Herstik Ivan

I began going to Ivan Herstik about 4 years ago. The first appt he was 55 minutes late. When I told him I had been waiting 55 minutes past my appt time, he looked at me angrily and said «Do you want to leave?’ I was the one who apologized, but I had done nothing wrong. On subsequent appts he was always over 30 minutes late, usually 45. I can understand that doctors have emergencies, but this was consistent, with no apologies ever. The office would always tell me he was running on time. I switched to his assistant, also a podiatrist, about a month ago. Last week she could only see me at 10:30AM, and she had no other available times all week. I explained that I had an appt with my primary physician at 11AM the same day, and that my primary had no other appts available. My primary physician’s office is only a few blocks walk from the podiatrist office. I was told this was fine, since my appt was only for a 5-​minute check up. When I arrived at 10:30 I reminded the receptionist that I had to leave at 10:55, and the receptionist assured me that there was not problem at all. At 10:50 I called my primary, and her office said she had no other available appts. (My primary always sees me within 5 minutes of my appt time.) At 10:55 I asked the podiatrist’s receptionist about my appt. She advised me that the podiatrist’s assistant was all backed up. They couldn’t tell me this before? I cancelled my appt. I went back to the podiatrist yesterday. Miraculously, the assistant saw me 20 minutes after my apt time. I told her that their non-​apologetic continued lateness was no way to run an office. And that I already had a referral to another podiatrist office. I left. I would not recommend this podiatrist office under any circumstances. They have no respect or regard for the patient’s time. I should add that my insurance pays the office in entirety within 30 days, and I never have any outstanding bills.

They lost my lab sample (and said it was the lab that lost it) and 4 months later I had to call them to find this out. They offered to see me again for no co-​pay. No thanks. The place is a money mill, bustling, staff bordering on rude, and everything that presents to the patient comes across that it is money that matters.
The exam room doubled as a storage closet, with a wide open window to the street below in March. This is modern medicine?

Saw Dr Herstik for plantar fasciitis. It was a very quick session with him, and he asked if I like to have a cortisone injection to ease heel pain. I agreed. He then proceed to give me an ankle splint and instructions on how to use it. A few weeks later, I received a bill for the night splint for $ 94.06. Apparently the ankle splint was $ 250 and insurance only covered part of it. This wasn’t made known to me at all during consultation — that the splint would cost so much. In fact, it was just given to me. I won’t have a problem if the bill was for the cortisone injection since it was asked and I agreed to it. I called the office and the clerk was defensive and insisted that it is the patient’s responsibility to check his own plan before going. How would I know how much the splint cost since it was not made known to me in the first place? She hung up on me mid conversation when she could not get her way. Avoid at all cost.

I went to a different podiatrist 3 months after initially seeing Dr. Herstik and had an MRI ordered right away. The MRI discovered that I had several broken bones in my heel, and that I had a sprained ankle and tendonitis on top of that. I was put in the airboot for one more month. I now suspect that the shoddy care I received under Dr. Herstik has caused me to heal much more slowly. He ordered Physical therapy too early, my second podiatrist stated. It’s been 8 months since I broke my foot, and it still hurts me. ;-(

After a sewing needle broke off deep in my foot (we live in an old loft that used to be a book bindery) i first went to a local clinic and then the emergency room, neither of which felt comfortable removing the needle due to the fact that it was near a key blood vessel. The emergency room referred me to Dr. Herstik and I set up an appointment for the following day. He saw me for a consult and wanted to set up an in office surgery to remove the needle in 2 days, I asked if he could do it sooner and after checking his schedule he started the procedure 30 minutes after I showed up in the office.
He was surprisingly fast (the needle was out in 10 min) and even cracked a few jokes to break the tension… something about finding a «needle“in a haystack. perfect.
Medical procedures can be a little intimidating and some will need a little hand holding. They are very busy here, don’t come expecting too much coddling. Have your questions ready and the staff will be more than happy to answer.
An important note: I do not have health insurance. I informed him of this and he worked out a deal for me to pay upfront. It was VERY reasonable and my follow up was free. Its up to his discretion but I found the whole experience very human. We take care of each other.
Recommended. No nonsense doctor.

They run a busy practice here so not a lot of hand holding. I am ok with that. I was recommended by my dermatologist for toe nail fungus. Instead of just zapping me with a laser (best price in the City), Dr Herstik actually did the right thing and sent away for culture. I am doctor so appreciate these simple and correct steps. Low and behold I did not need the laser just oral Meds! Yes, he is in and out, yes the staff could be more friendly, but hey he did the right thing. I do nor need new friends, just the right treatment. I highly recommend.

To be fair, this is my first experience with a podiatrist. I just came in with some pain in my foot and to get fitted for orthotics. Dr. Herstik, didn’t do X-​rays but truthfully, he didn’t need to. He correctly diagnosed the problem with my foot. As for the orthotics, the processor and pricing is pretty standard and I use mine everyday so no complaints there. As for the staff’s demeanor, they are certainly busy but I never had such bad experiences with them. They seemed fine to me.

I was in the office twice, about 10 min each. He did a scan with a hand-​held device and said I had bone spurs, gave me a cortisone shot and a prescription. He gave me a splint to immobilize and a boot, $ 100 which wasn’t covered and I paid. They keep billing me.
Pain persisted and I went to another podiatrist who did an X-​ray and an MRI and there was a hairline fracture and tears in two tendons. Definitely recommend avoiding.

I appreciate that the doctor saw me as a last minute emergency. However here is my complaint:
1. the doctor did not test me properly and misdiagnosed me
2. charged me $ 125 to place a bandaid on my foot and
3. the office manager, Elsa was terribly rude and extremely defensive. When I inquired what the $ 125 charge was for, she replied with: «The doctor is very busy. He didn’t have to see you last minute. You should be appreciative.» That still does not answer my question.
Avoid at all cost.

Completely impersonal, frank and simply rude. I run a medical practice, which also happens to use ZocDoc, and I unsay and the importance of great customer service. After disclosing my past experiences, along with the fact that I’d had a radiograph of my foot exposed within the past month, with no significant findings, he then proceeded to place my foot on the X-​ray unit– WITH NO WARNING! He did not discuss any findings regarding the image, but proceeded to tell me that I need a cortisone shot. He got the needle ready, without offering any topical anesthetic. I had to request the topical. The shot was extremely painful, I SCREAMED, and he showed no remorse. He then got up, told me it would hurt more tomorrow, and take NSAIDs with meals. I proceeded to get up, but could not put weight on my foot, or walk. I called him back towards the room, and explained my symptoms, he replied «I said it would hurt more tomorrow.” — WITH HIS MOUTH FULL OF FOOD! As I remained seated, his assistant told me he would have to clean the room while I sat there! I will Never return to this office!