Alex Gonzaled has been my primary care physician for about three years. Recently, I had an infection as a result of face surgery, and Dr Gonzales went above and beyond educating me and using his knowledge of and influence in the medical system to get the care I needed the same day I saw him. more broadly dr gonzales and all the atrius staff with whom I've interacted have an incredible bedside manner. i consistantly leave my appointments at attrius better informed, well cared for and always happier than when I arrived. read more

Rude and unprofessional staff. Over charged both my insurance and me, dishonest business practice. When you bring your concerns to Mary, their specialist for customer service issues, you never hear back and when you do it is just her complaining about how busy she is. When you go higher you get told things that are blatantly untrue (easilly proven) and that your case will no longer be reviewed. My entire family went here for years and had 2 good doctors. One has retired, one books 2 years out, the rest of the organization doesnt seem to remember who their clients are or why they are doing what they do. Sadly, I would not recomend at all. read more

So grateful to have an a great doctor and great clinic. I have not felt this confident in medical in quite some time

Type of care: Internal medicine I love coming here to see my internal medicine doctor. The staff here are all super friendly, and it's in a great area of town (literally right off the Back Bay orange line). read more

Yesterday, I had to be rushed to the ER for kidney stones. I'm in severe pain and reached out to my pcp for pain meds. No one had the decency to return my call today. I called 3 times, and through crippling pain had to provide the same information multiple times. This is not compassionate care. I'm extremely disappointed in their lack of professionalism. They didn't even have the decency to simply provide a yes or no. Now I must go through the weekend without pain meds, and will possibly have to pay another fee to see urgent care. read more

Doctors and medical staff generally decent. The problem is the administrative staff and the pharmacy employees. They are rude, disrespectful, and incompetent. The pharmacist on duty gave me an attitude for forgetting to ask for needles to go with my Lantus pen. It took them all of 20 seconds to pick up a bag, check it out, and hand it to me. The administrative staff in the doctor's office I go to are unbelievably rude as well, and incompetent. They constantly mess up my appointments. I have enough on my plate. read more

Since my review 2 years ago, I've never been happier. My PCP is at the Copley office, and I've been to other offices if I cannot make my primary location due to a scheduling constraint. Either way, this office has been constantly consistent with their care, and have assisted me in the best way possible. All departments have been professional, and I couldn't be happier. Thank you!! read more

I've been seeing a PCP and several specialists at this practice for 3 years now, and unfortunately I can only characterize the practice as a whole as 'adequate.' I've seen 12 providers, and my treatment by them has been *highly* heterogeneous. The PCPs/internists I've seen for annual physicals and periodic minor health issues have all been among the worst I have ever encountered. They were rushed, inattentive, and often incompetent - in one case pushing medication I'd had a horrible reaction to. Obtaining necessary treatment and/or referrals often involved several rounds of calls and intensive advocacy for my needs. On one occasion, I called to make a same-day appointment for symptoms of a kidney blockage and was offered an appointment to see my doctor 2 weeks out. I would characterize the administrative apparatus of this practice as disorganized, inefficient, and cumbersome to deal with. It is not unusual to wait on hold for 10-20 minutes when trying to make routine appointments. The 'my health' website *appears* functional, but is clearly not actually relied on by the practice. If you try to do most anything on it (order Rx refills, schedule follow-up visits, ask a question about your bill, request a referral), you'll just receive a follow up voicemail during the business day, which (if you work a 9-5 job like 95% of their clients) will inevitably lead to a volley of phone-tag in which you will wait on hold through endless phone menus as you listen to upbeat recorded messages inviting you to 'save time' by using the 'convenient online appointment scheduling system.' Inexplicably, many (most?) of their PCP's who are 'accepting new patients' will not have an available slot for 6 months. None of the PCP's I've seen so far are worth this kind of wait. I just called to make an annual physical and found that my current PCP's RN was even scheduling 8 weeks out! But, the PCPs are gatekeepers for the specialists, who *also* have lengthy wait times (I've waited 4-7 months). So if you need timely specialty care - you can count on lots of waiting. For surgeries, the wait can come out close to a year . I have a number of chronic health conditions so I've had quite a bit of experience being shuttled to different practitioners across Harvard Vanguard's numerous locations. Of the specialists I've seen, 2-3 were among the most competent and comprehensive I've interacted with. Another - a surgical specialist - was one of the worst I've ever encountered. He was extremely confident that, given the complexity of my case, *assured me in no uncertain terms* that the surgery I needed was categorically impossible. Thank god I have a PPO and walked across the street to get a second opinion at one of Boston's premier hospitals (I can't imagine what a headache it would have been to try to get such a referral from one of Harvard Vanguard's doctors - probably impossible). With only a 1 month wait time, I was able to see a world expert in my condition. I had the surgery last month with no complications and am on track to make a full recovery! I'd say this practice has lost sight of its identity. Organizationally, it's stuck between trying to be an 'accessible family doctor's office' and 'comprehensive one-stop specialist hub.' It doesn't perform either function particularly well. read more

