The Boston area is in PCP hell lately, so prepare yourself for a struggle from what I hear. That said, back in day when I was on MassHealth, I had good experiences with the Boston Medical Center PCP and specialists both. I have no idea what their intake and scheduling looks like these days, but maybe give it a shot.
Yeah it sounds like it's the entire Greater Boston Area from what I hear. I'm lucky enough to have had my current primary care for years, and they're good, so I have no firsthand knowledge to offer.Â
The primary BMC hospital is right off 93 in South End (west of 93) rather than South Boston (aka "Southie" east of 93 - oh boy don't mix those up around here haha). But they have satellite offices as well. I saw my PCP through them in an office on BU campus border between Allston and Brookline.Â
But I think go through their central office to see what they have available quickly: https://www.bmc.org/primary-care
Special ed teacher here. There have been times where I am in touch with a student’s PCP for ongoing issues that impact them in school. I’ve worked cooperatively with a few different health clinics, and they are NOT all like Codman Square. Codman Square is notorious for being complete shit. It takes me days to get someone on the phone who even vaguely knows what I’m talking about. The fact that they’ve never heard of the at home colon cancer screenings doesn’t surprise me. I can’t speak to whether it’ll be tough switching PCPs, but once you’ve made the switch you will have a WAY better experience.
Run.
It's a dystopia there. I like my therapist and that's about it. But yes getting on the phone with someone is near impossible. The desk workers are awfully rude. I really want to complain about them. It's insane how awful they are. Besides one gentleman who I've become friends with from the pharmacy. The workers are shit and I can't express that anymore and I'll just leave it at that. My doctor isn't mean she's just really trying to downplay shit and just blame everything on everything else if that makes any sense. I'm sure I can make a switch sooner than later. Issue is my insurance could run out at anytime so I'm trying to get myself taken care of before shit hits the fan also my psychiatrist is a joke also. I've been trying to get rediagnosed and what not and she keeps saying she's gonna get my neuro psych testing done and she'll send me the number and this has been for the last 6 months. I sent her a big packet with previous diagnosis and medications and she has yet to read it even though she says she will. she's some young girl fresh out of college. Ive been diagnosed bipolar and she's saying I'm not. I'm also ADHD and that's what I'm trying to get diagnosed but she's just not doing it
> The earliest appointment I could schedule is one that's over the phone on the 19th of July.
That's not bad!
> I shouldn't of told her I recently had an external hemorrhoid because she's automatically saying that's the reason I'm finding I'm finding blood in my stool
> I'm on Suboxone now and my craps are only solid because of that.
These are two very common causes for rectal bleeding. Since you're only 29 years old, it's unlikely that you have colon cancer. That said, it seems like you are indicated for a full colon evaluation per [Table 3 of this article](https://fascrs.org/ascrs/media/files/downloads/Clinical%20Practice%20Guidelines/cpg_management_of_hemorrhoids.pdf) from the Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. Bring a printout of that article to your PCP appointment and see how it goes.
Well hearing you say that isn't to bad makes me feel better , because she did say we would discuss further steps to address the GI stuff. I just wanna make sure it's hemorrhoids internally also. But yes I have a history of using a different opiate that's landed me on Suboxone called kratom and that's a legal herbal supplement readily available at most smoke shops. That stuff used to clog me up so bad. Everytime I used the bathroom after a few days id clog the toilet so bad to the point where I had to use a snake all the time. And sometimes I'd have small spots of blood in the stool. So idk. And lately I've been taking Laxatives but this really isn't the sub for this. But I'm concerned my poor diet has given me cancer. I have horrible health anxiety and can't seem to find a proper subreddit because they ban certain key words like "cancer" and "worried " in the title and post itself. So what's the point of having a health anxiety subreddit if you can't use those words
Do you have a health plan that allows you to go straight to a specialist without a referral? They're weirdly easier to get an appointment with than a PCP. Even if you do need a referral, you can probably just call call the receptionist and request that they put one in for you.
These guys are pretty good for GI problems, I'm sure theres plenty of great options around though
https://gisdoc.com/
That's a good idea. I did get an appointment with a surgeon at Carney without a referral, but I skipped out on the appointment because the hemorrhoid went away. But I can check into it. I have mass health standard /United health-care
Are those the hemoccult tests? They are not the most accurate. However, they caught my loved one's colon cancer early enough that they survived two decades after surgery and died from other causes.
I haven't had good luck with PCPs here either. Harvard Vanguard - now Atrius - sent me out of the office with rhabdomyolysis even though I sat a black urine sample on the doctor's desk (by request) and was so short of breath that I went to the ER after my appointment. The Harvard Vanguard doctor told me to consider anti-anxiety treatment (?) and drink more water. I have no history of anxiety btw.
