Marino Center For Integrative Health

I have been a patient at the Marino Center for over 20 years. The quality of care has experienced a gradual decline. The only reason for me to return has been to see Chiropractor, Dr. Maalouf upon occasion. I have MS which has progressed, leaving me dependent on a wheelchair and/​or mobility scooter. The Marino Center does NOT have an electronic door at the entrance, nor do physicians have exam tables that can lower to accommodate an individual with disabilities. Although I have brought up this issue with practitioners, administrators, AND the manager SEVERAL times, nothing has been done to change what appears to be a direct violation of ADA Laws. This is especially SHAMEFUL for a facility that markets itself as providing patient-​centered and «integrative» health care.

Saw Dr. Miyashita a few weeks ago. The whole experience was not good. The receptionists were disengaged /​seemingly annoyed. The doctor himself was condescending, detached, and at times rude. I received no follow-​up besides my test results. He said if nothing came back from standard tests, he would be entirely unwilling to dig any deeper and that I should learn to «live better with (health complaint #1 and #2) in my life». This place is really subpar.

This review is just for Dr. Maalouf, the chiropractor. For years, starting when I was about 22, I had near-​constant pain in my back and no idea how to fix it. I tried yoga, strength training to make my back stronger, massage, stretching, foam rolling, you name it. Nothing worked for long and I had basically accepted that this pain was part of adult life. Finally one massage therapist suggested that I go to a chiropractor, and in particular Dr. Maalouf. I kind of wrote her off, but then soon after that someone at work was talking about how her chiropractor was a lifesaver and I mentioned that a massage therapist recommend one to me but I hadn’t gone. She said «YOU MUST GO!» So finally I did.
Ok, Dr. Maalouf is a miracle worker. It turns out I had some compressed vertebrae and a tilted pelvis. (thank you, office job.) He advised that this would be a multi-​appointment journey to correct this, and after about 6 sessions, the unthinkable happened — my pain was 100% gone. I almost cried when one day I realized halfway through the day that I hadn’t had ANY pain so far that day. This was several years ago, but I still think of him when I do a new physical activity without any pain and feel so grateful. I still do the PT exercises he gives me and maybe once a year or so if I start to feel a twinge I get a quick adjustment and I’m good.
I wrote this review in hopes that I can save even one person from years of chronic muscle/​nerve pain. Dr. Maalouf is just the best.

This review is actually for the woman that does blood work.
I went in today for some blood work. After waiting for a while in the waiting area, I noticed that my parking meter was expiring in 10 minutes. I very politely asked «Excuse me, I am sorry to interrupt, I don’t meant to rush you but I was wondering if you could tell me how long it will be just so I know if I should add more money to the parking meter». To which the lady, very rudely, answered «We are not just hanging out here, talking, you know, we are not chatting, we are very busy»…WOW! I told her there was no need to be so rude, then left to add money to the parking meter.
When she called me in for blood work, I told her that my whole life no one ever drew blood from my right arm, you can’t see the veins there, it was always done on the left. She said” I like the right arm, I’m going to do it here” I thought in my head «Why? So you can hurt me because you are mad at me?» And that is EXACTLY what she DID!!! I never in my life experienced such pain, my arm still hurts like crazy all the way up to my shoulder, I can barely bend it!!! She then, of course, had to draw blood from the other arm and was very successful.
NEVER again will I let her touch me. I don’t care if she is the only one doing the blood work there. I’d rather inconvenience myself and go elsewhere than let people play their games with my body. This is so wrong, it’s beyond what words can truly express. She better hope and pray that I don’t get any complications from this, whatever she did to me. Because I will sue.

We’ve been going to the Marino Center for years, but I think we’re moving on. The Center has some decent practitioners but they are understaffed and poorly run. Sometimes you can’t even get anyone to answer the phone and my last few voicemails were ignored. My specialist’s assistant at Mt Auburn Hospital had a similar experience when I was sitting in her office the other day and she was calling as a medical provider in the same system. She couldn’t get anyone to answer the phone either.
Like the other reviewers we’ve had trouble with rude and indifferent staff, difficulty getting prescription refills even after calling and leaving messages on voicemail, prescriptions sent to an outdated mail order pharmacy and being refused with no word to us, requesting appointments for urgent matters and being told to wait a week. At one point about a year and a half ago after a series of bad experiences I sat down and wrote a letter to the director, telling him about my experiences and suggesting ways maybe it could be made better for their patients, I never heard back.
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At my last few appointments, including my annual physical, my primary care physician was brusque and impatient, and communication was difficult. When I asked about a test for ovarian cancer recently, she acted like she was insulted because I mentioned that my gynecologist and I had already discussed it a few years ago before he retired. Her email was brusque and unhelpful.
All of this seems to work against a holistic, patient-​centered approach to medical care.