Everyone that I have seen have been professional, kind and understanding! The staff really does care and the location is super convenient being right next to Back Bay station. I love it here! read more

I came home from my IUD Skyla Insertion apt. about 30 minutes ago and feel so compelled to write a raving review before I fall asleep hopped up on some Tramadol. I cannot do justice probably to what outstanding, clear, concise, and empathetic medical service I got today from Meghan (NP) and her team in the OBGYN dept at Harvard Vanguard. I arrived for a 10:30am apt to get the Skyla IUD. NORMALLY this requires a consult but Meghan was nice enough to hear my concerns and insert it same day. With a 15 dollar copay that sucker was put in, and now I don't need to have kids for 3 years thank God. The insertion was wonderfully executed even though I was in pain during it-- after they let me stay for 2 HOURS in the office to take Tramadol, have saltines, water, use the bathroom, rest, and make sure I was 100 percent ready to leave. At Planned Parenthood I know they would probably have to make people leave the room b.c they need the exam rooms but here I felt truly taken care of, and valued as a patient and that my concerns were real. Shannon was an amazing RN, as was the medical assistant, and other staff. From start to finish what normally is a painful, annoying visit (no one likes a random object put in their uterus) I went from being faint and almost passing out, to leaving feeling like I made one of the best decision of my adult life to prevent unplanned pregnancy. Thank you, Meghan-- i hope you are able to continue to do the great work you do even though our president is a psycho and ruining health care and wmoen's health in america. -Tamara Wyzanski read more

Look, I know there's a pandemic, but I could have died from straight up neglect, and am lucky I didn't. The records department LIED and said that they sent out my records to a lung doctor I'm trying to see over a week ago. I only just found out that they only now sent my records so I can finally see the doctor. I've been just shy of dying for weeks, and avoiding the ER, with severe lung problems, only able to breathe (barely) with anti-inflammatories. Had they been honest, I wouldn't have waited on them and wouldn't have taken so much risk. These people do NOT care if you live or die, they just want you off their back. Selfish horrible people work here. Update: A second worker there lied, saying they sent the information to my new doctors, and that there would be no charge to clear it. Turns out they hadn't sent it because there was a charge they didn't tell me about that was required to send my records. So, I've been in bed on the verge of death, unable to go to the doctors, still, for 10 weeks, because the majority of the workers here simply don't care. Go literally anywhere else, like Boston General. read more

I went to Atrius for a visit with dr.Tracy, which was referred from my Primary Care, waited for one hour after the appointment time, and then 20 min more in the room, a dr. Fefer showed up, saying that dr. Tracy couldn't come. (By the way, this guy will charge you a lot for just talking to you for 5 min). I went back in a week for exams and the appointment was moved without previously calling me, from 1pm to 3pm. So when I showed up at 1pm, I had to wait for 2 more hours, and call off my working appointments of the whole evening. Did I tell you they will charge you a lot, for writing down your name, and some small talk and give you no answer or help for your concerns? read more

The review is for an awesome lady called Lori at Medical Records/Release of Information Department. My dad has an important appointment coming up and we need the abstract as soon as possible. Lori was able to complete the request quickly and had already sent out the paper copy to the hospital. She gave a call back to see if she can fax us a copy in case the records do not make it on time. That's excellent service. Please give her employee of the month! read more