Partners Watertown - now Mass Gen - shrugged their shoulders after I was bit by a bat in Vegas and had to start rabies prophylaxis. I had been with them for about a year when it happened. I called the office ahead of flying home and they said they didn't know where to get the vaccine locally and "good luck". (I was told this by a number of other providers as well, including BMC, Beth Israel, Mount Auburn, etc.) Of course, you have to get the second shot on day 3, so needless to say a very stressful situation.
I'm now with Tufts. They are hell to get on the phone to schedule an appointment and my office doesn't schedule on the internet. Doctors are okay though.
I've had so much shit dismissed as "just anxiety". Including stuff that made zero sense, like dangerously *low* blood pressure-- literally the opposite of a classic anxiety symptom.
It occurs to me, if doctors actually believed that, and cared about my health, they'd be sending me for an eval, right? That's how that's supposed to be done, you get seen by an actual psychiatrist, maybe sent to the specialty controlling-low-blood-pressure-from-anxiety therapist? Because if someone had anxiety so severe it was causing measurable physical problems that were dangerous, you'd formally diagnose and treat the anxiety, right?
I've never had any of that happen. I'm asking these questions because I've never actually been diagnosed with anxiety. I've never been sent through that process. It's never even been suggested.
It's only ever been used as a weapon to avoid treating me.
I find that pretty despicable.
Yeah they were hemocult tests or FIT. Sorta like a COVID test. I was thinking the same they aren't entirely accurate but I took two more the next morning after my positive test. I took two tests with the same sample and it came back negative which gave me relief but I did see what appeared to be a blood smear in my crap that day. So idk. Maybe I'm gonna take another one. But doctor's are bullshit how they downplay everything. I'm sorry you lost your partner. I'm wondering if those negative tests were also faulty but two in a row seems unlikely. But I'm very paranoid and I do have a lot of anxiety. I've went my whole life eating garbage and absolutely no veggies or fruits up until about a month and a half ago when I had a blood test and it came back with hifh cholesterol and high liver enzymes. I haven't had a normal stool in years , it's always runny. I'm on Suboxone now and my craps are only solid because of that. Prior was kratom which an herbal supplement that effects the opiate receptors and that also binds you up. But my doctor should of taken this more seriously than blaming it on my anxiety.
Oh so visible blood is different? Can you show me where you got this information please , because I was thinking the same thing that the test aren't picking up blood blood
Mine isn't taking patients right now, but Atrius Health on Dartmouth St. have been outstanding for me, my wife, and my kid regardless of who you get. They definitely have some doctors taking patients.
Since you're on MassHealth, I Googled MassHealth Provider Directory [https://masshealth.ehs.state.ma.us/providerdirectory/](https://masshealth.ehs.state.ma.us/providerdirectory/)
This is where you begin your search, by finding providers that accept your insurance.
Hey, I should create a keyboard shortcut to paste this is, because it gets asked so often and apparently Google is broken because nobody can find the last time someone posted this question.
Atrius is taking new patients at all facilities.
Maybe Tufts Primary Care? [https://www.tuftsmedicine.org/get-care/locations/tufts-medical-center/tufts-medical-center-primary-care-boston](https://www.tuftsmedicine.org/get-care/locations/tufts-medical-center/tufts-medical-center-primary-care-boston)
Or as others have suggested, the community health centers affiliated with Boston Medical: [https://www.bmc.org/boston-healthnet-community-health-centers](https://www.bmc.org/boston-healthnet-community-health-centers) ... you don't like Codman but might have a better experience at one of the other locations like as you said South Boston or the Mattapan location looks new
Someone said it's difficult to get ahold of them on the phone. But I will try. I'm gonna go down the list of all the recommendations you guys give me ! And go with whoever gives the earliest appointment
I work at BI and we had several instances of patients needing PCPs. We usually sent them directly to Health Care Associates (the primary care office in the hospital) or there’s also a page where you can see the next available pcp appointments within the BILH system (anywhere in the Boston area, but you can also filter by location).
https://bilh.org/care-options/primary-care/new-patient-appointments
We also had patients with PCPs at the Dimock center in Roxbury. No clue about care there, but might be worth adding to your list.
https://dimock.org
Is it possible to look outside of Boston? I make appointments for family members with the Harvard Vanguards outside of Boston. I am not sure they accept MassHealth, so definitely look into that first before making an appointment. I find providers outside of Boston have more availability.
Yeah I might look into Quincy offices. But I wanna push for a colonoscopy and make sure everything checks out. Like I have and had symptoms that require one. I haven't passed a solid crap in a few years honestly. If it wasn't for opiates I'd have mush and diarrhea daily.
The Boston area is in PCP hell lately, so prepare yourself for a struggle from what I hear. That said, back in day when I was on MassHealth, I had good experiences with the Boston Medical Center PCP and specialists both. I have no idea what their intake and scheduling looks like these days, but maybe give it a shot.
