Joseph Hill

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.

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.

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.

We used antagonist (Gonal-F, Menopur, Cetrotide) for two cycles and Long Lupron for one cycle.

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.”

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.

Overall monitoring worked like a well-oiled machine, once you know the process.

We did a two cycles for the price of one deal that included monitoring, egg retrieval and transfer. Medications were separate.

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.

Dr. Hill is wonderful. He is straight forward without being harsh and will give you the information you mean without fluff. I prefer that over sugar coating! I know some have thought he was "mean" but I never had that experience and from reading reviews, I think his was more often than not, related to him critiquing patient's weight.

Ask questions! He often comes across as speeding through appointments/consults, but it isn't because he doesn't care. He just has a plan and knows what it is! Trust him!

I always felt like Dr. Hill gave me the time to answer questions. I think a Dr is only as strong as his support team, and the nursing staff at FCNE is top notch, and i felt like together, they all treated me like a person, not a number.

I have always done the standard lupin protocol, but for my next one we are changing it up to the micro flare lupron in hopes of getting more embryos!

I love ALL of the nurses at FCNE. They've always been kind when things haven't gone our way, and given us hope to move forward. I think ti takes a special person to be a fertility nurse and FCNE has the best!

Communication great! Patient Liaison is amazing. Early morning monitoring hours make it easy to get to work and pursue treatment. I have never once regretted my choice to go to FCNE. If you are thinking of IVF please consult with Dr. Hill and crew.

Blood work is first, and usually that staff arrives really early so you can get that done and be first in line for U/S.

Self pay and it isn't cheap but FCNE seemed to have the most affordable.

We only did one transfer where we transferred two embryos, so i cannot speak to this much.

Dr. Hill is a very bright and experienced doctor. While he explains everything, sometimes I wish he would slow down a bit to allow for better absorption of information and understanding. At times, he seems closed off to alternate treatments, but I attribute that to the fact that he's been doing this for a long time and knows what works.

Bring a notepad to take notes when Dr. Hill speaks. Sometimes he goes to fast and it feels a bit rushed.

The nurses at FCNE are amazing! They are warm, caring and always make me feel important.

Now that I'm over 40, we use an antagonist down regulation protocol (using Estrace and Cetrotide). Stimmimg consists of 300 gonal-F, 150 Menopur and Cetrotide. I've produced 4+ eggs with each cycle. For one cycle, we tried the Lupron microflare protocol (in an attempt to harvest more eggs). Unfortunately, that cycle ended up being cancelled because I had one lead follicle and the others failed to grow.

They are incredible. I felt so well cared for. They are responsive (always before the end of the day), caring and kind. There was one nurse, Christine Mazri, who went out of her way to be there for me throughout my procedures. However, all of the nurses on Dr. Hill's care team are fabulous.

The clinic is organized, well-run and has kind and knowledgeable staff. The nurse care-team is outstanding. Compared to what I hear patients of other clinics complain about, I can't think of any complaints.

Monitoring is done at several satellite offices, which makes it convenient. The hours at the office I typically monitored at were 7:00-7:30 am. I am a single mom of a young child so it was sometimes hard to get there by 7:30. Also, on Sundays, you need to go to the Reading office and sometimes you would need to wait for over an hour if you needed an ultrasound. I live 45 minutes away from that office so a Sunday monitoring, it was often close to 3 hours including travel time. I dreaded Sunday monitoring.

IUI-$500 per cycle PGS- $2650 regardless of quantity of embryos being tested.

Due to my age, Dr Hill was fine with me transferring 3 embryos at a time. He explained to me that it was highly unlikely that that would result in multiple babies. He was right!

Dr.Hill is very knowlegable and straight to the point. Which I loved. He always made sure we understood our next step. Our experience has been great besides not having a live birth. Through one egg retrieval and 2 transfers I have never felt like I didn’t know what was going on. My questions and concerns were always answered in a timely manner and with a straight answer.

Ask as many questions as you can think of.

The team at fcne is wonderful, after my miscarriage every person I came in contact with consoled us.