Ugh, downgrading to two stars. I had yet another issue having a prescription filled yesterday. Same deal -- nurse said she'd call in a refill, I went to CVS the next day, they never received a call. This was after I arrived at the office for a 3:20pm appointment, to be told that my appointment was actually at 3:40pm. (I *know* the receptionist said 3:20 on the phone.) And then I sat in the waiting room until 4:15. I am not impressed. Edited 11/17/08 - ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I just called to get the results of a pee test from last week (because god forbid someone should call *me* with the results) and the nurse cheerily informs me that I'm not pregnant. And while that's great, I 1) didn't go in for a pregnancy test and 2) was having my period that day, so no kidding I'm not pregnant. I have to cart my ass back over there this afternoon to fill another cup with pee so they can maybe run the *right* tests this time. Lovely. read more

It only gets worse with this place. My insurance company wants to switch my prescription to a mail order or I'll have to pay extra to pick it up at this location. I filled out the insurance company's form and they took it from there. A few weeks later I received notice that they were unable to contact my physician to confirm the transfer. I was forced to refill at the pharmacy. I went in with the notice from my insurance company and was sent to a receptionist who, after giving me an answer of that shouldn't happen, decided that it was declined because I had a current prescription with their in-house pharmacy. I was getting extremely frustrated. I needed that prescription filled in-house when the request went out since the process takes weeks, but because of that I can't get mail order. I went back to the pharmacy down the hall and said I needed to cancel that prescription (as suggested by the receptionist) so I could get mail order and not have to pay out of pocket (as required by my insurance). The pharmacist was incredibly rude and condescending to me, asking if I was physically capable of making a phone call to my "pharmacy of choice". "Do you think you can handle that? Can you do that? Are you sure?" I think I mastered that trick when I was a toddler, thanks. Nothing was resolved and I left with my skin crawling. I cannot stand Harvard Vanguard. read more

Worst experience ever.They have the meanest most unprofessional staff. I called before choosing my PCP and made sure I can get referral for a specific specialist. They told me they can! (big lie!!) but they need me to come visit with the PCP first. So I go ahead add that PCP to my insurance, register to be part of their (un efficient, unprofessional hospital) just to be told at the end of my visit that they would only refer me to drs in their hospital!! this was not a mystery to the hospital associate I talked with on the phone (unless she was completely incompetent with her responsibility to answer patients question). It is such a shame that great internal medicine drs work in such an unreliable untrustworthy hospital. I have a plantar fasciitis and most likely I am gonna get a per of custom made orthodics that would cost $450 and is not covered by insurance. This is a big investment and I rather have a chance to choose the specialist who would provide this for me. (certainly not the sport medicine dr they made an appointment with for me!) I would try my best to inform my friends and colleges about the faulty referral system in HVM. Why would you have to force people to see your specialist if they are not in need of some sort of in system referral to fill up their empty schedule. I think this speaks for the quality of the service you can expect from their specialist. read more

This place makes me bat-shit crazy. I am the anti-hypochondriac, like I would probably die of something before going to the doctor. However I force myself to go to the girly doctor once a year to get poked and prodded and also to get whatever prescriptions I need and then I get the hell out of there. Here's the deal, though - I've been going here for four years, and each year I have to change my PCP to some new doctor because the last one has quit, so every year I have to get naked for a new stranger. There are apparently good doctors there but you have to schedule appointments approx. 3 months in advance to be able to see them. So I went to see my new primary care physician this month, and we couldn't do everything in one appointment (not her fault) so I made an appointment to come back. Then someone called me and said that the doctor would be out that day but a nurse would be able to do everything I needed ("a nurse can do everything that a doctor can".... oohh really). Then the morning of they tried to cancel that appointment because someone called in sick (and I feel like I'm so far down the pecking order that there's no one left to see me except for the receptionist). So the doctor is now out of the country until February and I keep getting pushed around from one nurse to another to get this stupid crap finished once and for all. I feel a little bad for the one star rating, just because some of the individual doctors and nurses there are very nice. They just work in a big clusterfuck of a doctor's office, which I'm sure sucks for them as well. The receptionists aren't usually nice and some of the lab people aren't either... but hey, it's healthcare in the new millennium, it is what it is. Also, getting a prescription correctly called in to the pharmacy a whole 100 yards away is like pulling teeth. The location is great, and I'm sure for people who need a whole portfolio of doctors that having them all under one roof is great... however I would prefer to just find myself one decent doctor to stick with, and this is not the place for that. read more

