Seaport Orthopedic Associates

A very poor initial visit to Seaport Orthopedic Associates, for me. I had a scheduled 2:00 PM appointment at Seaport Orthopedics, seeking an orthopedic consult. I had arrived early, as requested, to present my paperwork. After seeing a nurse, to give my history, I was left in an exam room for 75 minutes. No one offered any explanations, or checked in on me. I finally got dressed and asked the staff to” void” this visit, and not to charge me. I explained the situation to a manger before I left.
My friend, accompanying me, said that several other patients were called while I was in the exam room (unattended). She assumed that an exam was being provided to me. There were no emergency walk ins at the practice as far as we could see. Nothing, out of the ordinary, to justify the exorbitant wait of 75 minutes. i feel that I was just plain forgotten about.
Consider another ortho practice, before you make an initial visit to Seaport orthopedic Associates!

Worst doctor, admin staff and clinic I have been to. I got no responses to any of the questions sent to my doctor, Dr. Goldstein. He saw me all of 10 mins after waiting for a long time and I was charged an arm & a leg. The office sat on my short term disability paperwork and did nothing, I almost got fired. I had to have my company resend it to my Primary Care doctor to have it completed. My doctor tried getting hold of Dr. Goldstein as well for over a week and no response. So there is no professionalism either.
When you go to an Ortho surgeon, chances are you in a lot of pain as is. Don’t add onto your pain by going to this clinic or its doctors who are extremely unresponsive, irresponsible and not empathetic.
I have asked my doctor to refer me to another Ortho Surgeon.

I’m reading these reviews for the first time… I wonder why my experience was so different.
Two weeks ago I twisted my ankle and everyone at the ER thought it was broken because of the amount of swelling, bruising, and pain. X-​rays showed it wasn’t broken. They said to follow up with an orthopedist to see if it was a torn tendon or ligament. I found this place through my insurance.
I called and made an appointment for 5pm the following week. I put it in my calendar immediately as I always do. I texted my mom the date and time right away. And my friend was sitting next to me when I made the appointment. When I got there, they said my appointment was for 3. I said there’s no way I made it for that time, I never would go at that time. One receptionist kept telling me it was for 3 and she didn’t know what else to say. My friend told me he remembered me saying «5», they did mess up on their end, and that’s where the 1 star goes.
Due to the fact that I got there «late», nobody was there, and I waited maybe 10 minutes while the other receptionist went to see if Dr. Campbell would see me. After filling out paperwork I was brought into the room where I did wait a bit, but technically they were doing me a favor by seeing me after 5 even though the person I made the appointment with messed up the time. Someone came to take down my family history, meds I take, all that stuff. I don’t remember his name but he was nice and polite. Waited a bit more (an hour total since I walked in), and then I got to see Dr. Campbell.
He was so nice. I was really happy with everything. He was patient and checked out my ankle without rushing, told me what he thought was wrong (slightly torn ligament), and gave me an exercise to do at home. I really recommend him. On the way out, the receptionist who told me my appointment was at 3, was a little impatient, but I get it, I was a receptionist for a doctor too and you just want to go home. The man who came to take my information in the room earlier was there and he was still very patient and I was overall very happy with my experience.
Oh, and I read one comment where someone said that nobody noticed her when she walked in and it took an hour for them to realize… Guess what? You usually go up to the desk and tell the receptionist you’re there if it’s busy. Are you famous? How is anyone supposed to know who you are? Maybe in the small home town you grew up in everybody knew everybody. Other comments annoyed me too. I hate waiting too but it’s Manhattan.

Way too crowded, no room to sit in waiting area, front desk seems stressed and are not personable at all. Terrible phone system. I had to actually walk over to speak to someone. Pre-​approval was never submitted. Waited over 1 month, finally found out, pre-​approval wasn’t even necessary! Dr.‘s Friedman and Levinson however, were good.

Run from this place!!! They have stopped answering their phones doctors leave this practice. 2.5 weeks ago I ent in to fill out all the paperwork to get to my doctor he left this practice and they have not sent it to him. This place had me waiting two hours for an appt.

Avoid…
first time i was there, waited 1h OK that’s acceptable — sometimes people double book.
2^nd time, 2hours and my injection was done wrong as the pain is still there/​worse.
3^rd time, wanted a lunch time appointment since the injection was messed up, i was assured that i would be seen within 30 minutes. 45 minutes later, i walked out. the staff was unable to give any indication of how long this would take…

