, and it was the worst experience of my life. She messed up the first insertion, and had to do it a second time — I think she said «sorry» once, but had a very non-​apologetic tone about the whole situation … as if I was the one inconveniencing her. I was in so much pain that I had to ask her for a few minutes to pull myself together before we did it again — and as usual, I got very little reaction or concern from her. I believe she might have actually sighed, or rolled her eyes when I asked for a few minutes …
Never have I 1) been in so much pain 2) had medical professionals care so little about me. I wasn’t even offered Ibuprofen afterward, and was left in a room, alone, in the fetal position, barely able to move or talk because of the pain. I felt like I was going to vomit, and part of me wishes that I had; all over the room they left me in.
Thank GOD that I had my SO with me for that appointment. I was barely able to get myself dressed. He had to feed me some Advil (that I brought with me), gather my things up, pay my bill and practically carry me out of the office. I would have ended up passed out in a ditch if it wasn’t for him. None of the staff even asked me if I was okay.
That was my last visit to this doctor. I later found out (by my new doctor, via a sonogram) that my IUD was embedding itself into my uterus … the most likely cause? POOR INSERTION TECHNIQUES! (which also explains all the pain during my insertion)
This doctor doesn’t know what she’s doing. If you are looking to have an IUD placed, please do yourself a favor and stay far far away from her!

I have gone to see both Maria and the nurse practioner Rahela. Both are fantastic, and have a great bedside manner. They talk you through everything, which is really good when they’re tinkering with the engine underneath the hood. Last thing you want is someone jabbing their hands and tools in there with nothing but the awkward hum of an examining room between you too. Just like in sports, give me a play by play of what’s going on. They are both very patient & welcoming to your questions, even if you still have questions after the visit.
The wait is not long. I’ve been to the office twice and have waited at most 10 minutes. If you need a place where you can be comfortable, and have open dialogue with your doctor this is the place!

I have PCOS so I normally change Dr’s a lot. Because well I hate them all. :).
The nurse, receptionist and everyone else here has the best attitude. I especially appreciate the attention that is paid to me. I always feel like I’m their only patient and if I call about an issue with a medication they always call back to make sure everything is well.
I can’t say enough about how much I love this place.

Was recommended to this Dr through a friend and have been going for the last 4 years. The office is really conveniently located and although Dr. Betancourt is pretty busy (sometimes it can be a week before you can get in with her) she always have a great nurse practitioner you can see in the interim.
Minus one star since the girls at the desk sometimes have attitude. She got really annoyed with me regarding my prescription cause I asked her to help call it in (which is what the doctor told me to do) — she didn’t do it for days and was totally rude to me about it in the office.
I’ve only experienced that once so maybe she doesn’t even work there anymore — who knows.

excellent doctor with a great staff.
my old doctor was always rushing me through my appointment and would talk to me disrespectfully. i am so glad i switched.
maria betancourt is friendly, patient and easy to communicate with. i feel really comfortable in her care and i LOVE her receptionist, who is always so pleasant to talk to on the phone.
i’ve never had much of a wait once i showed up for my appointment. the practice is located near my office, so i schedule my visits during lunchtime and i’m in and out in about an hour – don’t even have to take any time off work!