I just got off the phone with the Harvard Vanguard office and I am completely baffled by my experience. I have been experiencing mild to moderate chest pain for a few weeks now and, while I don't think my situation is dire, I feel like I need to see a health professional to figure out what's going on. Vanguard's offices are close to my workplace and a few of my co-workers are patients there, so I thought I would call to see if one of the doctors could fit me in. When I called to make an appointment, the receptionist assured me that the doctors were accepting new patients. However, she wanted one of the nurses to talk to me about my condition before booking an appointment. I was placed on hold for about 5 minutes, and then told that the nurse would have to call me back. Three hours later, I hadn't heard from their office so I tried again. When I explained my situation to the receptionist, she again said that I needed to speak with a nurse and wasn't sure why I wasn't called. I was placed on hold for another 5 minutes... When she got back on the line, she told me the reason I wasn't called back was because I am a new patient. They wouldn't see someone on short notice that they didn't know because they're a small outpatient facility (even though I was told the doctors did have short appointments available this week). I was also advised that if my pain was bad enough, that I should go to the emergency room and then consult with them afterwards. Right. Am I the only person seeing a problem with this? Why do I need to go to an emergency room and waste valuable resources (mine and the hospital's) when there is a perfectly good primary care office a few blocks away? It's a very cavalier attitude for a doctor's office to have about someone's health. read more

Dr. Monahan is terrible! She is always available for urgent care because no one wants to see her unless it is an emergency. She has poor bedside manner. Belittles the pain that you express you feel. Three times in a row, for three different issues, she simply diagnosed "Tylenol" and then I got a bill for $300. The most recent mishap made me so angry that I had to write this review... She misdiagnosed my husband. Told him to take some Tylenol. He got a second opinion and has a FULLY herniated disc in his lower spine and might need surgery! I don't think Tylenol can fix that. BEWARE! read more

My primary care physician is great. She is helpful, sweet, and I'll probably see her again. I had lots of questions for her and she helped answer them. Cool! (I have no idea what her name is. Sorry!) My ob/gyn sucks. I went in for my first appointment with a gynecologist ever and she was in no way helpful or caring. It just seemed like she wanted me out of the room. She also made me take a pregnancy test, even after telling her that there was no way that I was pregant. Thanks? My main gripe with this place is that having a prescription filled is a NIGHTMARE. The pharmacy I use never receives the order and everything is always horribly confusing. When I switched my address, I didn't think I would ever receive my birth control pill again. So annoying. read more

After spending at least 30 minutes on the phone scheduling an appointment that was 2 months in the future, I today went to that appointment only to find it had been canceled a week ago. The robot, I am told, sent me a text message that my appointment had been canceled. The robot, apparently documented that the phone had been answered!! No one tried to reach me to reschedule my appointment, would have been good business for them to do that since I would have been a new patient. Upon arrival (after an hour bike commute in the rain), I was told "you are not in the system". After several attempts 2 women there realized that my appointment had been canceled. They told me they sent an email and a text message. Unfortunately, though it took 1/2 hour to make the appointment the woman doing that got my phone number wrong! So, robot was the only one to make sure I knew. No apologies for my time, no one seemed to care that I was wet from the rain/bike ride there, and someone made me an appointment for the end of the month. So, a three month wait to see a doctor. It would have been nice to be treated with some empathy, maybe an apology for not following up with me, seems to make good business sense..... So, 3 unnamed unapologetic women later I was left to ride back home in the rain. Seriously, ATRIUS, get your act together, all of the people I spoke with there today said that your robot notification system doesn't really work! Next time I suggest you task an actual person to follow up on your canceled patients to make sure they really know about their canceled appointment and call them to reschedule them. Looks like not much has changed at HCHP-HVMA-ATRIUS. The customer is still wrong.! read more

