Crystal Ray Medical PC

Caring. Skilled and top notch. Doesn’t speak down to client Knowledge, skill and empathy are strong points. Front office management is sketchy.
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A good doctor who is concerned about his patients, and will do anything to help. What I don’t like is that you can have an appt and you still have to get there early to get seen. I get there before 8am and they don’t open until 8:30 and the doctor doesn’t get there until 9. And by then, it’s packed. It’s like you get an appt but it’s more like first come, first serve. But I’ve been going to him for a while, and he’s been very helpful to me, so I keep going just because of that. It’s the small sacrifice to get up early every week to go to him for treatment.

DO NOT GO HERE IF YOUR PLAN IS TO GET WELL.
I was in a minor fender bender. Went to see these doctors because they took NY State No Fault and the accident wasn’t my fault.
These people are ambulance chasers who have no interest in getting you well enough to get back to your life.
I was harassed about not having a lawyer. They actually had a lawyer call me about my «case.» The office manager took it upon herself to have a «sit down» with me to encourage (or force) me to get one. Me telling them I’m not interested in litigation, I’m interested in being able to squat without serious pain did nothing. They threatened to come after me for the bills if the insurance company didn’t pay. Then scheduled me for tests I probably didn’t need.
They sent me to a specialist about my knees, who decided after seeing my MRI that I needed to have surgery on both knees.
I went to a different doctor for a second opinion, and a third doctor that I’m actually seeing now, and neither thought surgery was necessary or would be of any benefit. In fact, both said that the injury to my right knee doesn’t even require surgery. It heals on it’s own.
Oddly enough, 98% of the time I went in for treatment (my MRI claims I have all kinds of injuries to my neck and back as well as my knees), all I got was a heating pad and stim machine on my knees, and some really really bad acupuncture. I could feel the needles.
A couple of times I got the stim machine/​heating pad combo on my back.
No exercise, no strengthening of the muscles around my injured knees. No attention to the other injuries I have.
There was also the series of «pain shots» administered by Dr. Cohen that didn’t work at all.
If your goal is to help them get rich off billing insurance companies then by all means, this is the place for you. If your goal is to get better and get back to your life, do yourself a favor and go somewhere else.
Never again.

Okay, so let me say there are a few reviews in one here. There’s the doc, there’s the physical therapists and there’s the reception staff.
I hurt my head. It was a long time ago, 2002. Passed out, landed on the wood floor on my forehead. Dead weight. Horrible concussion with post-​concussive syndrome– a lovely slaw of various ailments, headaches like angry gremlins clawing my skull, pains, sensitivities to light and motion, carnival ride dizziness. Took 8 months but I eventually got better. A few headaches and some dizziness every once in a while but I was pretty okay. Until this past November when, out of nowhere, the symptoms came back. Hard. Needed some real help. My doc wanted me to get an MRI and to see a neurologist. The headaches were bad bad bad. So I just needed to see someone to help and fast, faster than the neurologist my doc referred me to could see me. After searching Zoc Doc I found a couple neurologists, including Dr. Igor Cohen and Crystal Ray Medical. He had good reviews and when I called the office he was the only one able to see me the next day. I was hopeful. Mainly, I just wanted an MRI and I thought, mistakenly that he had the facilities to do it.
Dr. Cohen is kind of a textbook example of what people complain about when they have issues with American medicine (which is interesting since he’s Russian!) Basically, he seems overcommitted, as I know he’s also a doc at two other facilities so he takes no time to explain anything. He is very thorough and I feel like I’ve been prescribed a battery of tests that are helping to narrow down the possibilities. During one particularly uncomfortable test he played soothing Beatles music to distract me from the pain. So that was a nice touch. But he explains nothing. I’ve seen him twice and the first time he gave me a diagnosis of three different conditions that he thought had combined to cause my issues but didn’t slow down to detail what all this meant or what was happening in my body. When I asked him to explain he just ran through some surface synopsis and was in a hurry to move on. I had to ask the receptionist to write his diagnosis down so I could Google them. It’s my doctor’s job to explain, not Google. The last time I saw him he gave me that uncomfortable test, reviewed my MRI, ordered a second MRI then gave me a diagnosis and walked out of the room. I sat there for a moment, unsure if he was coming back or if I should follow him. But it turned out he was done with me and passed my file off to the receptionist to move on to his next patient. So I won’t be back to see him.
However, Crystal Medical also provides physical therapy, which Dr. Cohen prescribed as we’ve discovered that I have a pinched nerve in my neck, which has been contributing to my issues. Though I’ve had better, the physical therapists are fine. Nice folks who greet me warmly when I come in. The space where the therapies take place leaves a little to be desired, basically like a small emergency room exam area with gurneys curtained off. I mainly see one therapist, Cathy, who’s very sweet and always checks in to see how much pain I’m in and where. Though I do wish the therapists were less chatty with each other while working on me and their other patients. But the facility is often open till 9PM and you don’t need to make a regular appointment to see someone. Just come in the number of times you’re scheduled during the week at your convenience. I may change therapists but for the moment it’s okay and the treatments have been helping.
The receptionists are terrific. Very friendly, personable and accommodating. Great in helping to keep track of insurance crap and calling the companies when need be. They always call to remind me of appointments and upcoming tests. So the 3 stars should likely be 3 ¼, 1 for the doc and the rest for the therapists, space and receptionist.
It’s been 3 months and I’m still dealing with the symptoms though, on my own, I’ve found some herbal remedy for my headaches. I look forward to being free of these issues and finding a doctor who explains it all.