Sonnenblick Deborah, MD

I’ve been seeing Dr. Sonnenblick for many years now. I find her thorough and very kind, and knows when you need a referral. A few days ago, i started having pain in my left side. it was hard to cough or breathe deeply. i called her office after hours (July 13, 2015), and I got her answering service. I explained my symptoms and told them I thought i bruised my ribs. Well, 10 mins later, I got a call from her at 8 pm! She said she wanted me to get some X-​rays. She asked me when i wanted to come in. I said, 9 am, but I didn’t know if she was available. She told me not to worry, that she would call the «front desk» for me and squeeze me in. I went to see her today, (July 14), and she gave me X-​rays. Turns out i broke my rib number 9. We couldn’t figure why, but she wrote me a prescription for two painkillers and noticed that i had a cough that hurt like heck. She also sent in a prescription for my chest congestion. She also updated my charts with my new medications, questioned some old ones i don’t take any longer, and was just very awesome. Anyone who gives this doctor a 3-​star or below rating either isn’t giving her all of the information she needs or is just not with it themselves. This doctor is smart and caring, something rare in NYC.

I’ve been a patient of Dr. Sonnenblick for almost a decade. In the beginning, she was kind and attentive. Over the last 5 years however, she has gotten more and more frazzled, terse and distracted. I don’t think I’ve had a visit with her that hasn’t been interrupted by a phone call. In recent months, she resigned her practice downtown and failed to notify patients. This caused a huge snafu with a prescription I needed to have refilled. Thankfully Weil-​Cornell was willing to sort it out with me because they were aware her patients were left in a serious bind. They advised she would «probably» send out a letter to explain her resignation. This was over a month ago. No letter received to date. And now I need to go through the process of finding a new GP. All this said, I hope she’s OK. She always seemed like a deeply caring individual… when she was paying attention.

I can’t believe she has good reviews. I would love to give her NEGAVITE stars. This was the most unprofessional dr visit I have even encountered.
Brief rundown of my visit:
–I thought it was odd when I wasn’t asked why I was seeing her or was asked any
questions about my medical history.
–As I’m checking in another dr walks by saying «whatever, I’m going home.» Glad that they like working here.
–Vitals and check in went smoothly. NBD
–Dr. Sonneblick was charging her phone in the room. This was not a big deal until she stopped my consultation to ANSWER HER CELL PHONE. I let it go because dr. have families and it could have been an emergency.
–She then walks into the room as I’m getting my blood draw and proceeds to answer her cell phone AGAIN on SPEAKERPHONE to talk to her nanny and disucss whenther her child wanted to go on a playdate or stay home. Are you F*****g kidding me?
Not only do I have to look for another Dr. but I’m tempted to ask for a refund for my co-​pay since it was a complete waste of time. NEVER will I go to this unprofessional, condescending Dr. who seems to have her job.

Update: I’ve been back twice since then and want to raise the stars from 1 to 3. The office still is not good but clearly has improved to the point where you don’t count on them screwing something up, as it used to be. I think all of the negative word from all around really got the management to work on the office’s faults and it shows.
Dr. Sonnenblick I still feel good about and would give her 4 stars except the office still is a negative compared to other offices so docking a star seems right. But on the last two appointments I did think no doctor I’ve been to would have done a better job. That she doesn’t posses a magic wand she can wave shouldn’t be reason to penalize her, and after all, when we’re in the Dr’s office we usually feel like crap and frustrated before we come in, so it takes a bit of perspective. If the office stays on track and puts more of its issues behind it it’ll be four stars.

She is disorganized, frazzled and seems a bit off most of the time. I had started going to her years ago when she first moved into NY Downtown Hospital and she was terrific. Then I called her about something and she said she didn’t think I needed to come in, I wound up scheduling an appointment because I had been exposed to something contagious at work. When she saw me she started screaming at me that I was wasting her time, etc. I don’t know how she still practices medicine, at times she seems like she is in outer space. She has a terrible reputation in my neighborhood and has lost lots of Patients over the past few years. I even tried to lodge a formal complaint with the Hospital Administrator but it has fallen on deaf ears.

Love Dr. Sonnenblick. I have been with her for years. While her office is a bit disorganized, now that Weil Cornell has taken over the hospital from NYU, there is adjustment to be made. I love Dr. Sonnenblick as she is very understanding and thorough.
Her kindness makes her popular, which probably means she has a lot of paperwork to complete when she is not seeing patients.
I have always felt her care has been top notch.

Dr. Sonnenblick’s office is kind of disorganized and they seem to have a lot of phone problems but I blame that on the office manager.
That said, I think Dr. Sonnenblick is smart, pays attention and is thorough in her diagnosis, treatments and advise. And it’s not too hard to get appointments on relatively short notice — which is exactly what I want in a GP. If I have a hellish cold or need something looked at quickly, I don’t want to have to wait a week to get in to see my GP. And her nurse is nice. I’m quite satisfied.

I like Dr Sonnenblick because when I tell her something is wrong she addresses it right then. No coming back fro test if she can do it right there. She’s pretty laid back and like most Dr.‘s is straight to the point. I’ve been seeing her for about a year and I am going to stick with her. I have a few things coming up so depending on how that goes she may be 5 star worthy right now she’s a 3.

Dr Sonnenblick seemed uncomfortable and unable to have an informed conversation about my test results. The wait times at the clinic were often around an hour and Ms Sonnenblick seemed to lack the ability to offer comprehensive care, which could be potentially dangerous.
Dr Sonnenblick seemed to be stressed and frazzled and it was adversely and significantly affecting her ability to perform her role. Some of the other comments here are also concerning.
I have since changed doctors and received much more comprehensive and informed care.
Until substantial changes are made to the service that Dr Sonnenblick and the clinic provides, I would most definitely NOT recommend this doctor.