I called Harvard Vanguard about five days ago with a bad case of hypochondria. Without being all TMI, I had a 'feminine emergency' and was convinced that I'd need a hysterectomy and would never bear children. They politely and calmly gave me an appointment, which I had this morning, with absolutely no problem considering I had never visited their offices before. Before mentioning anything else, I've gotta say that I was completely surprised by the offices. They are really clean. I really like the layout of the offices, so that instead of traveling to different floors for different areas of care, you walk down a corridor and pop into the very clearly-labeled rooms within. The decor is warm, as others have mentioned, so you don't feel that you're in a super-sterile hospital environment. The individual waiting rooms are nice and quiet, and I didn't even have the time to flip through the abundance of magazines because they saw me so quickly. Note that I got there about 20 minutes early. The nurse that saw me was awesome. She totally put me at ease and made me laugh, which was a feat, as I was completely nervous about what would happen next. I had Dr. Baer as my GYN, and he was amazing. Before discussing anything, he wanted to know who I was and what I was up to so that he could put a personality to a patient. He kept chatting with me through some really uncomfortable moments, which helped. In general, he kept me at ease, talked me through everything that was going to happen, and explained the science of what was going on with my body. Not once did he talk down to me or dumb things down; he treated me like an adult, which is rare of doctors in a city filled with students. Overall, they did everything right. I booked appointments in advance with PCPs there, and look forward to (hopefully) positive experiences with them as well. I completely recommend them! read more

I just switched to this office with Karen Wood as my PCP and so far I have been beyond impressed with her and the office. You have to wait a while for physicals but for check-ups and meet-and-greets they can get you in promptly. I went here based on yelp and some friends who went here and others that hated the Kenmore office. And chose Dr. Wood because she was accepting new patients and her online bio said she specialized in women's health, I figured hey, physicals and birth control refills - why not. While there I was very impressed to find that she was pretty well aware of all of my stomach issues, medicines and tests I've had done and also offered to serve as my gastroenterologist, so now I have three doctors all in one! The office is very professional, it's easy to get through when you call them, it's clean and well run. They even have a pharmacy with rediculously cheap allergy medicine generics (generic zyrtec for $9.99 for 90 days). I'm sold and sending everyone else I know there too. read more

I've had a lot of mixed experiences at this office. Over the last year and a half, I've had to go to the doctor a million times for a variety of reasons, including a number of specialist visits. Some thoughts: When something is wrong with me, I can see the doctor right away. Almost every time. This is the best part about the office, aside from the location. I generally like my PCP, Dr. Srinath. She is matter-of-fact and seems knowledgeable. She's good about answering my questions, and doesn't rush me out. One lowlight: when I had a terrible fever for two weeks and decided I wanted to see an infectious disease specialist earlier then we had planned, I couldn't get anyone from her office to call me back for about a day and a half. I'm not sure if this was her fault or not, but that's not an acceptable delay (even if the answer is "no, you don't need a referral yet") when someone has an acute illness. In gynecology, I've had some mixed experiences. I have seen Dr. Baer twice and did not like him--he made wrong assumptions about my sexual history and was not helpful dealing with my troublesome IUD. (He's retiring, though.) I have really liked the nurses I have seen (Pauline Paquin and Megan Mays) though--very helpful and practical. The waiting time for referrals to other Harvard Vanguard doctors hasn't been so great, but it hasn't been horrific either. Getting into an endocrinologist took over a month. When I had my epic fever, there was going to be a five or six day wait to see an infectious disease specialist. I was able to get into MGH infectious disease with only a one-day wait, and I think the specialist there was more knowledgeable anyways. Recently, even though I had been a regular patient of one of the dermatologists for a while (2-3 years, ~5-6 visits), my dermatologist left the practice. Apparently I therefore became a "new patient" and would have to wait five months for a mole check. Just ridiculous. The office management here is a disaster. The receptionists are generally clueless. Nurses don't call back when they say they will call back. If you call when a nurse isn't there, the receptionist asks you to call back later rather than having the nurse call you when he/she gets in. The last time I needed a refill on my birth control, it took about five phone calls. (First of all, why did I only get three months' worth to begin with? And then why exactly do you have a record of a doctor I have never seen physically printing out my prescription in an office 20 miles away, when I asked you to FAX MY PRESCRIPTION TO TEXAS?) If you have test results, often no one calls you about them. Sometimes your test results are released online, but sometimes they're not. I get to google my online test results to interpret them when no one calls me. One particularly terrible vignette about this: When I did a routine STD screening, no one called me to tell me my results, they didn't get posted online, and it took repeated (three?) phone calls to get my results from the office (STD-free! yay!). But then ages later, when I was going in for some unrelated endocrinology bloodwork, I was puzzled when the lab person asked for a urine sample. It turns out that for some reason, that test just never got done even though the doctor ordered it. So when they told me I was STD-free, not all the test results were even in! I got to learn months later I didn't have syphilis, but that was totally unacceptable. I think it's time to find a new doctor. read more

