AFC Doctors Express Urgent Care

I took our son there on Friday night at 6:30pm after a freak hockey injury. He collided into the goalie and caught the goalie’s skate just above the knee. I thought it would be quicker than a busy ER on a rainy Friday evening. I was correct. The friendly front office staff registered us quickly and we were seen within 15 minutes. The medical assistant, PA and Doctor were all great. Very professional and gentle with my son. They took great care of him. It was right around the corner from New England Sports Center. So convenient. As an added bonus, they had coffee for the parents and snacks for the kids.

This office may be appropriate for simple adult procedures such as a strep test, but they are not competent with pediatric patients.
I brought my 13-​month-​old son for an urgent visit on the night of February 6, 2016. He presented with a fever and a cough, and had a history of bronchialitis and ear infection. He was seen by Dr. Roxanne Latimer. While Dr. Latimer was polite, prompt, and professional, she misdiagnosed my son, demonstrated insufficient knowledge of diagnostic criteria, and prescribed him an inappropriate medication. Luckily, I am familiar enough with pediatric medicine to have questioned her judgment. I brought him to the Boston Children’s ED the next day, where multiple pediatric urgent care doctors disputed Dr. Latimer’s diagnoses and treatment.
Dr. Latimer diagnosed him with pneumonia, and told me that at his age pneumonia can be diagnosed solely through fever and respiratory rate. She confirmed these diagnostic criteria when I questioned her. However, at Children’s the next day the doctors told me that pneumonia should only be diagnosed when fluid in the lungs can be detected either through x-​ray or appreciation with a stethoscope, and they said my son did not have pneumonia. Dr. Latimer told me that my son was not wheezing and was not retracting and should not be treated with albuterol – but the next day, when he sounded/​looked the same, doctors at Children’s told me he WAS wheezing and retracting. They diagnosed him with bronchialitis, treated him with albuterol and an oral steroid in the office, and prescribed continuing treatment with an oral steroid and albuteral for the next 5 days. Dr. Latimer told me that my son’s ears were fine, but at Children’s the next day he was diagnosed with severe bilateral ear infections, and the doctors there told me that there is no way such an infection could have emerged that morning. Dr. Latimer prescribed my son an antibiotic to treat his supposed pneumonia, and it was not effective on his actual ear infection. As a result, he took 3 doses of the wrong medication, and was delayed 1 day in taking the appropriate medication.
So to sum up, Dr. Latimer said my son had pneumonia (he didn’t), she said he didn’t have ear infections (he did), and she said he wasn’t wheezing and retracting (he was). She explicitly told me not to treat him with the medications that ultimately cleared up his illness, and she prescribed an inappropriate medication. She did not seem able to diagnose an ear infection in a pediatric patient, nor to distinguish accurately between two common, serious, and similarly-​presenting pediatric conditions (pneumonia and bronchialitis). I appreciated the efficient and courteous service at this office, but am alarmed by the poor care provided, and fear that this low quality of service could result in patient harm.

I have been to this place twice. The staff is extremely friendly and you are seen right away. I have nothing but great things to say about this facility!

Great option for Sunday medical care. The staff was very professional, and the wait was reasonable. A monitor in the waiting room kept me informed of where I was in line and when it was my turn to be seen. The doctor was fantastic.

Pros: Super fast
Cons: It’s the fast food equivalent of medicine.
I went to Doctors Express today to look at a big cut and was able to get set up as a new patient and see a doctor* within 15 minutes. The place is new and very clean. Plenty of seats in the waiting room and free coffee and snacks (bags of pretzels), and a TV to keep your mind off of what ever ailment that brought you there.
They were very nice and extremely efficient.
After handing over my ID and insurance card, and filling out a small form, I waited for about 3 – 4 minutes before being led into a room by a nurse. The nurse took my O2, temp, and blood pressure, and did a quick inspection of the injury.
I then waiting another 4 – 5 minutes for the doctor*. The doctor checked the injury and asked a few questions about allergies and such, and then told me I would need to take antibiotics. She left and another nurse came in with a discharge document and instructions.
I drove directly to the pharmacy and my prescription was waiting for me.
Good experience, but I hope I never have to go back.
Other notes:
It’s a for-​profit place and they will most likely value your insurance and copay over your needs, but that is to be expected. It’s a business and not a charity.
* Most of these urgent care places have physicians assistants or nurse practitioners and not full fledged doctors. I have never found them to be any less qualified to treat me in the past. They can write prescriptions and mend you like a regular doctor.

