New England Allergy Asthma & Immunology

I just hope nobody who goes here hopes to be able to pick up their epi– pen in a timely fashion! my rx was supposed to be called in 2 weeks ago. I went to pick it up yesterday and the drugstore hadn’t record for me. I asked about it today at my appointment and was told in a very curt tone of voice that the other nurse had called it in, but that she would call it in again. I called the pharmacy this evening and they still had no record. between the lack of compassion and lack of ability to dial a phone number to prescribe something and total and complete chaos of random small children screaming in the waiting room, you are best served to go ANYWHERE else. im really just sad that my insurance is paying these people a dime. they get 4 stars for the receptionists who act like they care and are great at getting you a convenient appointment for weekly shots.

Wow. Never going here again. Made an appt for a cold/​flu turned bronchitis, ended up in an allergy test prep appointment, with the standard «throw her a (very expensive) nasal spray and a rescue inhaler Rx (just in case).
What?! Ummm… Not even close to what I needed (clearing up bronchitis). Geez.
$ 700 later, I receive the visit recap notes. My primary complaint isn’t even listed. NOT EVEN ACKNOWLEDGED!
Oy. Listening score by the Nurse Practicioner: 0.

I have been coming to this practice since 2008 and have had no issues with any service or person. I first came in 2008 for the allergy test which consumed half a day. I then returned in 2015 for the same test. After, I was told to return for weekly allergy injections for 12 months, but am now bi-​weekly due to restraints with when I can get out of work.
There are plenty of seats to sit in the waiting room, and wait times are hard to report because everyone is here for something different. Although, Allergy injections are generally a shorter wait but expect to wait 20 mins after to be sure there are no reactions.
In my experience, the staff have been friendly, informative, and efficient. The lady who checks you in during the day has a very nice approach to your arrival. The woman who checks you out is ALWAYS very friendly, caring, and thoughtful. I have never seen her have a bad day. If she does, she hides it well. These women should be commended with the care they have for the patients, above and beyond.
I certainly recommend this practice for an accurate allergy test and treatment for any allergy conditions. Be sure to ask questions all the time and be sure that you are informed of the allergy injections and tests before going through it all.

Wow. If only I knew to check Unilocal years ago to save me from this hellhole!
In college, I had been experiencing several allergic/​adverse reactions (swelling, redness, hives) to food, but they were so often that I couldn’t pinpoint the culprits. Of course I decided to get tested. I agree with all of the previous posters on feeling like you are an insignificant part on an assembly line when receiving services here, so let’s just fast forward through the terrible experience onsite and skip to the results. Or «results»?
Several hours, pokes, needles and $ 500 later, I get the most inconclusive and inconsistent results ever. They said things like: «Patch tests show you are soooo allergic to this but the blood tests show you are not at allllll (and vise versa)… You MIGHT be allergic to this so you should probably just avoid it altogether, but I dunno… You are allergic to all tree nuts but you can eat almonds, pecans, and pistachios but you are also definitely allergic to peanuts sort of… We don’t know wtf we are doing and who cares if this is important to your health and life! *throws my file in the air and dances on my proverbial grave*»
I’m getting angry as I write this, especially after reading all of these reviews, thinking of all of the god damn Butterfingers and Reese’s cups I resisted because of these quacks.

As a woman with longstanding asthma and allergies, I’ve always worked with an Allergist. Due to a recent move, I made a decision to see someone closer. I went to the North Andover Office of this branch.
I had several horrible interactions with a female Physician Assistant (who shall remain nameless). As a Professional with a Masters Degree, who works with those in crisis, I am a compassionate practitioner for people who are struggling with their health. During my first meeting with this woman, she was cold, lacked compassion and was incredibly condescending. The PA read the list of «new allergies» so quickly, I scrambled to jot down some of my new found allergens. When I asked for her to provide me with a copy of my allergies, she laughed and asked me if I planned to «live inside a box.» She told me I would «review» the list in another few months when I met with the MD for the first time. A few months? I wanted an answer to why I couldn’t breathe, now.
Baffled by her condescendence and lack of compassion, I simply explained to her that I wanted to make efforts to feel well again, and that would include my knowledge of allergens, so I could remove them to the best of my ability. She then asked me if I planned to cut down every tree near my house (I’m allergic to a certain type of tree). I said if I had that specific type of tree, perhaps I might. She then told me «well if there was one by this office, you couldn’t.» Wow. Thank you for that.
I had been diagnosed with several new food allergies, after having strong reactions and needing to be seen in an ER. This woman encouraged me to do a Celiac Panel. I let her know that I had several panels in the past, and had also GI testing through several procedures, and was not found to be a Celiac, rather allergic to wheat and provided and Epi-​Pen. Most importantly, I informed her that I had been abstaining from gluten for years, yet, she still told me to go in for a panel. Gluten 101 — if you don’t eat it, your Celiac test will be inaccurate. Clearly, as a PA in an allergist office, she should know this information. I informed her that unfortunately, as I’ve been largely G-​Free for years, the test would be inaccurate, and a waste of time and money. She yelled at me, yes, yelled, and bullied me into making an appointment.
As a patient and consumer, I felt belittled, shocked and hurt. I was simply looking for relief from allergies and asthma which had caused me poor quality of life as of late. When I asked her to confirm this information with the doctor (whom I met once out of 6 appointments), she put me on hold for 2 minutes, and said, «he agrees, you need to come in, it does not matter if your gluten free.» I waited a full hour, then canceled the appointment. I then called my previous Allergist, the one an hour away, who treated me with dignity and respect, and made an appointment.
Following this, I received multiple letters in the mail informing me that I missed my appointment, asking me to call to reschedule with the office. I called and informed the office staff (who are largely incompetent, unable to answer many questions and send you from one person to the next), that I would return to my previous allergist and would not continue with the practice due to the way I had been treated. I am a consumer after all, and cannot possibly imagine paying for any additional services in this establishment.
A few more letters trickled my way, including, a letter telling on me to my PCP stating that the «doctor» had clearly informed me to follow up with him and that I had not, and he was no longer in charge of my care. Excellent.
That PA should be ashamed of herself. I am more than happy to drive an hour to see my childhood Allergist, who is incredibly compassionate, well informed, and a Medical Doctor, whom I see each and every visit.