My whole family gets cared for here and we've used every service available from OB/gynecology to pharmacy, labs, radiology, pediatrics, internal med, behavioral health and even nutrition counseling. In urgent care scenarios we've seen doctors or NPs who aren't primary providers and they've been great, too - I recommend confirming diagnoses by the NPs with your primary MD when you see them next because those are the only problems we've had. A few delayed/misdiagnoses that were relatively harmless. The front desk staff are friendly and efficient, the phlebotomoists are all terrific, and the location can't be beat. read more

After receiving better care at a local free clinic than at NEMC, I decided I had to do better for myself (and for the $400/mo I was paying for insurance). By Bridget M's recommendation I switched my PCP to one at Harvard Vanguard. I just can't get over how I am paying exactly the same amount for service that is just incomparable. Going to NEMC at its worst was dehumanizing and at its best was unpleasant and unhelpful. At Harvard Vanguard they treat you like a human being. It may sound cliche, but there are so many little things the friendly staff do to make you feel like they actually care about your well-being. Imagine that! Where I once spent about ten minutes with my PCP before he'd grope my testicles, made me feel guilty for asking too many questions, and whisk off to his next slab of meat as quickly as humanly possible. Now I have doctors who genuinely seem interested in my health, who will take the time to answer my questions and even spend time getting to know me as a human being - not just as some meatbag in need of maintenance. Healthcare in America is one giant greed-ridden clusterfuck. But if you go to Harvard Vanguard you might never know. read more

This review is not only to acclaim Dr. Shrinath for her excellent medical expertise, but also to praise Harvard Vanguard for the system they have in place, a system which is patient oriented. Dr. Shrinath is exceptional. She is non-judgemental and is a great listener. She is also very observant and honest when she gives her opinion. I feel honesty is key because medical statistics are too generalized whereas a doctor is able to elucidate what general medical opinion is saying and then apply it to your own life. Moreover the Harvard Vanguard system has modernized medicine. Patients are able to access their lab results online, e-mail doctors, receive letters/e-mails from doctors, book appointments, etc. online. It has made my life markedly easier by reducing the time I would've spent on the phone waiting for someone to assist me. Also the copley office is conveniently located by the T. Its a short walk from Back Bay, Copley, or the Pru stop. Its also very clean , quiet, and efficient. I've never sat there waiting very long. Oh and they have a pharmacy and lab in the office. I've never used their pharmacy but their lab tech's are very nice and helpful, especially if your squeamish around blood (like I am!). read more

Dale the travel nurse - you rock my world. and trisha who organized my appointment - you are also super awesome!!! I went here on the recommendation of allix to prepare for my trip to china and it was THE BEST most informative useful non-waste-of-time appointment I have ever had. they really know their stuff and have a very sensible approach to travel - not overly paranoid, but informative and practical. thank you so much for preparing me for my trip and giving me information I never in a million years would have known otherwise. if you need to travel for any kind of international trip, this is the place to go! even the people at the front desk are so nice and helpful. I am very glad I went to this location. read more

I really love this place. About a month ago I came into work at the Pru and was exhausted/soar throat/fever and went here on a recommendation from a co-worker saying they would probably take me right away. They did. I can't remember the name of the doctor I saw, I was pretty out of it, but he was FANTASTIC. He figured it was strep, put in the paperwork to the pharmacy right away to get meds, and had my blood drawn just in case. I'm terrible at having blood drawn and hadn't eaten all day so I did pass out but the nurses and doctors got me back to health pretty quickly, gave me some juice, etc and I was good to go. They even called me two days later to make sure the meds were working and I felt ok. Nice. I knocked you guys down one star because I wasn't a huge fan of how the doctors treated some of the nurses. The nurses were doing their jobs (when I passed out) and following protocol (I've been through it before so I'm used to it) and the doctors KEPT telling the nurses and me it was unnecessary (and doing so in a RUDE tone). This I did not care for. I come from a family of nurses (I, however, am not one) and most of my friends are nurses so, hey.. knock it off! These people do so much. All in all though, a great experience. read more