I believe I did the antagonist protocol with my fresh cycle. My fresh cycle included 3 different injectables and oral estrogen. With our FET we did 12-14 days of vaginal estrogen then adding progesterone injections 6 days before transfer.

The nursing staff was wonderful- besides the one time I asked a question close to 5pm and they responded through portal and there was no way for me to ask questions after that message was sent as everyone had gone home. I think with orders close to closing they should call and speak personally with the patient. It is stressful enough going through IVF, the unknown can be scary.

I prefer personal phone conversation, the clinic does a lot of their conversing through an online messaging center which can be confusing. I also wish nurses could schedule appointments, as when I was transferred the scheduling desk would have no idea what I just went through(miscarriage, negative pregnancy test) and don’t understand the importance of speaking with your doctor as soon as possible after a failed cycle.

So far $17,000

I wish I would of had the choice of multiple embryo transfer for our FET as it ended in a negative pregnancy test and we only have one embryo remaining. Our fresh cycle ended in a miscarriage at 6.5 weeks.

Dr Hill is upfront and honest. He listened, did thorough testing, gave options and then we got going right away. Since the beginning he's been making adjusting and alterations with each cycle and hopefully we'll get it right soon. I trust his knowledge and compassion to help me and he makes me feel comfortable. The other doctors in the practice have also been great to be a patient of.

I would recommend Dr Hill & Fertility Centers of New England. Unfirtunately the whole fertility process is stressful and hard.

Doctors were great but the whole fertility process in general makes one feel like a number.

I was diagnosed with low ovarian reserve so Dr Hill was initially aggressive in my first IVF cycle. With only 2 mediocre embryos Dr Hill would have preferred to put them both in but unfortunately insurance only allowed 1. I miscarried at 7 weeks. We had to put in the frozen embryo next round despite Dr Hill wanting to do a fresh round and put 2 embryos in so again unfortunately insurance was holding us back. I've been diagnosed and treated for endometritis also. I'm doing aggressive stimulation now for my second IVF round, treatment for the endometritis before 2 embryos finally are transferred. I hope after the first trial, adjustments and 2 embryo transfer like we always wanted this round will have a positive outcome.

Impatient nurses for procedures were great. The phone care team was ok. I didn't always get all the info I was looking for.

Strengths were doctors, nurses and organization. Weaknesses was compassion of the care team.

Monitoring was convenient early mornings

Insurance covered costs so just co pays for me

Dr. Hill has a warm personality, as described earlier. We didn't have a ton of interaction with him once the IVF cycle started as your care is managed by the team of doctors and nurses.

He can present a lot of information at once, which can be overwhelming, but is open to questions.

Dr. Hill has a warm nature about him. He was a bit overwhelming at first when we found out our diagnosis and he went straight to talking about IVF. Though this was our only option, we personally didn't have time to wrap our head around it before he went on to explain the entire procedure and ask us when we wanted to start. Though he was my primary doctor, the practice operates with many physicians and you will talk to or meet with whoever is on call or on schedule that day.

Because we had male factor infertility that could not be improved upon enough to conceive naturally, Dr. Hill let us know up front that we would need an IVF cycle with ICSI. We were lucky to get pregnant on the first try with a fresh cycle. The rest of the embryos were frozen for future use.

Nurses would update the online portal with instructions. They were always available to speak with during business hours and would confer with the doctor as necessary. The nurses in the pre-procedure/recovery area were very nice.

Large clinic in an easily accessible area. They are open 7 days a week and always have a doctor on call for questions or emergencies. The practice has about six doctors that rotate schedules, so you may not always get your doctor for procedures or phone calls.

Ultrasounds were always done in the morning for set hours. It was first come, first serve. Since I work early I made sure to be there right when they opened. I don't remember a time that I had to wait more than a half hour.

We are lucky to live in Massachusetts, which covers fertility treatment. We've only had to pay the medication co-pays out-of-pocket. This was still a significant cost over about a month (around $500).