I have to give a one star review regrettably as Dr Bachar is wonderful, however, there are other staff members and policies that aren’t. This was my first time to a pain management Dr, and I filled out the requisite forms and took a urine test. A few days later I get a letter in the mail stating that they could not treat me. I went to the office to inquire about that as I assumed it was an obvious mistake, I disclosed that I am on percocet and an anxiety medication, additionally the percocet is for extreme back pain, an MRI revealed 3 out of place vertebrae in my back. I was told, well rather the entire office was told since the nurse couldn’t bother to sit up in his seat, let alone stand up and approach the counter to keep my medical information private, that alcohol showed up so I could not be treated. Now, I am over 21 and alcohol stays in your urine up to 80 hours, so no, I didn’t show up drunk of course. Upon my scheduled appt with Dr Bachar I asked if I really was not going to get the help that I need, and she confirmed that although I had no idea and that was my initial visit that she couldn’t help me due to the policies of Seaport. Ignorance of policy while not yet even a patient made no difference. So, effectively, rather than recognize that I had no idea of their policy and am an adult that imbibed in a couple of drinks a few days before my first appt, Seaport policy effectively is forcing me to buy the painkillers I need on the street while waiting a month and half for an appt with another pain management facility.
THANKS SEAPORT, WAY TO KEEP THE HIPPOCRATIC OATH!

This place is an absolute joke. DO NOT GO HERE.
Upon entrance to the office, I was basically ignored for over 30 minutes while the front desk staff messed around inappropriately/​unprofessionally with each other and on their cellphones, I was there for an hour before even being seen; red flag #1.
I finally saw Dr. Brown and he flat out told me that a lot of times doctors aren’t able to help patients because they «simply don’t know» what the issue is. Red flag #2, i should have walked out, but I was desperate. I appreciate his transparency, but that isn’t exactly what you want to hear, or maybe he could have said it in a less blunt manner. I’ve had an inflammation in my lower disk area since last January and the problem still persists. After MRI’s and X-ray’s, Dr. Brown basically told me that he doesn’t see any real issues… yet when my physical therapist read the report he was deeply concerned about Dr. Browns response since i clearly had a bulge, hence my persistent discomfort. Dr. Brown suggested that the only option, since PT didn’t help, would be to see an inject specialist for a steroid injection. This meant I would have to pay for additional consultation plus injection visits to a different doctor. The fact that I had to pay for an entirely new doctor IN THEIR OFFICE to read my short diagnosis and say «ok i will need to do a blahblah shot» really pissed me off. Why couldn’t Dr. Brown talk to the injection specialist and tell her what I was coming in for/​show her the results instead of making me pay for another consultation??? Not to mention the amount of time I would be waiting in between, in pain.
The medical industry is just filled with a bunch of money grubbing asshole and this one is at the top of the list… exploiting people in pain.

If I can give this place negative stars I would. Here is my experience: I made an appointment to see Dr. Brown 2 weeks ago for chronic back pain and leg pain that I have been suffering through for years. I was told that if I wanted to save time I could print and fill out all of the necessary paper work ahead of time, that way I would be seen promptly at 11 am. I explained when I made my appointment that this would be my lunch hour and I would need to be in and out within 1 hour, I was reassured that this would be no problem, and the appointment may not even last that long if I came prepared. And so I did, I showed up to my appointment on time, promptly at 11 am. As this was my lunch hour, I allocated 1 hour of my work day for the initial visit.
Upon arrival I stood at the reception desk, it was about 10 minutes before my presence was even acknowledged after I had signed in and about another 10 minutes before someone took the paper work and my insurance card from my hands. There where 2 receptionists that seemed overwhelmed, neither was courteous or all that professional. There were several other staff member that where walking around, it seemed like they could have helped with the over flow but had an air of «this isn’t my job» about them. I was told that the Doctor would be able to see me in 10 minutes after waiting for a half hour. After 10 minutes had passed it was clear to me that respecting people’s time was of zero concern to this office. I asked for my paper work back and headed back to work.
I wouldn’t recommend going here unless you have half a day to kill and have no problem with a rude staff that apparently doesn’t understand how to make appointments for there patients.

You can’t make people wait two hours after their appointment time. Horrible scheduling. They shouldn’t take more people than they can handle. No matter what the patient suffers. Nobody wants to wait two hours for rushed service. I’m actually still here waiting. The clock is ticking. I have no idea how good the Dr is but so far it has been horrible slow service. I am going back soon so i will be able to edit this review. I am really hoping it goes better… my back is killing me!!!
Update i saw the Dr. today and had a very fast smooth appointment on his day off. Def made up for the last time i was there. It does seem like everyone who goes there seems to wait a while. The care is good and the Dr is very good but the wait time is brutal.
Update 2. I have been through two epidural injections that were unsuccessful with Dr. Au She was very professional and the procedure was relatively painless. if you are having injections with her i would be very confident. However it did not work for me.
Overall i can say as time goes on, my experience here has been getting much better. I now have surgery scheduled with Dr. Goldstein. Hopefully that will solve my back pain once and for all. I will update this again. If you have time on your hands to get good care then this is a good place.
UPDATE: It’s been about 4 months since my surgery and I am feeling much much better. I have to give it up for Dr. Goldstein, he made my quality of life 75% better. If you have back surgery with this guy you can go in feeling confident. For a few days your sore and a few weeks your still a little ginger but after that with just a little physical therapy you can lead a normal pain free life. The only downfall is they are very busy and everything takes long periods of time but my advice is be patient and go here because they are very good. I heard NYU is buying the practice but good ol Dr. Goldstein will be there with his magic hands. Good luck to everyone who has been suffering out there I feel your pain or I felt before and now I don’t thanks to this place!