Best experience I have ever had going to the doctor! I visited on a Saturday with an infection and was seen by a doctor within 20 minutes despite the fact that there were about 6 patients ahead of me. I was seen, received a prescription, and was out the door in less time than it takes to get my Primary Care doctor on the phone. When I needed to return for a follow up during the week, the experience was just as fast and efficient. Dr. Tardif, the nurses and front desk staff are fantastic. I even received a follow up call the following day and an electronic record of my treatment history. If I could make them my primary care I would! I would highly recommend them for routine or emergency medical care!

So I was a little skeptical going to a clinic. I truly don’t know much about them. I was so pleasantly surprised when I walked through the door. I was greeted by the receptionist who welcomed me to the office. She had me fill out the paperwork and processed my insurance and made the process very simple. While waiting to be seen I enjoyed a bottle of water and a small bag of pretzels — I was hungry so this was great. After a short wait I was greeted by the nurse, Shannon, who brought me back to a room and she took my vitals and asked about my symptoms. She made it very simple and put me at ease. The doctor soon entered the room and also asked me to describe my symptoms. After reviewing the rash that I had she quickly diagnosed me with shingles — which I had already suspected. She prescribed medication and gave me further instructions.
I’m very happy with my experience here and will certainly go back should the need arise. I would recommend this clinic to anyone in need of their services. They can provide more services than a minute clinic and can meet with you faster than a traditional doctors office.

Went in after a car accident. Doctor asked me inappropriate questions about my finances and parenting.
X rays revealed what was diagnosed as a birth defect. An orthopedist later determined it was not a birth defect (wtf), but a broken collarbone and rib.
Don’t use this clinic.

Overall my experience was relatively good — I’ve never been to an urgent care facility before this week and location wise it’s right between my work and home.
I developed an insect bite rash and went to this facility vs my primary who is currently an hour away. I called in advance to be sure this was something they could look at and was told yes and I arrived shortly after. The facility is meticulously clean, spacious and the staff is extremely pleasant and friendly. I saw a doctor right away with no wait and had a classic case of exactly what I expected. The doctor was extremely thorough going through the medication, what to expect, common side effects etc and clear instructions on on the medication and to follow up if things got worse after a few days. I was thrilled with my first experience. Flash forward to a few days later… worse is what I have both at the site of the bite and with the medication side effects. They called to follow up with me before I could make a call or a visit (as I had planned to do the same day) which was nice. After discussing the problems I was having they said that yes, I should be seen again for re-​evaluation. I went back to the same place and saw the same doctor. This time I got one look and was told it might be something else and was sent to a doctor at another facility to be seen by a specialist (which is totally fine if that is what needs to happen). The staff went above and beyond to get me a local appointment because part of my issue is causing me to have trouble driving which was extremely appreciated. The reason for my 4 over 5 stars is this time there was no conversation of what the problem might be, why I was going to a certain specialist etc. I was left sitting in a room… first with the door open so I could hear everything then with the door closed (sort of freaking out about what is going on — it’s not their fault or problem I know but I tend to have a fair amount of anxiety surrounding all things medical) and then sent along with zero information. When I arrived at the next doctor she wasn’t sure why I was there in the first place (it sounds like it was communicated through several channels and was completely lost in translation) so we basically just started over and she concluded that my original diagnosis was legit but at least took the time to explain the issue, look up alternative medications for something not even in her specialty area and left me feeling less stressed. Everything worked out in the end and I will be following up with my primary tomorrow and making it a priority to find someone closer to our new metrowest home for the future.
I would still recommend this facility, I would go there again if I needed but likely will bring my follow up someplace else. I understand they can’t take care of everything but I guess after having such a great first experience that was extremely thorough I was a little disappointed with the follow up in terms of communicating with me what is going on, what could be the problem and why I was being sent to the next doctor so I would know what to expect.
Upside, at least they refunded my co-​pay for today.