The nurse practitioners here are great.
Unfortunately, the doctor that I have seen for the past several years has a terrible bedside manner and worse medical expertise. She does not listen to the patient, but just wants to put your symptoms into a box and get you quickly out of her hair. Many of the admin staff are also bordering on incompetent.
Marino Center has a nice message of «integrated care» but it’s a fantasy. Seek a doctor elsewhere; I will be doing so soon.

Cons:
Incompetent management and staff, resulting in waiting room chaos, multiple cancelled appointments, and lots and lots of wasted time and frustration. Go to Mount Auburn Hospital instead if you can.
In the lab waiting room area, they haven’t yet discovered the notion of a «waiting list» or «signup sheet». The technician simply walks into the hallway and says «next», and the patients in the waiting room have to decide between themselves who gets to go next. Since no one really knows who’s next — having assumed it’s the staff’s job to keep track via the signup — the more polite and timid will likely end up missing their turn several times. The typically hour-​long wait is tense and anxious.
And here’s a concrete personal experience: after anxiously waiting for more than an hour for my turn at the lab, immediately upon entering the examination room, someone walked in and said: «Sorry, but we have to call it quits for the day; the technician has been feeling unwell all morning» and made us all leave: me and those after me who had waited for up to an hour. It apparently did not occur to anyone to make this decision earlier and tell us in the waiting room.
Pros:
Doctor Joshi is intelligent, professional and kind. She deserves to be somewhere with less incompetent co-​workers.

I’ve been seeing Dr. Eliezer since I got kicked off my parents insurance and decided that I needed to be an adult and get my own PCP about 3 years ago. I’d actually just been going to the CVS Minute Clinic to take care of colds and general ailments, then the NP recommended the Marino Center. I was drawn to it because I love that it has a holistic side to it.
Contrary to the other posters here, I like the staff, they’ve always been friendly and responsive to me. Dr. Eliezer has always been nothing but attentive and thorough, she remembers what’s going on in my life and asks about what’s going on with them every visit, and she always sends me an email explaining what my lab results mean and how I can fix anything that seems off.
That said, I’m young and healthy, barring (psychiatrist diagnosed) ADHD and chronic insomnia. My first few visits we discussed different ways to manage my energy levels and insomnia without medicine. When my insomnia became increasingly unmanageable, she had no problems with trial-​and-​error to find a med that worked and understood when some of those meds became less effective through a built tolerance. And when I told her I was going back to school and studying all the science subjects I avoided my first time around, she didn’t balk at prescribing me a med to help with that.
I can’t say that I can relate to the «urgent care» aspect, because when I get sick, I’m still loyal to the Minute Clinic, a half hour drive when I feel like death feels like a week, so I’ll just stick to Marino for my primary needs and something closer to home for my emergency needs.

Unfortunately, I am beyond disappointed with this place. I have sent email, called and spoke to the assistant and still no call back from doctor and its been a month. After a month, I’m still waiting for my blood pressure medication to be changed. I’ve checked the patient portal to check on the immunizations and test from 6 months ago and there’s nothing. I need to find a doctor who practices integrative medicine and takes their job seriously

Have sent a couple messages with no response. Now after reading reviews not sure I want one?
I would love to find an integrative health professional, and really need medical help. Was hoping this was my answer… anyone of you bad reviewers have luck elsewhere?

Update 7÷2÷2014: If you want medical treatment, go look for a better doctor. I wish I could maintain the 4 star rating for Deb Morrill alone, but Dr. Eliezer has been the *worst* doctor I have ever seen in my life. Not only does she not refill prescriptions, but she is so wacky, that she expects alternative therapies to heal everything. Unfortunately, this only exacerbated my problems. Want to see a medically negligent doctor? Go to the Marino Center, where you’ll find Caren Eliezer, D.O. I have a feeling she’s shaved off at least five years from my life span. Such an awful doctor. The absolute worst. You’d have to be bleeding out for her to use western medicine practices to help you. Sorry, not letting it get there. There’s a reason it’s so easy to book an appointment with her– great doctors take forever to see new patients; terrible ones have more availability than bars have customers on weekends. I *DO NOT* recommend Dr. Eliezer or the Marino Center to anyone.

