Allan C. Halpern, MD

Concerned Doctor

I have been seeing Dr. Halpern for over 15 years, since my first melanoma diagnosis in 1998. I have always found him to be extremely professional and his staff to be courteous and helpful. I highly recommend him.

After going going through the painful emotional and physical process of being diagnosed with melanoma, I was referred to Dr. Halpern by my surgeon as a dermatologist to follow me throughout the years. My first appointment with Dr. Halpern was by far the most horrific and unprofessional medical consultation I have ever experienced. He made my husband and I very uncomfortable, made very unprofessional comments, and had an ego that was outrageous. He actually made the statement that "he was the man" and if I chose not see him, I was making a huge mistake because he has to turn away at least 40 patients a day and I was lucky to even get an appointment with him. At the moment, I did not know how to react because I was shocked. My husband was in shock. He actually went as far to say that clearly "my marriage was troubled due to my having melanoma." Actually my husband was angry and shocked by the way he was treating us, and he also did not know how to react in the heat of the moment. … This all started because I started questioning some of his statements. I am an intelligent and well informed patient, I take what I learn from a doctor's opinion and I research beyond their opinion to decide my best medical options. I am a big believer we are our best health advocate. And quite honestly, dermatology is not brain surgery, if you are smart and willing to spend the time, you can understand your own diagnosis pretty easily. We later learned from former colleagues of Dr. Halpern's that he has a reputation of making patients uncomfortable and being very abrasive. No one speaks up about it because he also has this reputation of being a good dermatologist at Sloan Kettering. However, as I have learned, there are MANY GREAT dermatologists specializing in melanoma and you do not have to subject yourself to Dr. Halpern to receive excellent care. Find a much better derm who will treat you with respect and make you comfortable!! I highly advise against him! And to top it off, I recently received my chart at MSK and read Dr. Halpern's report on our appointment. I was further shocked to see that he blatantly LIED on my chart. I feel guilty about not speaking out more so other patients do not have the same experience. He should not be a representative of MSK and the doctors who are actually excellent. Good luck on your journey!