CityMD East 86th Urgent Care - NYC

UPDATE: I have pneumonia thanks to CityMD. ORIGINAL POST: 3 weeks ago I saw PA Steven Kapinos at the UES 86th Street (Btwn 1st&2nd St) location. I am a doctor and I’m very well aware of my own health. I have a rheumatological condition for which I take an immunosuppressive medication, which compromises my immune system. It is rare for me to get sick. Infrequently (every 18 months or so) I’ll experience early symptoms that need to be treated promptly, to avoid chasing a worse condition later with no immune system. This is exactly the situation I am in right now. I always make it a point to clearly communicate, but the PA who I saw treated the test instead of the person. He actually told me he was going to prescribe antibiotics, but never did, and never even mentioned it in his notes. Now, one month later, I’m dealing with a more serious situation. He was arrogant and dismissive, and like I mentioned, short sighted treated the test instead of the person. In all fairness, this was the first bad experience I’ve ever had at CityMD. Unfortunately, the unprofessional behavior, dangerous incompetence, and the degree to which that treatment has impacted my health, was so unwarranted that I would never risk my health with them again. And, good luck trying to contact CityMD to talk to anyone who cares. They purposely designed an impossible system to discourage anyone from trying to resolve this internally. TL;DR: I WILL NEVER USE ANOTHER CITYMD, and will be changing my Primary Care doctor away from Summit Health, in order to completely avoid their system. I highly suggest you do too. Try Cornell or Mt. Sinai’s virtual urgent care from their app. My Sinai also has a 24 hour Urgent Care Clinic at 310 E 14th street. If you know a good, honest malpractice attorney I would appreciate it if you would make a recommendation of someone I could consider.

I visited a CityMD location on 86th Street at approximately 9:45 PM. The clinic’s posted closing time is 11:00 PM. After completing all intake forms and being assessed by the nurse, I was told that I was dehydrated and that the provider would administer IV hydration. However, when the doctor, Tatyana Polovenko Kallman, MD, entered the room, the first thing she said—before asking any questions about my condition or symptoms—was that she would not provide hydration. Her tone was dismissive and unprofessional. When I asked for an explanation, she stated that the clinic was closing at 11:00 PM and that IV hydration would take more than an hour. She then suggested that I go to the emergency room instead. I questioned why I had been accepted as a patient, assessed, and charged if the provider had already decided not to treat me. I was told I would be refunded, and the receptionist (Ashlyn) processed the refund. I then requested the doctor’s name and license number. The provider refused to provide her license number. I also asked for documentation stating that treatment was refused. I was told that I would be charged $50 for a note from the provider. Additionally, when I asked to speak directly with the provider, I was told I would need to be charged again to do so. This experience was unacceptable. I was evaluated by staff and led to believe I would receive treatment, only to be refused care without any meaningful medical assessment, apparently due to the provider wanting to leave before closing time. The lack of professionalism, transparency, and basic patient respect from both the provider and front desk staff is very concerning. I will be escalating this matter to CityMD headquarters, as well as to the New York State Department of Health, and will be sharing this experience in a public review so others are aware.