Healthcare Associates

I’ve been with BIDMC for years and now in done! I’m sick and tired of complaining to get my prescriptions filled and waiting weeks, and multiple calls from me and my pharmacy! The Er is the most unprofessional! I over heard the staff talking about patients weight. I was waiting with my family and over heard a nurse tell another nurse «I’ve got a 300pounder in there to straight catheterize you wanna help me? And the other response was I can smell it from here! NO!!» Outrageous! I complained o the hospital rep and her response was «They must have been joking» I told her the joke was on them because I told the family what was said and which two nurses said it. They were fuming and told the doctor, and I’m sure nothing happened. My Doctor (Michael Thane) is a nice guy, but never returns phone calls no matter how important, and It takes weeks to get test results back (for routine blood work). They used to be a good, but have steadily gone hill over the past 5+ years. I’m going to a smaller practice to get some individualized care, where I’m not just a number. AVOID THEM IF AT ALL POSSIBLE!

They are amazing! Everything about the practice is good. The way everything is super clean to the point where I am pretty sure you could eat off it. The people at the front desks are super nice and helpful. Doctors are not afraid to help you get what medical care you need. They are very good about sending you to specialists if needed. Treat you like you are human and not another number. I suggest this place to anyone who needs great medical care.

Not good. Avoid.
I don’t have many of the quibbles other people did about the frequency, for example, of being seen by a resident. (In the case you are treated by a resident, the attending doctor-​teacher, or «preceptor,» is right there, and it results often in more attentive care. Plus, it’s fun to be sick for education.)
No, the problem is the lackadaisical, rest-​on-​your-​laurels, Soviet-​style of treatment that is typical of all of BIDMC. Don’t get me wrong; of course, there are pockets of excellence. Sleep medicine doctor Robert J. Thomas is a rock star, and a NICE rock star. Paul Glazer for spinal surgery is also great. Harsha Gopal for ENT surgery is skilled and charismatic. But HCA is limp and uninspired. There are relatively few fabulous whiz-​bang attendings. Dr. Heffernan is excellent, but his practice is closed. Dr. Rafael Campo, though kind of a twerp as a person, is an excellent physician, especially (I hear) for HIV medicine.
After my good doctor left for greener pastures a year ago, I was assigned to a brand-​new attending. That’s usually a good sign; young MD’s fresh out of residency are usually up on everything. But this guy didn’t know that beta-​blockers caused exacerbation of psoriasis. I taught him about that. He confused an acute dystonic reaction I had with something else called akathisia (which error the BIDMC ED made as well, but the BIDMC ED is a chamber of horrors.) And when I asked him to please complete a prior authorization request for me to get brand-​name nasal steroid spray, which does work better for my schnozz than generic triamcinolone spray, he put me off, put me off, and then told me to get my ENT to do it, because «they listen to specialists more.» Bull. You just didn’t want to complete the forms, Doctor.
A final vignette: Once, I was seen by doctor not usually my physician. The conversation went like this:
Her: Do you smoke?
Me: No.
Her: Then why do I smell it all over you? I’m pregnant – I can smell everything! The smoke is in your clothes and in your hair!
Me: Because my roommate smokes. I hate it, actually.
Her: Oh.
Get the idea? The only good thing about this place is that the food in the cafeteria is excellent.
Myself, I’m leaving for the Brigham. Why I stayed at the BI for fifteen years I do not know.

My experience here has varied a lot however overall I would rate them below par. If ACO or rather any sort of accountability is made mandatory, Healthcare Associates would be out of business pretty soon.
The PatientSite portal is indeed a joke and I have had very similar experiences like Allison mentioned. Even lab tests results are not communicated promptly and I needed to follow up multiple times.
I have contacted the Patient Relations many times to communicate about the issues. I wonder if anyone actually reads or responds back. It is quite saddening to experience this at one of the best hospitals in the country. I hope there is better care coordination and patients are given much more importance at BIDMC HCA. I wouldn’t recommend the practice to any new patients.

I’ve been going to HCA for over 10 years now. There’s obviously a reason I still keep going since I now live in RI and have to drive into Boston to be seen.
The PCP’s I’ve had there have all been great. Granted, I’ve now been through 3 of them, because the previous 2 moved out of state to someplace a bit more affordable to live (can’t say I blame them!). But each time, the doctor has told me herself that she was leaving and why, and told me about the doctor who would be taking my case.
The doctors are all thorough, and really take the time to answer all of your questions. The nurses are generally very nice and helpful. When you call and are sick, there are times when you see other doctors or nurse practitioners in the practice, and in over 10 years, I have only had 1 dr who I really didn’t care for; the rest were helpful, kind, and put me at ease.
Two times especially come to mind: one, several years ago, in which I was having a particularly bad reaction to a medication (not an allergy, just from side effects), and the doctor actually gave me his pager number to call if he didn’t get back to me within 2 hours. He wanted to be sure I got put on the right medication. He called me back within 1 hour, and the medication he changed me to was perfect!
The second was 2 years ago, when I went in with the worst headache of my life. The resident I saw and the supervising fellow told me that I needed to go to the ER. For a variety of reasons, I totally lost it– the doctor actually called over to the ER and told them about what was going on and why I was upset and told them to get me right in. They did, and the ER staff were wonderful to me (but that’s another review).
Overall– if you need a new PCP and are in the Boston area, I cannot recommend HCA enough.