I was referred to Dr. Sonenblick by a friend and was shocked to experience such unprofessional bedside manner and treatment.
First, she told me to change into a paper gown and sit in a freezing cold room for about 25 minutes. She returned with a cup of tea purchased from a café, proclaiming that the room was so cold that she had to go out and get something to warm herself up. While I’m sitting there in a paper gown.
Throughout the appointment, she was uncommunicative and curt. She told me she was ordering blood work at 6pm to test my thyroid levels. I asked if she would test for vitamin deficiencies as well as she said yes and walked out.
The results showed elevated triglycerides and cholesterol, which I had no idea was being tested. If she had been honest, I would have declined the test, as already eating 3 meals that day would invalidate a test that is supposed to be done while fasting. She did not test for any vitamin deficiencies besides vitamin D.
I called to question the validity of the test and was told to come for a retest and was assured that the paperwork would be done to ensure that my insurance would not charge me for their negligence.
On the day of the retest, I fasted until my appointment at 11. I was not seen until I complained at 11:40. I made it clear that I would not consent to the test until I was sure that I would not be charged. The receptionist told me she cannot help me with billing questions, but that the nurse could. The nurse told me she could not help me, but that she would make sure it was taken care of. She drew the blood.
Around 12:30, still fasting, I finally was allowed to talk to someone in billing, who told me that I would be charged twice, no matter what, and that it was not an error but routine practice to do a lipid profile on non-​fasting patients. The procedure would be to do a valid retest while fasting if the numbers were elevated. Translation = they intentionally run unnecessary invalid tests so that they can call you back in and charge you for it to be done in the proper way.
I was told my only option was to accept the charges, after being assured by 3 different staff members that I would not be charged, or have them throw my blood in the garbage, which I did.
In the end, I wasted my whole morning, fasted to the point of nausea, lost blood, and was late for my 1pm class (after an 11am appointment), and still have no idea what the true levels are.
Hopefully next year, when my insurance will cover a physical, I will find a competent, honest doctor that cares more about my health than her income.

As an update, multiple test results and follow up visits could not diagnose my boyfriend. Six months later my boyfriend was still feeling sick and getting endless bills from every visit.
We decided to try a new doctor at NYU Langone. Got an appointment the day of on a Friday afternoon, she diagnosed him during the first visit, test results came back by Monday morning and he was feeling better within two weeks. Granted his symptoms did get more severe over 6 months so maybe she wasn’t completely incompetent. Or maybe if she had found the problem his condition wouldn’t have worsened.
Regardless, we already thought Dr Sonnenblick’s office was horrid but dealing with the new doctor’s pleasant receptionists, quick turnarounds for test results along with doctor’s comments made us realize how extremely shitty Dr Sonnenblick’s office is.

I’ve been a patient of Dr. Sonnenblick since at least 1999. She has been a valuable PCP and I enjoy having her as a doctor that asks intuitive questions, listens to my concerns and does not jump to over medicate. She’s always referred to great specialist as well.
I feel that I can rely on her to be aware of the latest trends in women’s health and be willing to guide me as I am getting older and new & exciting things are happening to my 40+ body.

I love Dr. Sonnenblick! She is efficient and caring. I truly feel like I am in good hands with her. Also, it’s never too difficult to get an appointment. Her office is very accommodating. I recommend her to friends who are looking for a new PCP just as I was recommended to her by a friend.

I’ve been Dr. Sonenblick’s patient for over 10 years. I truly love her! Even my husband goes to see her. She really cares about the both of us and our well being, which means so much. When I’m inside with her, I never feel like she has one foot out the door like some doctors do. She sits and listens fully engaged, like there are no other patients after me. She’s smart and always has the right answers. I always trust her opinions and decisions regarding my health. I highly recommend her.

I recently switched to Dr. Sonnenblick as my PCP and had my initial appointment with her. She was nice and attentive, listened to my concerns and told me that if I needed any tests or anything done she would refer me right away.
The only reason I give her 4 stars not 5 is that her office is really slow with follow up. She told me that she would give me results for my blood test within a week when it took her 2 and a half weeks, and I’m still waiting on a prescription that they were supposed to mail me a week ago. You have to be persistent and keep on calling her office for follow up, but in person she is an awesome doctor.

Debbie is GREAT! The best doctor i have had in a long time!

Dr. Sonenblick is a very good doctor, she spends time with her patients and will listen to a litany of complaints and pick out the one most important thing in that list. She also makes herself available last minute or over the phone for emergencies, which is awesome. She does cut to the chase, which I guess some people might see as a negative, but I prefer that to a doctor who circles around and around. The only downside is the office support could be better, but that’s not very surprising at Downtown.

Dr. Sonnenblick was by far the most compassionate doctor I have seen in a good 10 years! She was so sweet and understanding. I had blood work done and was a nervous wreck about getting the results and she knew this so she called me first thing, at 9am, with the results! I highly recommend her to anyone seeking a great primary care doc.

Dr. Sonnenblick was my PCP for many years, first when I was working in nearby Wall Street, then even when I moved to Midtown East, I’d still commute down in the middle of a workday to go see Dr. Sonnenblick.
She’s a good doctor, who knows her stuff, and is personable and easy to talk to. She’ll answer all your questions clearly but without making you feel dumb. Even more importantly, Dr. Sonnenblick takes the time to LISTEN. There’s never a question you can’t ask.
I also appreciated that she knew a lot about the various vaccines needed for travel to foreign countries, as I’ve been traveling quite a bit.
The greatest downer is that she works out of New York Hospital Downtown, which is always crowded, and appointments are always delayed. Worse, she doesn’t accept my new insurance (HIP), so I can’t continue with her. Poo.