I really loathe going here, but continue to simply because it’s right around the corner from my house. The other reviews that state how awful this place is really do a good job describing what goes on here. Years ago, it was just as bad so they laid off a bunch of staff in an effort to change things — it’s still no better and I have a feeling it stems from the ownership.
The customer care simply isn’t there — I say customer, not patient… because that’s what you are here. Another reviewer called it «like cattle» and couldn’t be more accurate. No matter what time you have your appointment, you are ALWAYS seen late. You could be the first customer of the day and you’ll still wait at least 15 minutes before you are seen. If, by some miracle you ARE seen right away, you are put into a room to wait for more paperwork and random individuals to see you.
The allergy staff watches TV channels (in the testing room, mind you) that carry shows like Springer and Dr. Phil. If you enjoy gossip and drama, don’t bring your headphones. The nursing staff constantly complains about other departments’ ways of doing things, and throws others under the bus — including the reception staff.
Here’s the best part… both my wife and I have succeeded in actually never being visited by a doctor while we’ve been there. The few times a doctor actually enters the room, you’ve already been questioned to death by his aides and therefore he has no need to actually SPEAK to you as a patient… yup, customer again. If, by chance, the doctor actually makes an attempt at conversation, he stares at his computer monitor and doesn’t even listen to your responses with intent.
After being beaten down during the 2 hour physical you’ve gone through, when the question of «Any questions?» is asked, you don’t even feel like answering. Smile and nod, there’s the door — you are home free.
Find another doctor. Don’t even consider this place.

Inefficient is the best way I can describe this Dr.‘s office. I continued my allergy treatments here and the allergist I had was run 100 times better! In order to get my shots, which I have to do once a week, I have to do the following:
1. Go to the first desk, be ignored by the person there — and this is HONESTLY the case. These people I hate the most because they flagrantly ignore you. Sometimes it is just them finishing up something, but other times they see you and start doing something and then give you the amazing gift of their attention. Sometimes I have even been in a line and the person starts working on something else right when I approach the window. In my opinion, the two women who work at the «check in» desk are the worst employees in this whole office.
2. Take a paper to another desk. They’re a little less arrogant but there is sometimes a line.
3. Wait
4. Get my shots — SEVEN total! (See below for why that is ridiculous)
5. Wait the obligatory time
6. Wait even longer past that for them to call me (it is usually much longer than a half hour — they call when THEY want to see you)
Then I get to go.
The way it worked at my previous allergist was that you walked up to a person whose job it was to give shots. Never a line of more than 2 or 3. Person doesn’t ignore me when I get there. Give them my name, they pull my serum and give me TWO shots (one in each arm) — I wait for a half hour and then go show the same person my arms and leave. I was never there longer than 35 minutes. A visit to New England Allergy typically runs about an hour or more! I also got to go to my old allergist whenever I could during that week — without having to make an appointment.
Oh, and for some reason they find it necessary to send multiple copies of the same letters and paperwork to your house. Odd, and a waste.
The only good thing I give them was that they were very thorough in their testing and the scratch test employees did a great job. The doctor (when I saw him) was also very nice and spent a lot of time with me explaining things. If I were to do it over again I would go here for testing and prescriptions but NOT for immunotherapy.

This place is awful! If i could give this place –1,000 stars I would. They do one thing well, line people up like cattle and give allergy tests and allergy shots. Let me describe my last two visits here.
I went in for a general physical since I had not had one in years. Everything checked out fine and i was perfectly healthy. A couple months later i get a $ 500 bill from Qwest Diagnostics for the blood work. I called and stated that I paid my co pay and they took my insurance info and should be all set. That apologized and said they would take care of it. A month later I got a bill from a collector, and now my credit is effected. Thanks New England Allergy.
My next visit I was having some allergy problems after i exercised and wanted to check it out. I went in and with out listening to my problem they just threw me in to test me AGAIN for allergies. I already took this test and knew what i was allergic too. I told them not to use the «Shell fish» test because I am highly allergic. They stuck me with the «shell fish» test anyway and then had to give me additional adrenalin shots because the reaction was so bad. At least they billed my insurance correctly this time. To this day I still never got a single question answered about the reason I went in that day. They just ran a test that they already gave me and stuck me with shell fish.
Thanks New England Allergy!