Astoria Medical Group

Avoid this clinic at all costs. I never like to write a scathing review on places I visit however, I feel the need to warn anyone who is thinking of booking an appointment at Astoria Medical Group (I apologize to the medical receptionists in advance because they were actually pleasant).
I moved to Astoria a few months ago and was in need of an annual physical. I found a doctor via ZocDoc who received AMAZING reviews and decided to book the appointment. When I arrived at the clinic I was informed that the doctor I booked the appointment with no longer worked there and that the office never updated the site – «Yeah, we should probably fix that… you will be seeing Dr. Rubio… he’s a man… is that okay?»
Of course I just agreed to stay because I had traveled there on a Saturday morning and needed blood work done etc.
Just a little description of the interior. It is BEYOND outdated. It basically looks like a basement that hasn’t been thoroughly cleaned in ages. They didn’t even have tissues. What doctor’s office doesn’t have tissues?! That is just a tiny detail I couldn’t get over. Call me crazy.
I didn’t have to wait which was the only plus. The place was empty.
I go upstairs and am called in to the nurses office which is the area behind the glass partition where you sign in. The blood pressure machine was defective. I had to get on the scale FULLY CLOTHED all whilst wearing boots (I know not all doctor’s offices require you to disrobe before getting weighed but I am not used to not having to put a gown on. I mean, I wouldn’t be able to anyway because everyone in the lobby could see me).
I was told that she would subtract 2 – 3 pounds from the weight to account for my clothing (???).
When it was time to see the doctor she yelled for him: «DR. RUBIO ARE YOU READY?!»
Disclaimer: The nurse was very nice but… I couldn’t.
I walk into the Doctor’s office and the exam took maybe 10 minutes or at least it felt that way because he acted like he could care less and breezed through the exam. He acted like I was bothering him by being there and just kept criticizing the medications I was put on for my anxiety. He seriously wouldn’t let up. He also didn’t know that one of the medications I am on treats mood disorders. He kept correcting me, «No…I don’t know why you are on that… that medication is for seizures…». You can GOOGLE the medication and easily find out information. I was amazed. He also kept smirking and chuckling to himself whenever I said something. I don’t know if that is something he does ALL of the time but it really irked me.
Basically I saw Dr. Rubio to have my doctors back home questioned and criticized.
When they called me back about my blood work results I sent a SIGNED release form requesting that my records me sent to me because I WILL NEVER go there again. They refused to release my medical records and I had to call NUMEROUS times until they FINALLY agreed to send my doctor back home the lab results. It was like pulling teeth. It is ILLEGAL to hold medical records according to the state department employee I spoke to. I am sure they just wanted the co-​pay. They are running a FINE business there.
Just beware.

I waited here for 2 hours (sick as a dog) and they weren’t even busy! I will never go to this place again.

This place is pretty decent. I never have to wait very long to be seen. I go here for basic help with run of the mill things and I’ve found the staff helpful aside from one doctor who didn’t know that endometriosis isn’t diagnosed through a sonogram (he wasn’t a gynocologist, but still…). Anyway, the rest of the doctors I have seen here have been patient, helpful and thorough. They listen to my concerns and talk to me and explain things. I have no problem at all going here for medical care.

Truly, truly terrible. Dr. Marone is rude, condescending, consistently an hour behind schedule, and completely incompetent.
I went to her a few times over the course of about two years, and, now that I’ve switched doctors, I found out she missed something that she could have easily solved and should have instantly spotted.
Not only is she not good at her job, she is also not good at pretending to care. She is there for an hour and a half a day a few times a week. She once gave me a worksheet on high cholesterol that seemed to be from the 80s that was the exact same sheet aI aw an old man leave her office with right before me, and I was there to address a joint problem. She has been consistently checked out, but the last time I went, in October, was the last straw. Long story short, I was having the kind of pain that wakes you up several times a night for a few weeks. She sort of glanced at me before making a snap conclusion and sending me for tests. She refused to call me back about lab results for two weeks (this place expects you to make endless appointments so they can get endless copays from you) and, when I finally got her on the phone, she was very rude and told me the test results were negative and that I was «fine,» as if I was making up the problem and how dare I bother her. Almost in tears (frustration + major pain, which she could not be less sympathetic to), I asked her what I should do. She told me to get a COLONOSCOPY, which had nothing to do with my symptoms and, now that I know definitively what it was, had nothing to do with anything. I asked if I could pick up my lab results. She said she would send them down and then hung up on me.
I’m not kidding.
And then I get there and she has NOT sent it down. The receptionist has to call up, and then the receptionist started treating me like I was a huge pain in the ass for wanting to pick up my own medical records.
This place is bananas. Don’t go here if you have any self-​respect.

Office staff wasn’t anything special but Dr. Jaes and his nurse/​assistant were both very pleasant.

Dr. Palencia mailed me a letter saying to call and make an appointment ASAP because I had abnormal lab results and a possibly life threatening condition. I called right then and found out he was on vacation, and NO ONE at the office (nurse or other doctor) could tell me, so I’d have to wait 2 weeks to find out. Try being terrified of what could be wrong for 2 weeks! Then he refused to tell me over the phone because he wanted to get his $ 300 for an office visit to tell me 1 sentence of what was wrong. His staff was REALLY nasty on the phone and in person when I came in begging to know what was wrong with me. Then he had no appointments for 3 weeks. After waiting 3 weeks and being terrified of having cancer or aids or something, I found out I had a thyroid problem. Needless to say I didn’t go back. Went to a new doctor, and I DIDN’T EVEN HAVE A PROBLEM. The results he gave me were wrong. There is nothing wrong with me. Who knows what the hell he would have put me on unnecessarily if I went back.
DON’T GO HERE. Awful office staff, TERRIBLE bedside manner, and incorrect lab results, and overcharging… the list goes on. Worst experience of my life. Now I go to Bertie Bregman in the upper west, it’s worth the trip, theyre amazing!!!