How was your experience with Joseph Hill at Fertility Centers of New England?
We had one phone consultation with Dr. Hill before our first IVF cycle. He did not do our egg retrieval nor did he check in during monitoring. He did not call when the cycle failed. We met with him (which we initiated) to plan our second cycle. We were all still hopeful at this point and he was fairly outgoing and conversational. He did not do any monitoring or the egg retrieval, and again, no contact during the cycle. He called to recommend donor eggs when he called to tell me the cycle failed. We met with him several months later, and was a little less friendly at this point, because as he explained, we were using a “free cycle” that he didn’t feel should be free (he stated we had waited too long for to use our 2 for 1 cycle). He did do that egg retreival, and left me a voicemail the next day that was about ten seconds long, that said “Hey Meredith, not good news unfortunately. As predicted, no eggs fertilized this cycle. I’m going to recommend you try donor eggs. Bye bye now.” And we have never talked since.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Joseph Hill at Fertility Centers of New England?
His clinic is affordable, which is why we went with him. We did not have a good experience (x3). I would gladly pay a little more for a better experience overall— even if the cycle ultimately failed. Our cycles all failed, which may or may not have been Dr. Hill’s fault (he never really tweaked the protocol, he just continued to recommend donor eggs). It was the overall experience that we remember and want others to know about.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Joseph Hill at Fertility Centers of New England?
1.) Although there were many friendly faces during monitoring, there were no initial instructions about what to expect during monitoring. There is no receptionist working during that time, so I didn’t know where to even sign in or what to expect.
2.) Dr Hill saw us in the parking lot on the way into our last egg retrieval and looked through us as if he didn’t know us, even after I smiled and gave a quiet “hello”.
3.) Dr Hill called me the day our embryo arrested and very bluntly said to turn to donor eggs. During our follow up meeting, he agreed to try one with my eggs more time with very little persuasion on my end. I felt as though he did not need to make that donor egg recommendation over the phone, one breath after telling me that our cycle failed.
4.)we did a “buy two get one free” package. I reached out to Dr. Hill’s office within the year we first started (about 10-11 months after our first cycle) to complete our last “free” cycle. Dr Hill met with us personally and explained that we were technically over our time limit, and indicated that it *shouldn’t* be free. He was not very friendly about this fact, and indicated that he was doing it as a favor for us, which I did not appreciate because we bought our first two cycles fair and square, and were completing our last cycle within the agreed upon timeframe.
Describe the protocols Joseph Hill used in your cycles at Fertility Centers of New England and their degree of success.
We used antagonist (Gonal-F, Menopur, Cetrotide) for two cycles and Long Lupron for one cycle.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Fertility Centers of New England.
The nurses were for the most part friendly. The one expection was when my husband and I questioned the timing of our trigger shot, the nurse told us to “trust the doctor and stay off Google.”
Describe your experience with Fertility Centers of New England.
Strengths: price tag (especially in comparison to other northern New England clinics). Patient portal (the nurses were very prompt in responding to any and all questions on the portal).
Weaknesses: quality of care. Tweaking protocol when cycles failed. No communication with or from the lab. Patient has little or no say in treatment.
Describe your experience with your monitoring appointments at Fertility Centers of New England.
Overall monitoring worked like a well-oiled machine, once you know the process.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Joseph Hill at Fertility Centers of New England.
We did a two cycles for the price of one deal that included monitoring, egg retrieval and transfer. Medications were separate.
Describe Joseph Hill's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Fertility Centers of New England.
Although we never got as far as a transfer, Dr. Hill indicated that he would transfer 2 embryos if that was our wish. He left it totally up to us.
What specific things went wrong at Fertility Centers of New England?
- Failed to inform you of changes in protocol
- Provided conflicting information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Fertility Centers of New England.
Our clinic has multiple locations. You get orders during the monitoring portion of the cycle that indicates where you need to go for monitoring the next day. I was once given orders to go to the wrong clinic. Luckily I questioned it before I went.
In my last cycle the doc put me on a thyroid medicine and just told me to stay on it “through the duration of my pregnancy”. I never got pregnant, nor did I make it as far as a transfer. They told me to stop my fertility meds after our cycle failed but never gave instructions regarding the thyroid medicine. When I called to ask about it, they said to check with my PCP... even though it was Dr. Hill who put me on it in the first place.