Benjamin Lannon

Strengths-compassion, confidence, knowledge, understanding I have spent a lot of my life worrying about getting pregnant and fearing infertility. As I faced those things during my time at the clinic I was met with nothing but kindness and help. We were given treatment options and tender care that changed our lives. Weaknesses-expensive (not their fault, so worth it!)

Very thorough, expect monitoring closely and appointments every 2-3 days. Staff is very kind and will call with any update and not keep you waiting. When there is good news they celebrate with you and make you feel very special. During one of my cycles I had Covid- the staff checked in on me as if I were family.

I like how it’s not far from home. I do wish there were more clinics above Portland to help provide services to more northern Maine families otherwise people have to travel far for these services. I wish the hours were more flexible, being open later in the day for those who work full time and don’t have the flexibility right away for simple appointments

Very organized, never overbooked so you're not stuck waiting around, very confidential and compassionate. The only negative to say is that some of their ultrasound techs are less than friendly. Being such an emotional process, they should really know their audience and understand we are nervous and stressed.

The Portland clinic does a pretty good job, but it's a shame it's really the only option in the area. I think the lack of competition is ultimately not great for consumers, as the clinic is not worried about losing business.

The financial part is scary and intimidating. The person going through it flies through the options and pricing. We left after meeting with her feeling extremely overwhelmed. She answered my follow up questions via email quickly but they were very short and often didn’t answer my entire question. I wish there had been more check ins and communciation during the embryo growing process. I heard from the nurse after insemination but didn’t get any update until retrieval day and we had to ask the doctor for an update.

Their scheduling is a little weird to me. I have had 2 appointments and both have been changed to earlier in the day. I am lucky to have a flexible job but that might not work for everyone. It’s almost like they don’t even ask you if the time change will work they just kind of tell you.

I really enjoyed our clinic. The support staff was very helpful. I will say that the billing department was extremely disappointing. This is a very sensitive experience for people, and I did not feel like their billing employee gave any empathy, patience, or understanding. I understand that this at the end of the day is a business, we felt like if we didn't completely pay up front that issues would arise, also their was inconsistency in how we were communicated with. Bills that came from the actual Boston, Boston IVF location were almost threatening, notes left at the end of the bill (which I still have for proof) would have comments like "PAYMENT IS SERIOUSLY OVERDUE" which is obviously something we are more than aware of.

Everyone at the clinic is friendly and comforting at times of joy as well as during the hard times. They are prompt and timely at returning calls and emails. All of the paperwork and info has been sent via email prior to our appointments which makes it easier to review on our own time before talking about it in person.

It's small so you will pretty much only work with your nurse and definitely only with your doctor. Because it's small, they do manage cycles to line up with their OR schedule. I wish there were more services available here like acupuncture, mental health, etc. I don't like working with the financial people - I feel like there should be more compassion in that process because it is VERY expensive. They've also raised their prices in the last year.

I do recommend Boston IVF Portland, Maine Clinic. They are an experienced clinic and make you feel comfortable and welcome. They were very helpful with the financial part of things and guided my husband and I through every step. I do feel that I could’ve had a different outcome had I known what I know now so I’d tell a new patient to get all the facts about IVF and your specific situation before moving forward with any clinic. Every doctor is different and may take a different approach to your specific needs.

The clinic is welcoming, private, calm and comforting. I never have to wait long to be seen and rarely encounter others in the wait room. If you are a male and need to provide a sample, you are allowed to do so at home and bring it in within an hour - which is great because there is only one restroom off the reception area. My husband was not interested in attempting to provide a sample in that restroom and walking it to the receptionist. The patient rooms are small and basic, offices are comfortable.

Overall the staff were great. I did not feel that I received all the information I wanted with regard to financial assistance options. It felt like a cookie cutter list was given to us with options that we were then responsible for looking into ourselves. There is minimal information given about possible grants and scholarships available or other options other than financing. We requested this information specifically when we were considering whether or not we would be able to afford another cycle and I included what we had already used for options in the past that would no longer be an option and I received a generic e-mail back with the same list given to us the first time. We qualified for a treatment discount based on our income and I was very disappointed to learn that if we used any form of grant or gift money that we would no longer qualify for the discount. There are few grants that provide substantial assistance and unless we received at least a $10k grant, we would end up having to pay more than our first cycle without the discount. The clinic felt like a factory at times and everything is scheduled according to when the clinic does particular procedures rather than specific to how I responded. There was a question about whether or not I would have had more mature eggs if given a couple more days of stimulation but the retrieval was scheduled for 1 day for all patients. My next cycle was at a clinic abroad and they saw me daily towards the end to closely monitor the growth and scheduled the retrieval for the day my body was ready. The clinic was very secretive about our results. For instance, I was doing fertility acupuncture and my acupuncturist wanted me to come with my estrogen level and how many follicles and what size but the clinic would not give me this information and they said they don't give this out.

They were great about getting us in quickly and great to talk with. The secretary’s could be a bit more understanding of the patients fear and having lots of questions about the paperwork. Great company

The clinics strengths in my eyes are the nurses and dr amount of knowledge in the process as well as their gift to make you feel comfortable with the situation the only weakness in my eyes is the receptionist in the front is not that friendly

I only saw one doctor (not including anesthesiologists) at Boston IVF which I really liked. The nurses are quick to call you back. They have floating sonographers so I hardly saw the same person twice for ultrasounds. The receptionist is wonderful, but the backup receptionist is not warm at all. They just redesigned their website, and while it looks nicer, it's too "marketing" and not "caring" enough for me.

The clinic is pretty simple, I thought it would actually be a little nicer for the amount of money patients are paying for the service. I did like that they had coffee in the Lobby though for the patients.

The clinic was always inviting, from the receptionist at the front to ultrasound techs or people who drew blood. We never felt rushed or felt like we were bothering anyone. The clinic had no weaknesses. All of the staff are very good at what they do. For a new patient, be patient, try to keep your stress levels down even though it is a very stressful process, and have faith in yourself and the staff.

Communication could be better. Sometimes it’s hard to get a hold of people when you have questions. But I do feel that the clinic does a good job getting people in and working towards their goals of starting or explanding their families.

The clinic is in a little bit of an out of way spot but the waiting room is calming and the building itself is easy to navigate. Before covid they even had a tea/drink station. not sure if its there now though.

The front office staff is not particularly friendly and I had a few very non-compassionate interactions. If you are deviating from their usual protocols things might get messed up and you have to be on top of things for yourself. Timing of monitoring is not flexible but they did always get me in pretty early so I wasn't too late for work. The ultrasound techs rotate in and are not specific to the clinic, so they are very different in what they tell you about what they are seeing which I found stressful.

the practice itself is organized with a great system in place. Staff are friendly, compassionate and profession. The only weakness is that I wish the practice was located closer to my home town. I have to travel about 45minutes to the office.

Doctor was caring and compassionate. Nursing staff at time of procedures were compassionate and supportive. Support staff could have been better at communicating more timely with results and more compassion when giving results that were not expected

They're fine! They are organized and easy to access care. I had a flexible work schedule, but overall, I think they were able to accommodate. They were compassionate, and showed a lot of compassion.