I love this place. Many medical specialties under one roof, diagnostic tests can be done on-site, they have a web based application so you can keep in touch with your doctor online, It has a great private practice feel to it as opposed to the anarchy that sometimes takes place at the teaching hospitals...I have a chronic illness and to date I have never had a problem getting an appointment with my doctor. Plus, she listens and she cares. It's fantastic. The staff are friendly and calming, the offices are clean and well decorated. In general it is just such a nice change for me after having been a patient at Beth Israel for 5 years. read more

Harvard Vanguard as a whole is fantastic. My PCP is located at Copely, but i have also gone to the Quincy, Braintree and Kenmore branches for urgent care. i have had a good experience at each branch, and i'm a terrified of doctors! the reception staff has been wonderful, friendly and accomodating. the doctors were all pleasant and made me feel comfortable. there have been a few times where i needed to get in to see someone ASAP and they were able to do that for me no problem. very much a relief when i had strep throat and they were able to get me in within an hour after i called! read more

A few weeks ago I came home from my physical appointment and felt compelled to write a great review about it. I cannot do enough justice to what outstanding, clear, concise, and empathetic medical service I received from Dr. Denise Morin and the team in the OBGYN dept at Harvard Vanguard Copley. Dr. Morin and her staff are all I could have hoped for in a medical practitioner that specializes in women's health. She has been my OBgyn physician for several years now and she actually delivered one of my kids. Going years back to the day Dr. Morin delivered my baby, she did a phenomenal job. It was a difficult birth but she just simply knew what to do. She has always provided the absolute best care, and I believe, best advice and treatment during every visit and for every issue. If you are looking for an obgyn doctor whose very knowledge in womens health and takes the time to be caring even while maintaining a very efficient office, then Dr. Morin is someone you should consider visiting. I know I haven't been very happy lately with the HVMA Pediatrics office in Braintree but you have to give credit where the credit is due and I'm very happy with the Copley location. read more

There is a shortage of physicians in this town, and to make matters worse, every primary care physician my friends recommended said they were not accepting new patients. But it seemed like everyone they recommended was at Harvard Vanguard, so I thought I would start there. I was seeking an internist to be my PCP so I made an appointment with Dr. Bryan Bordeaux at their Copley Square office. I was looking for a male physician (though friends have questioned this choice and I can't really provide a good answer) and I was somewhat impressed that his degree is in osteopathic medicine (basically MD plus an education in holistic medicine, minimal reliance on medication, etc. Wikipedia has a pretty good summary.) This was my first visit to Harvard Vanguard, but registration was quick and painless. I had to wait about a month for my appointment, but considering the doctor shortage and that I was just seeking a routine physical exam, that's understandable. I showed up at the time of my appointment, paid my copay, and was seen almost immediately. The staff was very friendly and polite. Dr. Bordeaux seemed knowledgable and showed an interest in learning about me and my lifestyle. This is important in a PCP. He did the standard brief exam and everything was fine as expected. He said he doesn't believe in running all sorts of tests, but sent me for some basic blood work (cholesterol, etc.) He also suggested HIV testing "just to be safe" which I appreciated. Minus one half point for acting astonished and blurting out my age when I mentioned my upcoming vasectomy, but plus one whole point for responding very positively when I said I'm vegan. Harvard Vanguard has set up a web site where I can view office visit reports, lab tests, etc. and email my doctor. I think this is very useful and will allow me to periodically seek advice from my PCP without scheduling an appointment or trying to reach him by phone. Overall a good experience. I haven't made it to the lab yet, but I'll update this review if I have any problems. The one thing that makes me unhappy is that HV is a large corporation, and I'd rather see an independent physician if I could find one accepting new patients. read more

This happens to be the Harvard Vanguard I go to most often but I have also been to the Milk St. location and had good experiences there too! I love Harvard Vanguard because: 1. Many different types of doctors in 1 building = convenience. 2. They never double book and I am always seen within 5 min. of my appt. 3. I never feel rushed, the doctors answer all my crazy questions patiently and take the time to ask me about myself too. 4. Even though I only see the docs every 6mos-year (knock on wood) they always remember me- and not just my chart but where I vacationed in December. 5. My OB is very careful to ask me about my lesbian sex life (hee hee) and asks questions specific to being gay- having kids etc. 6. The place takes many types of insurance, not just Harvard. 7. When an ex of mine had an OB problem, her regular doc sent her to "the expert" at Harvard Vanguard! 8. My doc refills my script for Valium over the phone whenever I have to fly without making a big deal over it (yes, I hate to fly) I only don't give 5 stars because one time my OB forgot to give me a boob exam! read more