I am patient from Caren Eliezer. She is okey as doctor. I am upset because after being so sick, in the emergency room during a weekend, I called the Marino center on Monday morning and the nurse said dr eliezer is booked and cannot see you until Friday. I went to see another doctor. They don’t care if you are in pain or very sick. Besides the rude and hostile administrative staff does not let you talk to the doctor. I am planning to change my primary doctor and my husband too. The least I expect from my doctor is to see me when I am seriously ill. I don’t want to deal with insensitive people when I am sick and vulnerable.

I was seen at the Marino Center for years. I hadn’t had any problems with them and then suddenly I had some very bad experiences. Firstly, I saw a nutritionist there who was rude and unprofessional. She snapped at me when I asked her a question.
Then, I needed an MRI and my doctor’s assistant did not ask my Dr in time for her referral sheet so my insurance would pay. Well, then my Dr goes on vacation and the assistant was going to ask other Drs but never did. Finally, when I went to the MRI appt, at the last minute, they faxed the referral. When I went to see the Dr later that year, the Dr and her assistant were cool to me, like it was my fault.
Another bad time with this assistant: I didn’t feel well, and she never told my doctor that I had called to come in. The assistant said, «Oh, just go lay down, and take aspirin.» I went to the ER that evening and they diagnosed me with Mono. Then, my doctor received the fax from the hospital and she then called me. But, it took a fax from the hospital to get my Dr to call me, when she should have seen me privately in her office.
The supporting staff at Marino is awful. They’re lazy and uninterested in the patients.

I’ve gotten good care here over the years, but since they changed their billing… forget it. I need to find a new provider. Mt. Auburn hospital does their billing now, and my most recent visits (a physical, plus some diagnostics) have resulted in a series of separate bills. After getting off the phone with my insurance company about what looks to me like double billing, I figure I might as well suck it up and pay the $ 20. This time. Because I’m finding a new doctor!

It’s refreshing and validating to read the other negative reviews of this business, because I realize now that I am far from alone in my own experience. I like the center’s commitment to integrative health, but although I appreciate the medical treatment, I don’t appreciate the way I’ve been treated as a person – which undermines the «integrative health» philosophy completely.
Other reviewers have noted a few things already:
Condescending? Check.
Arrogant? Check.
Clueless? Check.
I’d also like to add Disrespectful and Callous to the list.
I am speaking specifically of Dr. Pugh, but I am wary now of the other doctors at the center – and now that I’ve decided I can no longer tolerate Pugh’s condescending, arrogant, clueless, disrespectful, callous attitude, I feel like giving up on Marino entirely, even though I think it’s the only place I’ve gone for routine medical care for nearly 20 years.

Update-​Still like Marino’s PCP’s but, had to see Marino Center’s physical therapists for a few months. Unfortunately, I had a bad experience. I’m not going to go into too many details and trash anyone specific, but I want to note the major negatives.
(like most insurance funded PTs) They only work on the area you complained about to begin with. My guess is that if you push for it, you can get a new referral and evaluation if you have connecting pain (eg. I came in for my neck and shoulders but I developed lower back pain) but they won’t suggest it.
The practice is set up so that an experienced PT does your evaluation and then a PTA does the actual physical therapy. This might work if your PTA was being supervised or held to do what the experienced PT recommended, but it’s not what happened. So honestly, I just got worse until I went somewhere else.
The time your PTA spends with you is very brief. If I could estimate I would say 15 minutes of active time. The other time is spent sandwiched between patients waiting in the PT room or icing.
So for PT– If you have a PPO plan, go to Backstage PT instead. If not, go somewhere other than Marino.

The administrative staff are much friendlier since the renovation. I am still very happy with Dr. Wiessberg– he is attentive and caring.