Pros: can schedule on line.
Open on weekends.
Why 2 stars? Their billing department. Went to see them mid April. Paid my co-​pay. I received in the mail a over the weekend saying my account is «seriously past due» (note, it’s under 60 days) and they’ve sent me 2 letters (I haven’t received any). They asked for payment within 10 days of the (un)dated letter and reminded me that «the expense of furnishing care can only be met by payments from appreciative patients.» I paid by bill they day I received it (this weekend) and now have to fax back a letter stating I paid the bill which seems odd.
I would rather spend time in an ER waiting room than return for care. The ER at least bills on time and dates their letters.

Well, they are convenient, quick and clean which are all clearly good things.
But they don’t seem to be the most skilled and sent my son to the ER for a reason that made no sense to the ER doctors or my pediatrician. My son had been throwing up and high temp for a few days, otherwise he was fine (unbelievably fine for the symptoms), he said he had abdominal pain so we went here. They poked him and gave him some pain killers then told us they couldn’t rule out an appendicitis. This child had no pain jumping, laying across the spinning stool and spinning, crawling up and down on and off the table. So off to the ER we went, fine, I want my child to be OK. But he quickly passed all the tests for an appendicitis at the ER which were the same she had done. They couldn’t believe that was the reason she sent him there and quickly went to work looking for anything else. It ended up he was simply fighting a virus that took longer than usual and had a bladder infection.
I get this is a triage type of location, but a child with an appendicitis should be fairly easy to figure out. I usually say, hey you never know lets be safe. But this was different.

Outstanding customer service. Have never felt more comfortable at any medical facility. The doctors are glad to address all concerns. When I called back with more questions the following day, the doctor was busy and the medical assistant (also extremely helpful /​pleasent) advised the doctor would call back as soon as possible. I expected a call within a couple hours but was called back in less than 5 minutes. The doctor was glad to talk as long as needed (and after our lengthy conversation she still advised not to hesitate calling back with any additional thoughts/​concerns). I was impressed with how approachable all staff members were. Will be going here with any medical issues rather than my pcp. Wait times are also minimal.
Thank you to Doctors Express!!!

Loved everything about this place, not only is it great to be able to book an appointment online… the wait time is correct. They are friendly, and always wiling to answer questions. I’m currently a x ray tech student, and when they did the x rays they were kind enough to give me copies to look at. The next day they also called to check up. They will be my go to urgent care!!!

The good:
New, clean, huge facility. Very friendly staff. Convenient location.
Bad:
To be fair, eye issues are not typical but it was the weekend and I needed to see somebody. I had a swollen eye that just showed up out of nowhere. I had not been hit in the eye, exposed to chemicals, or near flying debris. Felt like an infection to me. No dye test done which baffled me and the next Dr. that saw me.
I was diagnosed with blepharitis. Even though I had no flakes or crustiness on my eyelid. Nor do I have any of the underlying conditions that typically cause it. Again, to be fair the outward irritation did appear along my lash line as red and swollen. I was sent home with instructions to scrub my eyelid with baby shampoo and apply a hot compress. Was told it wasn’t contagious.
My eye swelled up even more and my eyelids are bruised from the scrubbing (awesome, right before all the holiday pictures). I woke up today with a bloody, leaky, painful mess. I went to another urgent care facility first thing. Dye test was done. It’s an infection as I suspected. I got drops for it and it’s already feeling a lot better.
This stuff IS contagious. Good thing I stuck with my gut and did not attend a party I had planned to go to.
I’m out $ 35 (twice) for the co-​pay and the time of 2 visits instead of one.
Bottom line:
I want to be fair. The Dr. was not a bumbling idiot. Everyone was very nice and the facility is great. I might go back if I knew it was something simple to deal with, but I would be very hesitant.

New place, just 3 weeks old. Very clean environment, very personable staff. However, they could not do lab work on site. So I still ended up in ER. They sent me there by ambulance, which was a help.