He talks really fast, until you know the lingo you can get lost. He is to the point, which can be a bit hard when you want more than what you got. Sometimes you just want to cling to your poor embryos

Double-check your regimens and information, it can be years between transfers, especially if successful, and they may not be reading everything. They deal with many patients, don't assume they remember you can't have a certain medication. As with any doctor, you need to be your own advocate. Don't get to caught up in what others did for their cycle but do check with Dr Hill to see if it might work well for you.

I was repeatedly given a regimen or information for what I am guessing is a typical patient. This led to me being put on a medication I couldn't be on, had we not discussed this beforehand I would understand them missing it, but we had discussed it. I assumed there was something different about what they prescribed, but no, they just missed that I couldn't be on it. That caused a cancelled cycle. They almost sent my embryo biopsies to a lab that couldn't test them. Fortunately, I asked enough questions that the mistake was caught before my embryos were destroyed in some sort of freeze thaw marathon. The staff needs to slow down and read charts and patient information

We wanted a lot of eggs because my issue leads to very few being viable. Even with my low weight, he had me take a medium dose of goal-f, my body reacted too well and he immediately adjusted my protocol to slow me down and bring my estrogen down. If my estrogen continued to skyrocket he was going to "coast" me which he explained can lead to diminished egg quality, fortunately, we did not need to coast. Instead of a day 10 egg collection, I was ready at day 9. He got a whopping 25 eggs... This led to 8 day 5, 1 compatible with life and 2 inconclusive. We agreed to let my body recover and skip the next cycle. The following cycle my lining decided to slough off mid-cycle, so we cancelled. Finally, having my body back to normal for transfer really was the best thing, my lining cooperated and we transferred. They monitored through the first few weeks then it was all my OB. I have a beautiful little boy

I did everything through the portal, so there wasn't really interaction. She responded promptly and thoroughly. I remember liking her, but it has been too long. I do remember an issue with the hospital I was having ultrasounds at. They needed something marked differently on an order. She had the change to me immediately so that none of my testing was delayed.

They work with a lot of patients, while that can lead to mistakes like I experienced, it also means they have seen a lot of different cases and that gives them a considerable amount of knowledge to pull from when solving the complex issues that comes with each individual's infertility.

It was $11,800 for IVF with PGD, $2000 for medication, $3500 for the PGD probe, plus travel and hotel. Came out to $24,000, roughly, the first year. We have paid $500 each additional year to preserve our inconclusive embryos. To retest our embryos, it will be another $3500 plus lab fees. I need to ask what just a FET will cost, I am sure it is on their site. Their site is very informative. We try to take this one step at a time, after the number of miscarriages we have had you learn not to plan too far ahead. Right now we are enjoying our miracle.

Dr Hill is Extremely knowledgeable , compassionate and thorough. Will take his time to explain it until you understand and will explain it many times again without hesitation or annoyance. His experience is vast and his attention to individual patient detail exceptional. You are not a number. He treats you as if you were his own family.

Trust him. He knows what he is doing.

Dr Hill genuinely cares and wants success for his patients. He’s thorough and has amazing bedside manner

Agnostic protocol, TESA , IVF wifh icsi

Nursing staff was distant and distracted. I’m unsure if it was due to workload or if they just didn’t care as much about patient relationships as the doctors do.

Clinic is very organized , the online patient portal is easy to use and quick means of communication. You have response within a couple hours typically. As they are so familiar with the protocol consultation and treatments have minimal wait time compared to other clinics. The only thing I missed is having a after hours number to call If you experience problems post retrieval and transfer

It was drop in basis. First come first served. Blood work wait was minimal at times there was a wait for ultrasound. Overall well designed though

8400 for IVF wifh icsi

We were pleased that dr Hill was willing to transfer two day 5 embryos. Which resulted in Singleton birth

We worked with Dr. Hill for our donor egg cycle. I live out of state so I have never met him in person. I sometimes felt a little rushed on the phone and wish he would of spent more time with me. I would hang up and realize I didn't get a chance to ask all of my questions.

Go prepared with questions and don't let him rush you. This is your time.

