Valerie Wells, MD

Do not go to this doctor. I’ve tried to contact her 6 times in the past month through her messaging system and via phone. Each time her receptionist tells me that she will call me back and I still have yet to hear from her. So incredibly unprofessional.

Really thankful I found Dr. Wells. She has a great bedside manner and is positive and competent. I feel confident in the care i receive because it’s clear she is clinically sound. About all the negative office reviews, well, I disagree. I think the office does a good job at screening the patients. It’s a private practice, so it needs to be clear that insurance or patient can pay before time of appt/​procedure. Patient portal online is so great – I can see all my labwork and diagnostics in real time and dr and I can have a written exchange. Office staff are courteous and do their job. I have never had to wait more than 15 minutes. So my experience is not at all like some of the one star reviews. I think Wells is top rate.

Dr Wells is ok but her staff, is totally incompetent! I called as my insurance had changed and was assured by them that she took my insurances. Upon arrival I presented my insurance cards to the front desk and said are you sure she takes the insurance I have and they said yes.
Approximately two weeks following my appointment I got a bill in full for my appointment. And a follow up phone call from the office manager as I had not yet paid (which to date I’ve not). After my telling her how angery I was over the staff whom obviously don’t know what their doing, she said either pay or she would turn over the bill to collection agency which she did and the collection agency has added 40 dollars to the bill for late fee. I’ve never delt with such an incompetent doctors office.

Incompetent, unresponsive office staff — I’ve been seeing Dr. Wells for three years and wasted hours on the phone sorting out mistakes in scheduling, prescriptions, billing. They’ve charged me for missed appointments I never scheduled. It took 5 phone calls and 6 days to get a response for new prescriptions. Extremely frustrating and serious setback when such incompetence interferes with your healthcare.
Dr. Wells is a lovely, attentive, and caring doctor. I was disappointed to move on at the fault of her staff.

The people working in this doctor’s office are not only rude but completely incompetent. It is normal to sit in the waiting room at least one hour. Nevertheless, rude office staff never killed anyone; this gynecologist, however, routinely prescribes medications that can, indeed, prove fatal – or, at the very least, earn her big bucks performing otherwise-​avoidable surgeries. After prescribing medication that caused me to develop cancer, she immediately abandoned me, never again answering any of my calls or portal requests for help. I had been her patient for more than ten years. As of Jan. 1, 2015, she stopped accepting any health insurance – another dead giveaway of her motivation for practicing medicine: GREED. Physicians like Dr. Wells should not be permitted to practice medicine. You would be insane to pay out of pocket for this type of medical «care.» She is currently under investigation by the New York State Medical Board. Her license should be revoked so that she cannot endanger the lives of any other women.

I have been seeing your Wells for about 4 years.
The office staff was very rude when I had my appointment this year.
Dr. Wells had given me a thorough exam in previous years. This year she spent about five minutes with me.
When I called her office, they keptme on hold for a half hour. I asked for a voice mail so that I could leave a message. They replied there is no voice mail. When I called again, they were so rude that I gave up. I did not receive ay call back.

Tried to make an appointment, the receptionist is rude, offensive, and unprofessional! If that is the reception, I certainly do not want to have to physically come to this place of business, because who knows what you will have to deal with before even seeing the doctor.

Forget even making an appointment here! I called to inquire about a first-​time appointment and the secretaries (I won’t even call them administrative assistants) put me on hold for over 10 minutes EVERY TIME I called! I tried calling at different times of day, to avoid catching them during their lunch breaks, to no avail. Sad times.

I LOVE dr. Wells. I have been seeing her for several years. (Five, I think. Maybe 6.) And she has always been the most helpful, knowledgeable, and caring, in addition to being patient and never condescending when I am paranoid or just plain concerned about something. Her staff has never been anything less than sweet to me. Sometimes the wait is annoying, but very rarely. (And it’s usually because she got stuck in the hospital with another patient!) Her online portal is really easy to use and SUPER convenient.
Look, nobody enjoys going to the ob-​gyn but Dr. Wells makes it considerably less stressful. I sing her praises to all my friends. And even though the office is in the UES and I live in crown heights, she is DEFINITELY worth the trek.