I've been getting my care at HVMA Back Bay/Copley for a few years now and never had a bad experience. Please do not confuse this thinking that it is actually fun to go to any Drs office (hence the 4starts). This fair sized practice in the middle of the city can't be more accesible even if they tried with at least 6 bus routes, 3 train stops, 2 parking lots and bike racks within walking distance. It features an in-location lab and pharmacy and a colorful array of specialties including ob and pediatrics. The assistants have always been friendly welcoming and helpful and the entire staff is serious about confidentiality, a personal plus. The waiting areas are always neat and the common areas are well taken care of constantly. Definitely recomend to commuters because of the location and accesible hours and to locals because, well... It's right there! read more

Terrible experiences within internal medicine (dr wood) and ob gyn. Would not recommend. Unresponsive, not knowledgeable and in the case of dr. Wood, quite rude. read more

I just tried to call and request a release of information from the Release of Medical Information department. The woman who I spoke with did not seem confident in her answers and became impatient with me quickly. She told me first that she would not submit anything without a payment, and when I asked about how I could submit a payment she said it would be sent to the new provider after the processing, which was going to take 7-10 business days. The fax for the request of this was sent three weeks ago... Not only is the lack of timeliness making me upset, but the rudeness over the phone made me not want to request Harvard Vanguard to any friends living in the Boston area. I enjoyed the customer service when I lived near the Watertown office, but this changed my opinion of the entire company. read more

I just went in to see Dr. Shrinath for a regular check up. I haven't been to a PCP in soo long that I figure I am almost 30 ( 3 more years! YIKES) and this is a good time to see if I have anything wrong with me. I had blood work a week prior and my glocose was high..oops! i am guessing it was from the margaritas I had the day before..no worries, I just come in again in a month, just to make sure its normal and I don't have diabetes. It doesn't run in my family, so I was not really that concerned. Whats great about Dr. Shrinath besides being a PCP, she also did my pap which saves me the trouble of having to go to the gyno. Her nurse Donna was really nice. I also needed to get a tetanus boost shot and the lady who gave me that was soo delightful, it makes getting shots fun! i didnt feel anything although right now my arm is sore. They also have MyHealth, which you can registered online and are able to see lab results. The alleviates the pain of waiting or getting that phone call and usually are posted within a few days instead of having to wait 2 week for results in the mail. You can also email the doctor on this and make appts. convenient location next to back bay station. reception desk is very nice and friendly. overall, a good experience at the doctors. read more

I spent 2 hours calling different offices trying to get a quick appointment for an antibiotic. I didn't need an urgent care place, but just a real doctor, close by and with an appointment in 24-48 hours. This proved to be quite difficult since I'm newer to the area and it's hard for new patients to get appointments anywhere. So I was extremely happy to finally call Harvard Vanguard in Back Bay...two blocks from my apartment! They had an appointment 20 minutes later and within the hour I was walking home with an antibiotic in my hand. They have an on site pharmacy, and an on site lab so test results come back right away. I saw Dr. Monahan and thought she was great. It's a large practice and I would advise seeing specialists elsewhere for specific medical needs and more personal attention, but as a general medicine doctor close by, this is extremely convenient. read more

Don't go! I had two visits. First one, the doctor behaved super unprofessionally. She argued with me about my vine cyst existence, which I had a result 5 years ago. She basically told me that I was imagining the problem. She also forgot my MRI result on her desk for 3 months, I called three times to learn about the reason! Of course, I never got a doctor to read my result. Second time, I switched to another doctor, I waited 30 mins in the room, and when I asked more questions to the doctor, she told me I was taking too much time from her, and I was not even her patient. What about my waiting time? and I cannot ask questions when see a doctor? The doctor visit only was $270, to buy her attitude?! I waited another two months for my blood test result, which I have not got it, because they told me the nurse should call, or I have to request a mail result. Each time, I need to wait 10 mins to get a person answer the phone. Overall, I do not feel get any real help but quick and expensive bills, and all the attitude. I will stop going and find a nicer place to get help. read more