Barre Family Health Center: Guerzon Pearl T MD 151 Worcester Road, Barre, MA 01005

"There a are few great doctors but admistrators over book the doctors so it's either hard to get an appointment or for the good doctors be prepared to wait over an hour. I understand we are in trying times for employment but the turnover for the staff is huge. Now the phone system goes to the main campus majority of the time so it's hard to talk to a real person and that's when the phone is working properly. Then today when trying to have blood work sent to Quest Diagnostics they wanted me to provide all of the contact information. This is something that in the past was never a problem. I don't know about anyone else but calling the lab or businesses it's rare that someone is able to pick up the phone. You would think that doctor offices would have that information readily available as I know I am not the only person requesting this. Most of the time my requests to get a referral to s specialist never go through. It's unfortunate that it's hard to find a good doctor and when you do find one the facility is not the greatest when it comes to staff. There are a few that are great but they can only do so much when admistrstators are not actually hearing the feedback from their patients."

"*(This review was not posted by the person who's name it is under. I am using a friend's phone).* I am a former patient of Barre Family Health Center. I used to go there many years ago & was a patient of Dr. Service & also spent time under the care of Dr. Latimer, Dr. Potts, Dr. Mariani & Duncan who was a NP (nurse practitioner). I've always been pleased with the care that I have received from the above listed providers. The only negative experience I had was with Dr. Babu, who made a very poor decision to disclose extremely personal, sensitive & upsetting news/medical information to me over the phone. I will never forget that life changing phone conversation & it was so unprofessional of him....he really caused me emotional upset by his actions, that were made with extremely bad judgement on his part. This important information should have been explained to me in person, knowing how shocking & upsetting it was to me. Aside from him, I would have recommended this practice to others. My children also are former patients of this practice. Andrea Julian who is an NP, was their provider for quite awhile, and though she was very friendly & good with children, I always felt that she really wasn't listening to my concerns about either of my children. As an experienced mother of 4, I could obviously tell that there were some ongoing behavioral issues with my daughter, which I tried multiple times to express to her, but she dismissed my concerns time after time & tried convincing me that her behavior was "age appropriate" & "typical". I strongly disagreed, which ultimately led me to switching practices & I'm much happier with the care that my children are now receiving elsewhere. Even though Andrea treated us well for the most part, we needed more than a *nice person* for a doctor/practitioner. She didn't value our opinion enough to offer further evaluation of my daughters, or offer any type of beneficial resources. Our current provider could immediately tell simply by interacting with & observing our daughters that they may both very possibly be on the Autism spectrum. So obviously that isn't "typical behavior" as Ms. Julian said. If only Andrea had listened to me more about my concerns, & taken them seriously, we would have probably had them both diagnosed by now & receiving much needed services for them. Now we're planning to have them evaluated, thanks to our new doctor who has much more experience. I think NP's are okay for minor injuries/illnesses, but when it comes to bigger issues, a trusted doctor would be your best bet. People need providers that do not make them feel rushed, or just like another #. Someone that they can rely on to listen to their concerns, regardless of whether or not they may disagree. Especially parents of young & developing children. If in fact youngsters do have symptoms that may be a concern for a behavioral or other issue, it is very important that providers listen & recommend evaluation promptly. Early diagnosis is key to many health problems whether physical, mental, otherwise. I gave this practice 3 stars because they have lots of room for improvements. Suggestion #1-NEVER disclose ANY personal information to a patient over the phone. Something minor such as flu test results is acceptable, for example. But nothing that may be upsetting to a patient should be discussed via phone call. This should be common knowledge. Suggestion #2-Doctors/NP's, please LISTEN to your patients & their family members/caregivers/guardians!!!! We are often the closest people in your patients lives. We know what they do, how they act & most of all, we can tell and something is wrong. Don't dismiss our concerns without first @ least looking further into them. Thank you for allowing me to share. ~Former patient"

"terrible doctor there. insists on making up own dose of medication in a field that has nothing to do with them. not only making it dangerous but a living hell. while other doctors prescribe drugs on top of drugs to other patients."