I have been hugely disappointed with the Marino Center. Like many people I know in the Boston area, I have been struggling to find a primary care physician who meets my needs.
Before I get to my experiences with their doctors, I would like to point out that their front desk staff is unusually rude, even by rude front desk staff standards. Having been to many doctors offices and having BEEN a front desk staff member, it would be difficult to overstate the hostility on display.
It’s also worth noting that their phone system is completely unpredictable. I needed to reschedule an appointment once due to a work conflict. I called and called and called during office hours, and the phone rang, and rang, and rang. There was no way to leave a message! To their credit, they didn’t charge me for a missed appointment.
When I originally called the Marino Center looking for a new primary care doctor, they recommended an appointment with Dr. Eliezer. To keep this simple, I will point out three things that left me very uncomfortable:
1) She implied that I was lying about my medical history because a hospital stay from a few years ago didn’t appear in my chart. I explained that my last PCP had never bothered to collect those records, and that this was one of the reasons I had switched doctors, and I just got a raised-​eyebrow face from her. There is absolutely no benefit to me in inventing that particular history (reason to ask for meds, etc.), so I was bewildered that she would respond in that manner.
2) She had me do my own lab test for a fairly routine problem. As in, she handed me the swab, and sent me to the ladies room. I was not a happy camper when my non-​existent medical training resulted in a negative test, and in turn, her refusal to prescribe the necessary medicine. Again, this is fairly routine lady-​stuff that typically doesn’t even require a lab test to treat. I was super annoyed that I then needed to find the time for another appointment to get the medicine I needed.
3) During my initial appointment, I explained that I suffer from PTSD, and that I have been in treatment for several years. The withering look I got in response to that should have been my cue to stand up and walk out. Why didn’t I do so? Because my stupid health insurance policy only pays for one new patient visit per year, and these can cost hundreds of dollars, so I felt stuck enduring the quite obvious disdain from a person who was presumably there to help me. And this place touts itself as embracing all forms of medicine?!?
I recently needed to see a doctor again. I spoke to the nurse who answered the phone and explained that I would be more comfortable being set up with a new PCP. She helped me make an appointment with a different doctor. When I arrived for that appointment, that doctor had NO IDEA that I had requested to meet with her as my new PCP. She responded that she didn’t know anything about that, and left it at that. Talk about awkward. It wasn’t a huge loss, though, as she dismissed my symptoms out of hand. No questions about other symptoms, my health habits (diet, sleep, stress, etc.), previous related history, etc. She essentially wasted my time and money. I’m left to search for a new doctor — at a different practice! — to help me address my symptoms.
ETA: Having just read the other reviews, I have to note: I was also told to meditate! This was in response to my mentioning that my PTSD might be contributing to my rather troubling cognitive symptoms. Apropos of nothing, the doctor scribbled «artofliv​ing​.org» on a piece of paper and handed it to me. Um, thanks Dr. Oprah? Seriously, though. I had told her I had been in treatment for PTSD for YEARS, so meditation wasn’t exactly a ground-​breaking suggestion. I explained that I have tried and am unfortunately unable to meditate, as it triggers panic attacks, to which she replied that I should just try doing it with my eyes open. UMMM. I tried again to explain that, while it is a reasonable suggestion, it’s something that is very difficult for me, regardless of my eyes being open or closed, and that it was something I wished I was capable of. She then defensively replied that meditation is difficult for everybody. Seriously? How about, «Oh, I suppose I had never considered that someone with PTSD might not be able to do this thing that seems like it would be quite helpful. I’ll keep that in mind the next time I go to recommend this to a person struggling with PTSD.» But that would require dropping the know-​it-​all arrogance.

Over the past couple of years I have moved many times, and had several insurance changes. This was my last doctor (who I just left because I moved an hour away and it is just no longer convenient.)
Deb Morril NP is amazing. She is very professional and friendly, and goes to leaps and bounds to make you feel comfortable.
Dr. Shashoua is ok. He was better than my last doctor (see review of Davis Sq family Practice) but I would not as strongly recommend him as Deb. I know doctors see a lot of people, but he could at least familiarize himself with his patients a little bit through his notes so it is not like meeting him for the first time at every visit.
Overall, the receptionists were always nice, and getting a general appointment was fine — except — they do cancel frequently I was supposed to go in for a procedure which they made it sound like it was something I needed done «right away!» but then proceeded to cancel it 7 times. so I finally went in 9 months after I was supposed to (And I have a relatively flexible schedule.) — Had I written this review a while ago while I was livid about this I would be giving much fewer stars, but I am over it and the service is good when you can get in.

I have had nothing but great experiences here.
I started seeing Dr. Emsbo a few months ago. She is smart, thorough, and really takes the time to talk through my problems. She has been one of the most proactive doctors I’ve had. She has brought up ideas or issues that other doctors have never bothered to test for. I don’t usually like doctors, but I am sticking with her. She is actually leaving the practice in a few months, and I am planning on following her to her new practice as well.
I have also used their in-​house laboratory a few times. They did a great job with all my blood work and various tests. It was never too crowded– no complaints there.
I have also being seeing their nutritionist– she knows her stuff, even if she isn’t quite as friendly as the other doctors. She is putting me on a non-​dairy diet (turns out I’m intolerant to dairy), and she has been a great resource throughout the process.
I also love their online services– you can email your doctors, request a referral online, your doctor emails you lab results, etc. As someone who MUCH prefers email over picking up the phone, this has been very convenient for me. I’ve had no problem getting timely referrals or orders written.
Overall, this is the only place I have found so far in Boston with reliable, intelligent doctors who spend time with you. I’m sure the experiences vary with which doctors you see, but I haven’t had any issues with the doctors or staff.