Jia J.
Yelp
(To VH, my negative review is not a direct counter to your good experience or that of others, but an independent summary of my own experience - so I hope you are not upset!)
When I got set up on Oxford Health at my new job, I had to name a PCP (primary care physician) prior to even having one in the New York City area. So I went onto the extensive website and did a search for all PCPs participating in my network. Overwhelmed by the options, I narrowed down the search to Canal Street and surrounding areas, since it was halfway between work and home and I'd also had a very good experience with a nephrologist in an office near that area. So based on these silly criteria, I suppose I was kind of asking for it.
It first began when I stated that I wanted a physical exam (basically just to get a waiver signed for a board diving class) PLUS bloodwork and all the good stuff for ladies' health. They told me that I instead had to make an appointment with a gynecologist and change that person to my insurance plan. Confused, confirmed over and over that this was what I had to do, and that I was also receiving a PHYSICAL from a physician on from the same doctor during the same appointment. All three or four operators I seemed to have spoken with by this point replied in the affirmative on all counts.
What happened prior to my visit was that Oxford got back to me saying that I (obviously) couldn't have a gyno as a PCP. So, I left the PCP as the original physician but showed up to my appointment, figuring that at least I could get my waiver signed and my pap smeared (sorry).
At 9 a.m., the dreary ground floor waiting room was chock full of elderly and/or generally sick and/or disadvantaged looking Chinese people. I was the only non-Chinese person there, and so everyone assumed I was Chinese and began approaching me with deluges of Chinese until I had to assert that I had no idea what they were saying. Even after it was generally understood that I was not a Chinese speaker, it was hard to communicate. Somehow, I got the medical assistant to help me print out a copy of the diving waiver (which I'd stupidly forgotten at my office). She then led me to an open office directly across from a disgruntled man staring in from the waiting room. There, a woman began lecturing me about sex education and asked if I needed any condoms.
I stopped her in her tracks and said that I was thirty, etc. etc., and that I was just there to maintain my health, and even if I was in need of prophylactics, I didn't see the necessity of a sex health lecture in order to obtain these services. A part of me knew I was being touchy and that the intentions were good, but it was just a gratuitous experience.
The medical assistant/student observed all the procedures of the female doctor, which were rushed and rougher than I'd experienced anywhere else...aka it HURT and she didn't care. I was then dismissed without a prescription I needed, and stupidly forgot to ask about it because I was so busy trying to get my basic health waiver signed by anyone (since I'd arrived there under the impression that a physician was also going to give me a once-over).
It turned out that all the general physicians in the entire building are housed under the same business, which means that you cannot see more than one practitioner in a day (something about insurance billing policies). I went street and flashed a bill, saying I'd pay out of pocket just to have someone confirm that I'm not falling apart and that I can jump off a board into water.
In the end, I stalked out because I was getting way late for work, and I realized that the receptionists', assistants', and nurses' attention was actually not leading to getting what I needed.
A week later, I got several phonecalls saying they had to talk to me about my test results. It was difficult to get back to anyone who could say anything. Of course, my results were normal. For weeks later, I got random residual phonecalls asking if I need an appointment with a primary physician, or telling me my results were in.
I would recommend other community health centers before letting anyone else know that this one exists. Oxford should also mention on its website that this center and its practitioners truly seem specialized to serve the Chinese community. And that's wonderful, but those seeking healthcare should know what they're getting into when designating who their local physicians and gynos are to be.
