If you have tried to find a new primary care doctor in the Northborough, Westborough, Marlborough or Shrewsbury area lately, you already know the frustrating part: the phone call that ends with “we’re not taking new patients right now.” It is not your imagination. Massachusetts has fewer primary care physicians per adult than it did a decade ago, and many practices in MetroWest have quietly closed their panels. Here is what actually matters when you are choosing, and how to get seen quickly once you have found a practice that is open.
1. Ask the two questions that save you a wasted call
Before anything else, ask: “Are you accepting new adult patients, and do you take my insurance?” Those two answers rule most practices in or out in thirty seconds. If the answer is yes to both, ask when the first new-patient visit is available. A practice that can see you within a couple of weeks is telling you something good about how it runs; one that quotes four months is telling you something too.
Our office accepts Blue Cross Blue Shield, Harvard Pilgrim, Mass General Brigham Health Plan, Tufts Medicare Preferred HMO, Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare and Wellpoint, and new-patient visits are usually available within a few weeks.
2. Decide whether you want a doctor or a team
There is a real difference between a solo physician and a physician-led team, and neither is wrong — it depends on what you value. With a single doctor, you always see the same face, but when that doctor is out, you wait. With a small team, you may see the physician for your annual visit and complex problems and a physician assistant or nurse practitioner for a sick visit, a follow-up or a refill, which is what makes same-week appointments possible.
The question to ask is whether the team shares one chart and one plan. At our practice, Courtney Laperriere, PA-C and Diana Kisel, FNP-C work alongside me, and whoever you see knows your history because it is the same record and we talk about our patients every day.
3. Check what can be done in the office
A surprising amount of the hassle in primary care is the second trip: the lab draw across town, the EKG at the hospital, the referral that takes three phone calls. Ask whether blood work and an EKG are done on site, whether telehealth is offered for follow-ups and refills, and how results are shared with you. For most adults, a practice that handles routine labs in the office and answers results through a portal or a quick call will save hours a year.
4. Board certification, and what it does and doesn’t tell you
“Board-certified in internal medicine” means the physician completed a three-year residency in adult medicine and passed a national examination, and keeps that certification current. It is a floor, not a ceiling — it tells you the training is there, not whether the doctor listens. The best signal for the second part is still the one patients have always used: what do other patients say, and does the office pick up the phone?
5. Bring the right things to the first visit
You will get far more out of a first appointment if you arrive with: a list of every medication and supplement you take, with doses; the names of any specialists you see; the date of your last physical and any screening tests (colonoscopy, mammogram, bone density); and the two or three things you most want to address. Don’t worry if you can’t get your old records — we can usually see them through Care Everywhere, or you can sign a release at the visit.
What to expect from us
Our office is at 162 Main Street in Northborough, a short drive from Westborough, Marlborough, Southborough, Shrewsbury and Hudson. We see adults 18 and over, Monday through Friday, in person or by telehealth, and we offer same-day visits for urgent concerns. If weight is part of your health picture, our EverWell medical weight-management program is in the same office with the same team, so it is one chart and one plan rather than another referral.
To request a new-patient appointment, call (508) 770-6701 or use the short form on our primary care page. We will call you back within one business day to find a time.
Gunardi Irawan, MD, is board-certified in internal medicine and obesity medicine and leads a primary care and medical weight-management practice in Northborough, Massachusetts. This article is general health information, not medical advice for any individual.
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