I believe Dr. Hill really cared about me. When he would talk to me he would say, "If you were my daughter" that meant a lot to me so it made me really listen to his advice.

I do not remember that protocol we used for our donor. The cycle did not go so well and I was told that we should cancel the cycle but we kept going. We ended up with PGS tested embryos so I am glad we didn't stop.

The nursing staff was amazing. Very supportive and helpful and quick to respond to calls or questions.

We went to the clinic once and it looked beat up. It needs a facelift for sure. The waiting room so small and there weren't enough chairs for my husband so he has to wait in the lobby. The wait time was great and the staff was friendly and helpful.

His cost were reasonable compared to our first clinic. I still hope that one day insurance will help cover some costs. We were 100% out of pocket.

He recommended one embryo to be transferred and his reasons supported that decision.

I felt very comfortable working with him because he is incredibly knowledgeable. He was confident in the treatment plan and was right. We've had the best outcome one could hope for twice now working with him.

Don't expect a lot of one on one attention and hand holding but know that you are still getting excellent and state of the art care.

While I didn't have as much interaction with the doctor because I was traveling from out of state the nurses always knew exactly what was going on with me and never confused me with another patient.

Every single nurse on the team knew what was going on with my cycle. I never had to remind anyone what medications I was one or where I was at in the cycle. All of my questions(even the dumb ones) were answered quickly and with compassion and understanding.

While there was just a general monitoring time, it ran very smoothly! Only once or twice was I there for more than 15 minutes. The nurses and techs are very efficient about getting everyone in and out in a timely manner.

Dr. Hill was very matter of fact. He didn't waste my time at my age with so many other procedures. Dr. Hill stated what was the best solution in my case at the first consultation. I asked a LOT of questions and he was eager to answer every one. If I had a question during the process, he would answer any and all of them.

Direct and to the point and very knowledgeable.

In the beginning, it was like a number. The waiting around for the tests was very stressful. The amount of explanation on the entire process could have improved.

I went with a donor for the eggs. I had to do the progesterone shots 2cc while carrying my twins, suppositories. I followed exactly what I was suppose to do. I had twins the first time 2008 and a singleton in 2010.

Generally very nice and patient. The waiting room is so-so.

Dr. Hill is very matter of fact and direct. I like this. The options were all discussed along with the % of becoming pregnant. I like the overall staff. The waiting room needs an update to be more welcoming and engaging.

Cost for donor eggs, cost for actual procedure. The office submitted the cost of blood work, medication and office visits to my insurance which was mostly covered.

I was glad to be able to do multiple embryo transfer even at my age.

He is very matter of fact. We are still undergoing treatment so don't know the results yet. He is great at answering questions when you are with him but hard to get a hold of him when not at an appt.

He tends to move quickly through details.

Most of the time the care is great Sometimes it is hard to get a hold of a nurse.

I don't really remember. Sorry

The nursing staff is good. When you are at appointments they are wonderful and helpful. Sometimes it is a little difficult to get answers through the patient portal.

There are several doctors at the clinic and some are better than others. The hours of operation are great and having more than one location provides good flexibility.

Tends to be busy, but if you get there early, there is no wait.

Mine was covered by insurance.

I can't speak highly enough of Dr. Hill. When we started treatment I was a bit nervous as I had seen a few ratings where people thought he was "mean". I didn't find this to be the case AT ALL! My guess is is that people didn't like that he was being honest about things.

Book an appointment!

Dr Hill was WONDERFUL! Honest and to the point but he cares about his patients!

Fresh Cycle- Failed but eggs frozen Fresh Cycle- Success! Live Birth! Full Term Boy Frozen Cycle- SUccess! Live Birth! Full Term Boy

I loved all the staff at FCNE both in the office and during procedures

Early morning so could be to work on time! Very quick wait!

IVF Assist $7200

He is an excellent scientist but lacking in compassion.

Go in with a thick skin and question him on the source of his stats. Don't let him rush you.

Appointments were usually rushed, and explanations brief. Stats were cherry-picked and misleading. He actually told me once I "screwed up" a cycle.

They were almost always caring, attentive and friendly.