Truly appalling front desk service. I had a MRI imaging performed. I have received not one call from the doctor since that time in a week and a half. I have left four voicemails for him with zero return call. The receptionist who answered my call today was beyond rude. She was dismissive and interrupted constantly. She had no sympathy for the fact I did not have my results and the doctor had not called it back. She acted like it was my fault.
Moreover, they made my last appointment incorrectly under someone else who had the same last name. When I told them that I had not made an appointment for a post-​op appointment as I had not had surgery, they argued with me and said yes I did. Um… I think Id know if I had surgery.

Dr. Levinson was extremely attentive, personable and knowledgable. I can get very nervous during certain testing and he and his assistant worked with me, made me feel comfortable, and we’re very patient when I needed it most.

Worst experience I’ve ever had trying to see a specialist. I never did.
Their front office apparently does not get email or voice mails.
Can’t speak for the doctors who seem very well qualified. But the experience I had made me seriously consider staying away.

I read the excellent reviews on this site and called to get an appointment for my chronic back pain. I had a recent flair up and was in so much pain it was hard to go to work. I called and made an appointment for a Monday afternoon. Since I had to leave work early for this, I came into the office in my back brace with my MRI as this office had requested. I got a call less than two hours before my appointment informing me Dr. Goldstein had «decided to leave early.» I was very frustrated, but decided to give it another shot.
I called to make another appointment. After being put on hold for 10 minutes I hung up and called again only to receive a rude response from the receptionist who then asked me to repeat my request that she’d supposedly been helping with in the 10 minutes I’d been on hold.
I made an 8 a.m. appointment because I had to start work at 9 a.m. and their latest appointments are at 4:30 p.m. The doctor didn’t even come into my room until after 9:15 a.m. The doctor seemed rushed and I had to fill him in on all the things I’d told the nurse who was supposed to be writing notes down for him. He then told me he couldn’t do anything for me and prescribed a physical therapist. So unprofessional and a complete waste of time.

Dr. Levinson is one of the best doctors I have ever encountered, he is very very patient, and makes your test less pain.
Great doctor!

Wow, Dr. Friedman is one of the best doctors I have ever encountered. Great doctor, explains everything and is very knowledgeable and interested in the patient’s condition. Also provided papers to take home with information about the condition and a summary of the visit, symptoms, and treatment. Top notch! Rest of the staff was also great… receptionist, nurse, x-​ray technician. I would very highly recommend this place and Dr. Friedman.

Dr. Friedman is one of the best doctors I have ever been to. He took the time out to see me on a day he wasn’t supposed to be there and was already late and overbooked. The staff was amazing with the scheduling as well.
For an orthopaedic surgeon to not recommend surgery goes against what pretty much everyone I spoke to told me. He looked at everything and gave me a non-​surgical route, which I appreciated.
Also, the guy is just pretty rad in general, 5 stars.

My major complaint here is the wait time. I have been here a couple of times mostly because of the location’s proximity to my work. Each time I waited for an hour. I asked once why they overbook and they told me they put at least 3 – 4 patients in each 15 minute time slot. I think that’s ridiculous.
I will be going elsewhere next time but just wanted to get the word out. If you go here, be prepared to wait. And you may just get your 5 minutes with the doctor after that.
Sad.

Minus two stars for poor secretarial/​scheduling service. When you leave me to sit for an hour after my apppointment time, and give me poor service to boot, you have already lost my respect as an establishment. Completely unacceptable.
On the plus side, my Dr., Dr. Levinson, seems very honest. He didn’t make me take a bevy of tests — he told me he thought I had a sprain and could do MRIs and nerve tests, but based on my situation to wait it out. I really expected that, and his honesty is the reason I’d go back.

This review is for Dr. Friedman at SOA. He is incredible. He has fixed both my knee (bruised the bone in a biking accident) and surgically fixed my shoulder.
Years ago I injured my shoulder and saw an orthopedic outside of the city. There I was misdiagnosed with a rotator cuff injury and believed that was my ailment for five years. After seeing Dr. Friedman for my knee injury, I mentioned my shoulder and how I’ve been suffering for five years. He ordered a series of tests showing that I did not in fact have a rotator cuff injury and that instead the labrum in my shoulder socket was torn. It turns out I had been dislocating my shoulder for more than five years. Being super experienced w/​shoulders, he knew exactly what to do.
My shoulder surgery was in December 2010 and I’m still healing. Already, since the surgery, I have more range of motion than I’ve had for the past 5 years. Plus, Dr. Friedman and his staff have been so helpful staying in contact with me and helping me through the ordeal. His bedside manner is spot on and he’s probably the first doctor I’ve ever had that makes me feel completely comfortable.
I thoroughly recommend SOA (specifically Dr. Friedman) to anyone looking for an incredible orthopedic surgeon.