After moving to the city and having some very bad experiences with relying on my school’s health office, I ended up coming to Beth Israel. I came looking for a decent primary care doctor. What I got was above and beyond my expectations.
Maybe I’ve just had really bad luck with doctors all these years, but my new doctors at HCA have been fabulous; where other doctors have treated me as if I don’t know my own body and cannot make wise decisions on my own, the doctors at HCA have been respective and understanding, listening to me and addressing my concerns. Where other doctors have been dismissive, the doctors at Beth Israel have actually given a damn and done their best to help me.

Either I’m missing something, or my experience was just vastly different from everyone else that’s reviewed HCA, because my time there was less than par.
Every time I went for an appointment, I was seen by a resident. I’m totally fine with that, but they have absolutely NO policy in place for when the resident completes their program and moves on. In other words, when the doctor leaves BI, HCA neither informs you nor assigns you a new doctor. This becomes extremely problematic when, let’s say, your pharmacist is trying to reach him/​her and they don’t respond.
(Side note: if you are squeamish about being seen by a resident, I def would not recommend this place. Because it’s a teaching hospital, it’s a revolving door for residents. At my last, ahem, «lady» exam, it was clear that it was the resident’s first time — he had to be supervised the whole time by another doctor, and as a result, the entire process was a little slower than usual. So, if you’re cool with that, as I was, then rock on. But be forewarned).
Their online communication portal is a joke. I’ve tried to use it a few times to no avail. The turnaround time is way too long to be useful, and again, if they have 100 million ways of contacting me, why can’t they alert me to the simplest information (dr has left the organization, due for a prescription renewal, due for a yearly check-​up). To be honest, it seems as though dentists have a much better handle on this!
Once there for appointments everything was relatively fine (unlike others who’ve reviewed, I’ve waited upwards of 20 – 30 minutes for my «scheduled» appointment). The nurses and staff are all friendly, and yes, the location is fairly convenient. But man, do they fail at the «in-​between» stuff. I’d recommend a private practice over HCA to anyone looking.

HCA rocks. I’ve been seeing my PCP there for 5 or 6 years, now, and she’s fabulous. Although I occasionally have to wait a bit, I’m fine with that because I know that she will spend as much time with me as I need when it’s my turn to see her.
When she’s been on maternity leave, or when I’ve been ill and needed a last minute appointment, I’ve been able to see other doctors and NPs in the practice, and all of them have been great. My PCP is super queer-​friendly, as well. So, anyone in the lgbt community who may not want/​be able to go to Fenway: HCA is another great option!

Best experience I’ve had in a primary care doctors offices. The staff was efficient and competent. The offices are pleasant. Dr. Levenson was friendly and patient and took the time to address all my concerns.

I went to BIDMC when I was first expecting 14+ yrs ago. I was so taken care that I decided at that time any other children I would later have would be born here. They really are top notch and no matter who I have seen here for whatever issue, I have always felt I am recieving the best possible care. After 3 children (all born at BIDMC) I decided when I needed major surgery I would not even think about going anywhere else. My doctor is part of there network so it made the set up very easy. They truly are the best…

After my experience at Dr. Viola’s office (see updated review), I was on the lookout for a new PCP. This was especially important, since I have asthma and allergies and need to be hooked up with a provider who can re-​authorize my prescriptions regularly.
I tried a few different hospital provider referral services to try to find something that was in a more central location. MGH wasn’t accepting any new patients and Brigham & Women’s offices were all too far away for me (JP, Brighton, etc.). I went to Beth Israel during my health scare last year and was impressed with their service, so I decided that I’d use the provider referral service to find a new doctor. Lo and behold, there were doctors accepting new patients, and the location wasn’t a killer for me. I requested a female PCP to try something different, since all of my general providers in the past have been male.
The HCA suite is in the Shapiro Building, right as you enter the building. The receptionists have always been super-​nice and accommodating, and don’t announce your business to the rest of the waiting room. A few times, I’ve even seen a guy coming around with a little basket of cookies and crackers for people in the waiting room. Score!
I’ve only seen Dr. O’Donnell a couple of times, but she’s very friendly and professional. I saw Dr. Meyer as well once, when Dr. O’Donnell was not in (I think she was on maternity leave) and was equally impressed.
Even though this is on the opposite side of the river for me, it’s still convenient because I work near Northeastern, so it’s a 5 – 10 minute T ride (or a 15 – 20 minute walk in the warmer months) and it’s very easy for me to get there from work.
So far I’ve been very happy with my experience at HCA, and I feel confident that my health care needs will be met here.

If you are new to town and need a regular physician or are unhappy with your current one go here. This place is top notch, prefessional, takes almost every insurance known to man, and is open early in the morning so you can go before work. Beth Israel Deaconess is one of the best hospitals in the country and this doctors’ practice has access to all its resources as well as the Harvard Medical School.

I switched to BIDMC since my original hospital was out of town and have been very satisfied with Healthcare Associates. It’s in walking distance (5 minutes) from the Longwood stop on the D line.
I agree completely with Natasha A on her comments.