I had my first visit with Dr. Wells last February. Contrary to some of the reviews posted here, I found the office receptionists to be cordial and pleasant. I’m not sure if there were any recent changes, but I was quite pleased with the whole process from start to finish. I also made my appointment during the lunch hour, which was the recommended time for someone like me who didn’t want to wait for hours to see a doctor. And it was relatively on point! I only waited 15 minutes or so.
Now, I was only going in for an annual check up so many of the questions were general, but I thought Dr. Wells was quite thorough in terms of asking about family history and personal health issues. She had a wonderful bedside manner, so I wasn’t phased at all throughout the examination.
All in all, an efficient but comfortable and friendly environment! Dr. Wells’ office even has a web portal so you can view your test results online, rather than call the office or have a follow-​up appointment if the results are normal.

As an update, the new doctor was finally able to continue with treatment after I called Dr. Wells’ office and yelled at the receptionist for giving me the run around for weeks– and I am not a yeller. I have a kind disposition, like to see the good in people and am very patient and mellow by nature. The receptionist always told me, «Dr. Wells is aware of the situation. She has a lot of patients. She will call you back.» She never called me back once, and I’ll be damned if I was going to spend another co-​pay just to see her to get some basic follow up information. Something in me snapped and I just let them have it. I stormed out of my office at work and went uptown to Mt. Sanai Hospital to get the reports myself. Then I called my new doctor’s office (Dr. Kanayama) to let them know I finally have the reports. The receptionist told me Dr. Wells’ office just faxed in the correct document– what unnerving timing! And it’s a shame I had to yell threats for them to finally take action! Then the receptionist at my new doctor’s office said, «Here, would you like to speak to Dr. Kanayama?» Within a moment, he was on the phone with me, taking time to explain and help me understand my lab results and more, and we together discussed the next steps. Now why couldn’t Dr. Wells do something so kind as this? She takes on too many patients and is spread too thin to be effective!
Oh and by the way, after an ultra sound with my new doctor, he discovered that as a result of the surgery Dr. Wells performed on me (using a laser during laparoscopy which actually splatters bits of the endo onto surrounding tissue, shrinks the endo and causes the ligaments surrounding it to tighten and bind the organs together), my uterus was now tilted backward 130 degrees and to the left 30 degrees, bound up and smashed into my left ovary. According to my new doctor, once the uterus is tilted like this, it may or may not fully assume its original, normal position. Bravo Dr. Wells. Bravo.

She has the RUDEST staff I’ve ever come across anywhere in New York. What’s particularly troubling about it is that Dr. Wells witnesses the behavior, but does nothing. I cannot imagine why anyone would use Valerie Wells when she allows her staff to ignore, snap at, and condescend to patients — and this includes her clueless nurses. The doctor and staff treat patients (also known as customers) dismissively. Seriously, there are so many great doctors in our city, why bother with Valerie Wells?

Dr. Wells used to be my gynecologist. She was fine and I would have stayed had it not been for the horrible attitudes of her administrative staff. As said by other reviewers, it was unbelievable how rude they were to me.
As someone in the sexual health care field, I know how sensitive going to the gynecologist can be– whether or not one has concerns. Imagine my shock when I was given smirks and eye rolls when I asked if Dr. Wells would be able to see me soon after waiting almost two hours and was about to miss another important doctors appointment.
I decided to ignore it and went back a while later due to an experience that led me to want to get comprehensive STI testing. Again, long wait and rude staff. They told me to call for my results in a week. When I called, they said they did not have them and to check back in a couple of days. I called back as requested and was told that the results had come in from the lab and that Dr. Wells would call me back by the end of the day. She did not.
In my concern, I called back the next day, a Friday, and they repeated that she would call me back before the end of the day. She didn’t! It was then the weekend, and they were closed. On Monday, I called again and was told, snidely, the same thing. Hours passed, and, realizing that the office would close soon, I called again and said that I wanted my results. The receptionist laughed rudely and said «um, is this Sophia again? Are you REALLY still calling?» I told her that I was trying to be proactive about my health, and that it was quite inappropriate for her to be treating a patient that way. It was only then that I was put on the phone with Dr. Wells to get my results.
So, in short, I found a new doctor. It’s NOT okay to be treated that way, by anyone, and… I understand that doctors run behind schedule but over an hour? you can decide how appropriate that is.

