I wasn't going to write a review because I though, well, it's over now, just let it be over. When I called to cancel few appoinment and settle on the copay I still owed, I explained that I found a new allergist closer to my house who would be much more convenient for me to get to (which is true) and left it at that. But, then, when I asked kindly is they could fax the last two months records to my primary care, they refused to fax them without release form and $25. Note here that A) HIPPA regulation states you can only charge for the cost of copies, and I didn't want copies (see regulation here: https://www.mass.gov/service-details/medical-records-obligations) and B). They faxed records for me a few months ago when I wasn't leaving without requiring either of these things which makes it just petty.
I want to give a fair picture, so let's talk about the good first:
-The staff here has largely been lovely. Most of them don't last long, but overall I've had a good experience with the desk and nursing (when there have been nurses) staff. (My favorites were Katya and Lyla - delightful.)
-The immunotherapy works. I have recently transferred to a new allergist and we did new testing and many of the things I was allergic to when I started the regimen 3 years ago I am not allergic to today.
-They're pretty flexible with scheduling in the Framingham office (only on Tuesdays and Thursdays though).
-They're main phone is a mobile, which means you can text them, which is nice sometimes.
And then the rest:
Dr. Muppidi's "bedside manner" is terrible and he'd oblivious to that. If he were to read this, I'm certain he'd think that I'm awful and I've been awful all along and he's friendly and wonderful, but that has not been my experience and since he was stabbing me with needles, I largely kept my experience to myself.
He is gruff and disinterested and entitled and sometimes rude and degrading. I would often leave an appointment feeling defeated, but knowing if I just quit then before having another allergist in place, I'd have to restart my immunotherapy almost from the beginning and I just never had the time or energy to do all of those things. I would leave and call my mother and complain that I need to "fire" him and tell her what demeaning thing he did or said and then still not do it, and over the course of about three years, I cannot remember every thing, and certainly there where also many times where he was just gruff but polite and I got shots and left and I'd think "well this one wasn't bad" and forage on. Every interaction left me more and more disappointed in myself for continuing to give his practice my business (and, also, truly, the commute really did suck a little for me - which was not his fault).
I do, however, remember a few things:
He has in the past berated my weight (which when I asked what that had to do with my allergies he had no response). And since then I have refused to be weighed in his office. (Note that I discussed weight with my NEW allergist just today and she was perfectly lovely about it and I was happy to talk about it, so this isn't a sensitive about the subject sort of thing.)
He has complained to me directly that my insurance doesn't pay him enough (I was on Mass Health for a small amount of time while unemployed) and implied he was doing me a favor my seeing me.
A receptionist once gave me a bottle of water when I was on MA Health and I overheard him saying that wasn't for MA Health patients.
On my second visit, he told the receptionist at the time to schedule me at 8am. I was standing right there when he told her. She came in at 8 - I came in at 8. He didn't come in until 9 and then told her she was wrong.
And one time, I asked another front desk staffer, in confidence, that IF I were pregnant, could still have the shots. I was not pregnant, just curious. On my next visit, Muppidi asked me about having a baby at my age, to which I replied I wasn't pregnant and I don't know what he means. And left, again, upset that I was there.
This is when I stopped saying "thank you" before leaving the office.
None of those were the final straw. The final straw was a small obscure interaction where he was neither pleasant nor unpleasant and I was just done. And then, in anticipation of him being petty, I asked for my records to be faxed to my primary care doctor (which they did) and made my next appointment and then spent the next few months researching allergists and talking to their staff before getting a new referral.
So, if you don't remotely care about personalities and any of his offices and times are convenient for you, then this may be your doctor. This is not, however, my doctor and never truly was.
Also, my new allergist spent more time looking into my history and prior records from other doctors, correlating them to my allergies, and discussing them with me than Dr. Muppidi ever did the entire time I was there. And she's wonderful. read more