Family Medicine @ Ball Square

Dr. Bath used to be great. When I first went to see him he was thorough and attentive, but he just went downhill. This place got too busy, too fast. The last few visits I felt rushed. He didn’t even want to do routine cholesterol blood work at my last yearly physical (and I only saw him once a year)! It is really disappointing.
Now, my theory on how such a great Doctor could go downhill this quick is that he accepts MassHealth. He was literally one of the few doctors I could find who took it. I no longer have it, but when I did, it was hard to find a board certified Doctor. He was wonderful in the beginning, but then suddenly he got booked out 6 months in advance, and the appointment times got shorter and shorter. I know MassHealth reimbursement isn’t much, and he has a business to run, but what about ethics?
If you want quality care on MassHealth, you’re better off at a community health center.

Dr. Bath is one of the best doctors I’ve had. Great guy with knowledge about everything.

This practice is absolutely fantastic. I have been seeing Dr. Parra Tomkins for about 10 years now, and she has been superior. I have always been able to see her or one of the other doctors in the practice for short notice appointments on the few occasions when I have been ill, and my yearly checkups are always thorough, non-​judgmental, and honest. It seems like every time I visit, the doctors there, especially Dr. Tomkins, are generally concerned about my well-​being and committed to improving my health. The front desk staff work very well with my insurance and I have never had a billing issue that couldn’t be resolved with one quick phone call. Even the nurses and medical assistants are very friendly and they know me by name despite the fact that I only see them about once per year. Overall, the practice is great and I would recommend them to anyone.

I go to Dr. Bath, and he’s probably the best doctor I’ve ever been to. He’s incredibly nice and engaging, he takes the time to explain his entire thought process about diagnoses and etc., and he diagnosed and fixed a thyroid problem that a previous doctor had tested for, but never acted on.
I’m on the Commonwealth Choice plan, and got assigned to Dr. Bath pretty much randomly, but I would recommend him without reservation.

This is the best doctor’s office I have ever been, and recommend it to everyone!!!
I was referred to this office from a client of mine and I actually hesitated to come since it is a bit of drive from my house. Anyway, first time I called to make an appt the lady was so so so nice and polite and very helpful. The first time we came into the office, a receptionist actually introduced herself and welcomed us. This never happened anywhere that I have been! I so felt very nice about the place already.
Then we met a doctor there, and she was also very friendly and very well explained about medicine. I only saw Dr. Tomkins but heard great thing about other doctors here as well. Great vibe.

My review is based solely on my exchange with whomever picked up the phone when I was trying to make an appointment. I agree that perhaps this is unfair, but if you never get in the door to see a doctor, then you can’t write a review of the medical practice itself.
I called early in the morning asking about getting an appointment that week. The person who picked up was quite cordial as she said sure and asked who my doctor was. When I responded that I would be a new patient, it was almost as if a different person had been handed the phone. The tone changed to chilly and sounded as if a parent was tolerantly replying to a child that they thought wasn’t behaving very well. She said that I wouldn’t be able to get any appointment for a while and that she recommended that I go to the walk-​in clinic at a particular hospital associated with them. I asked, well how long would the wait to get in as a new patient be? And she explained, again in the overly patient tone of a parent with a child they are trying not to snap at, that it was because I was a new patient and she really thought that if I had something that couldn’t wait, that I should go to the walk-​in clinic. She added that she thought that as someone looking for a new doctor, I wouldn’t be able to find anywhere that could take me sooner than December. (December?!)
So I hung up and started calling other offices that I had found positive reviews about. The next one I tried, I found one who had an appointment available that afternoon. I had to go through new patient registration before they would let me talk to the scheduler, and the scheduler did sound somewhat surprised herself that there was a same-​day appointment available, but still, I got in. From the impression the woman I talked to at Family Medicine @ Ball Square gave me, I am pretty sure that if there were any same-​day appointments at their clinic, she would be saving them for their current patients.

I’ve been going to this practice for about three years now and have had the pleasure of Dr. Parras Tomkins as my primary physician. I have also seen Dr. Lee when Dr. Tomkins was on vacation. Both Drs. are extremely knowledgeable, compassionate, and helpful.
My only other experience was with the Cambridge Health Alliance for which their Somerville based doctors have a strange system for booking appointments (on the day a week before). In comparison, booking appointments at the Family Medicine @ Ball Square is a breeze. They are open to walk-​ins and I have called and shown up as early as 5 minutes later. They also take blood samples and the like for tests on-​site, no need to go elsewhere.
I have also been taking my 5 month old son (from birth) here and am very pleased with their attentiveness, ease at getting vaccinations and being provided with information, as well as the care of the support staff and nurses. There is very little wait time when going for pre-​scheduled appointments.
Family Medicine @ Ball Square is part of the Hallmark Health Medical Associates (Lawrence Memorial Hospital and Melrose-​Wakefield Hospital) which also provides for a wide range of doctors and services that I have found to be excellent.