Dr. Wells is terrific: caring, competent, and efficient. I wish the same could be said for her receptionist. If I had only to interact with Dr. Wells, I’d rate her practice 5 stars, but unfortunately, administrative interactions really do matter. I’ve put up with this receptionist for several years, but our latest interaction was the final straw.
When dealing with sensitive issues of health or billing, it’s important to be able to communicate with and get answers from a thinking, feeling, logical person — you can’t get that from talking to a robot. It must be hard to get good office staff, as Dr. Wells has evidently had this problem before (judging from earlier reviews).
I’ll be looking for a new GYN.

Dr. Wells is the absolute best OB/​GYN I have ever had. Like several of the previous posts mentioned, she has this incredible way of making your appointment super quick but you leave feeling like you had the opportunity to ask as many questions as you would like and feel fully informed. The only reason that I did not give her 5 stars is that on most visits I have to wait 10 minutes or so past my appointment time… Other than that she is great and highly recommended!

I’ve been w/​Dr Wells for several years. She is great but like what everyone else mentioned, her office staff are horrible! It’s actually one of the reason I am considering switching to someone else. They make it impossible to get an apt, find out a test rest, resolve billing issues or simply even asking a Q.
Edit: I have gone back to Dr Wells once again now that she takes my insurance. SH’es seriously the best OB. The office staff had been improved too. Highly Recommend

I nearly had a heart attack on my follow up appointment when the nurse said, «So you’re pregnant, right?»
I almost FUCKING FAINTED.
When the doctor came in, I was still freaked out. However, Dr. Wells is very nice. She should just make sure that her nurses don’t scare the shit out of her patients with misinformation.
Also, the lady who takes care of her billing is completely spacey. I had to call her back literally 12 times about my bill because she kept forgetting to submit it to my insurance.

Just went again for the second time for my yearly exam. The staff was very friendly… I am plus size and the nurse snuck me in a gown to fit me better and did not make a big deal of it. Quick, painless exam. Dr. Wells is a fantastic Dr!!!
Also-​had to have the office call in my birth control pills a few weeks ago… they took care of all the work for me and my RX was ready at the pharmacy in hours. Fantastic Dr. and staff.

Dr. Wells is fantastic! Highly recommend. I’ve been twice now and haven’t had to wait long at all— and I didn’t find the staff to be rude, as some other reviews mentioned. Dr. Wells is professional and incredibly friendly, and she somehow manages to get you in and out of there quickly while offering plenty of time for questions, etc.
It’s such a relief to find a good doctor and not have to shop around!

I don’t know if its because of all of the glowing reviews here, but my experience with Dr. Wells has gone significantly downhill. I will not be returning.
Dr. Wells is still as nice as ever but when I went for my yearly check-​up this year, her office was extremely over-​crowded, she didn’t meet with me in her office for a quick chat prior to the exam like she used to, and her new staff members seemed less competent and were DOWN-​RIGHT RUDE. One of the nurses made a bitchy comment about my weight, and I’m not over-​weight by any stretch of the definition.
A few weeks later, I went in to pick up a prescription, and I was charged for an office visit (even though I didn’t even go into an exam room or talk to Dr. Wells) AND after I mailed my payment in for the charges my insurance didn’t cover, they sent me ANOTHER bill for the exact same charges 3 months later. I had to mail them a copy of the check they cashed.
Overall, my experience was super-​disappointing. .I guess Dr. Wells is an example of something/​one that’s been ruined by Unilocal. (Or, else, ruined by Dr. Wells. Maybe if she cut down on the number of patients she saw a day and didn’t hire nurses/​office staff that have no manners whatsoever, things would still be good.)