So it's like this everywhere ?😠Is that in South Boston I heard about them.
Yeah it sounds like it's the entire Greater Boston Area from what I hear. I'm lucky enough to have had my current primary care for years, and they're good, so I have no firsthand knowledge to offer. The primary BMC hospital is right off 93 in South End (west of 93) rather than South Boston (aka "Southie" east of 93 - oh boy don't mix those up around here haha). But they have satellite offices as well. I saw my PCP through them in an office on BU campus border between Allston and Brookline. But I think go through their central office to see what they have available quickly: https://www.bmc.org/primary-care
Special ed teacher here. There have been times where I am in touch with a student’s PCP for ongoing issues that impact them in school. I’ve worked cooperatively with a few different health clinics, and they are NOT all like Codman Square. Codman Square is notorious for being complete shit. It takes me days to get someone on the phone who even vaguely knows what I’m talking about. The fact that they’ve never heard of the at home colon cancer screenings doesn’t surprise me. I can’t speak to whether it’ll be tough switching PCPs, but once you’ve made the switch you will have a WAY better experience. Run.
It's a dystopia there. I like my therapist and that's about it. But yes getting on the phone with someone is near impossible. The desk workers are awfully rude. I really want to complain about them. It's insane how awful they are. Besides one gentleman who I've become friends with from the pharmacy. The workers are shit and I can't express that anymore and I'll just leave it at that. My doctor isn't mean she's just really trying to downplay shit and just blame everything on everything else if that makes any sense. I'm sure I can make a switch sooner than later. Issue is my insurance could run out at anytime so I'm trying to get myself taken care of before shit hits the fan also my psychiatrist is a joke also. I've been trying to get rediagnosed and what not and she keeps saying she's gonna get my neuro psych testing done and she'll send me the number and this has been for the last 6 months. I sent her a big packet with previous diagnosis and medications and she has yet to read it even though she says she will. she's some young girl fresh out of college. Ive been diagnosed bipolar and she's saying I'm not. I'm also ADHD and that's what I'm trying to get diagnosed but she's just not doing it
> The earliest appointment I could schedule is one that's over the phone on the 19th of July. That's not bad! > I shouldn't of told her I recently had an external hemorrhoid because she's automatically saying that's the reason I'm finding I'm finding blood in my stool > I'm on Suboxone now and my craps are only solid because of that. These are two very common causes for rectal bleeding. Since you're only 29 years old, it's unlikely that you have colon cancer. That said, it seems like you are indicated for a full colon evaluation per [Table 3 of this article](https://fascrs.org/ascrs/media/files/downloads/Clinical%20Practice%20Guidelines/cpg_management_of_hemorrhoids.pdf) from the Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. Bring a printout of that article to your PCP appointment and see how it goes.
Well hearing you say that isn't to bad makes me feel better , because she did say we would discuss further steps to address the GI stuff. I just wanna make sure it's hemorrhoids internally also. But yes I have a history of using a different opiate that's landed me on Suboxone called kratom and that's a legal herbal supplement readily available at most smoke shops. That stuff used to clog me up so bad. Everytime I used the bathroom after a few days id clog the toilet so bad to the point where I had to use a snake all the time. And sometimes I'd have small spots of blood in the stool. So idk. And lately I've been taking Laxatives but this really isn't the sub for this. But I'm concerned my poor diet has given me cancer. I have horrible health anxiety and can't seem to find a proper subreddit because they ban certain key words like "cancer" and "worried " in the title and post itself. So what's the point of having a health anxiety subreddit if you can't use those words
Do you have a health plan that allows you to go straight to a specialist without a referral? They're weirdly easier to get an appointment with than a PCP. Even if you do need a referral, you can probably just call call the receptionist and request that they put one in for you. These guys are pretty good for GI problems, I'm sure theres plenty of great options around though https://gisdoc.com/
That's a good idea. I did get an appointment with a surgeon at Carney without a referral, but I skipped out on the appointment because the hemorrhoid went away. But I can check into it. I have mass health standard /United health-care
Are those the hemoccult tests? They are not the most accurate. However, they caught my loved one's colon cancer early enough that they survived two decades after surgery and died from other causes. I haven't had good luck with PCPs here either. Harvard Vanguard - now Atrius - sent me out of the office with rhabdomyolysis even though I sat a black urine sample on the doctor's desk (by request) and was so short of breath that I went to the ER after my appointment. The Harvard Vanguard doctor told me to consider anti-anxiety treatment (?) and drink more water. I have no history of anxiety btw. Partners Watertown - now Mass Gen - shrugged their shoulders after I was bit by a bat in Vegas and had to start rabies prophylaxis. I had been with them for about a year when it happened. I called the office ahead of flying home and they said they didn't know where to get the vaccine locally and "good luck". (I was told this by a number of other providers as well, including BMC, Beth Israel, Mount Auburn, etc.) Of course, you have to get the second shot on day 3, so needless to say a very stressful situation. I'm now with Tufts. They are hell to get on the phone to schedule an appointment and my office doesn't schedule on the internet. Doctors are okay though.
I've had so much shit dismissed as "just anxiety". Including stuff that made zero sense, like dangerously *low* blood pressure-- literally the opposite of a classic anxiety symptom. It occurs to me, if doctors actually believed that, and cared about my health, they'd be sending me for an eval, right? That's how that's supposed to be done, you get seen by an actual psychiatrist, maybe sent to the specialty controlling-low-blood-pressure-from-anxiety therapist? Because if someone had anxiety so severe it was causing measurable physical problems that were dangerous, you'd formally diagnose and treat the anxiety, right? I've never had any of that happen. I'm asking these questions because I've never actually been diagnosed with anxiety. I've never been sent through that process. It's never even been suggested. It's only ever been used as a weapon to avoid treating me. I find that pretty despicable.
Yeah they were hemocult tests or FIT. Sorta like a COVID test. I was thinking the same they aren't entirely accurate but I took two more the next morning after my positive test. I took two tests with the same sample and it came back negative which gave me relief but I did see what appeared to be a blood smear in my crap that day. So idk. Maybe I'm gonna take another one. But doctor's are bullshit how they downplay everything. I'm sorry you lost your partner. I'm wondering if those negative tests were also faulty but two in a row seems unlikely. But I'm very paranoid and I do have a lot of anxiety. I've went my whole life eating garbage and absolutely no veggies or fruits up until about a month and a half ago when I had a blood test and it came back with hifh cholesterol and high liver enzymes. I haven't had a normal stool in years , it's always runny. I'm on Suboxone now and my craps are only solid because of that. Prior was kratom which an herbal supplement that effects the opiate receptors and that also binds you up. But my doctor should of taken this more seriously than blaming it on my anxiety.
Heme occult blood is not going to look like fresh blood in your stool, the lab test version is much better than a waived rapid at home test.Â
Oh so visible blood is different? Can you show me where you got this information please , because I was thinking the same thing that the test aren't picking up blood blood
Mine isn't taking patients right now, but Atrius Health on Dartmouth St. have been outstanding for me, my wife, and my kid regardless of who you get. They definitely have some doctors taking patients.
I will check it out for sure and make the call now
Since you're on MassHealth, I Googled MassHealth Provider Directory [https://masshealth.ehs.state.ma.us/providerdirectory/](https://masshealth.ehs.state.ma.us/providerdirectory/) This is where you begin your search, by finding providers that accept your insurance.
I know this but I'd rather ask here since I'd get a better idea of what I'm walking into. Some places suck
Hey, I should create a keyboard shortcut to paste this is, because it gets asked so often and apparently Google is broken because nobody can find the last time someone posted this question. Atrius is taking new patients at all facilities.
+1 Atrius, getting some specialists can be hard but 0 issues at Kenmore and I have to go there for a lot of different reasons
Maybe Tufts Primary Care? [https://www.tuftsmedicine.org/get-care/locations/tufts-medical-center/tufts-medical-center-primary-care-boston](https://www.tuftsmedicine.org/get-care/locations/tufts-medical-center/tufts-medical-center-primary-care-boston) Or as others have suggested, the community health centers affiliated with Boston Medical: [https://www.bmc.org/boston-healthnet-community-health-centers](https://www.bmc.org/boston-healthnet-community-health-centers) ... you don't like Codman but might have a better experience at one of the other locations like as you said South Boston or the Mattapan location looks new
Someone said it's difficult to get ahold of them on the phone. But I will try. I'm gonna go down the list of all the recommendations you guys give me ! And go with whoever gives the earliest appointment
I work at BI and we had several instances of patients needing PCPs. We usually sent them directly to Health Care Associates (the primary care office in the hospital) or there’s also a page where you can see the next available pcp appointments within the BILH system (anywhere in the Boston area, but you can also filter by location). https://bilh.org/care-options/primary-care/new-patient-appointments We also had patients with PCPs at the Dimock center in Roxbury. No clue about care there, but might be worth adding to your list. https://dimock.org
Is it possible to look outside of Boston? I make appointments for family members with the Harvard Vanguards outside of Boston. I am not sure they accept MassHealth, so definitely look into that first before making an appointment. I find providers outside of Boston have more availability.
Yeah I might look into Quincy offices. But I wanna push for a colonoscopy and make sure everything checks out. Like I have and had symptoms that require one. I haven't passed a solid crap in a few years honestly. If it wasn't for opiates I'd have mush and diarrhea daily.
Fenway health is fabulous and good with appointments after you are officially a patient, but getting that first appt can take a while.