Dr. Alan B Marks, MD

This was the rudest doctor I have ever visited in my whole life. He seemed to make fun of me for even having made the appointment in the first place despite the fact that I have established diagnoses from previous rheumatologists. Since I had seen rheumatologists before outside of the Boston area, been diagnosed and been treated, I reckoned I should see one in the Boston area now that I have moved here. This one, Alan Marks, felt I had nothing rheumatological. Fine if that is his opinion, but why get angry at me about it as if I am trying to make something up? In fact he is the first rheumatologist I have seen that has given me such an aggressive clean bill of health. I do not know if this is how Harvard Vanguard/Atrius forces Dr. Marks to operate or if this is his own style, but when nothing is seen on bloodwork or scans at a given point in time, I guess patients are supposed to see psychiatrists since there is no "objective" evidence of any medical problem? I guess he thought I… should have "obviously" realized what he already knew -- which is that I had no business being in his office. Since I had no referral, he seemed unhappy I was even there wasting his time. Anger just exuded through his pores as he shot down each one of my symptoms one by one as insignificant, as if the symptoms are not what they actually are! He basically asked me to leave the office. He seemed angry at me for not having the bloodwork the way he wants it and therefore cannot do anything for me. The report back to my primacy care probably made things even worse as it made my primary care doctor question if I was even having these symptoms in the first place. He ended up questioning my sense of reality!

Dr. Marks is an excellent Dr.

My primary care doctor couldn't figure out what was wrong and recommended I see a rheumatologist. Earliest available apppointment from the recommended doctor was 6 weeks. I located Dr. Marks and he saw me in 10 days. Spent time interviewing me regarding symptoms, took blood, and arrived at a quick diagnosis that my extreme joint pain was PMR.Gave me a prescription and I got my life back. Can play golf again. He is thorough, concerned, good manners, and writes down instructions so that you know what to do. I highly recommend him based on my experience.

I have seen Dr. Marks for about 2 years, and my wife has seen him over the years as well. We both have nothing but positive experiences to report. The practice is a small, old-fashioned operation in the sense that there are one or two office administrators out front greeting patients and handling paperwork, and but one physician inside seeing patients, without a nurse or nurse practitioner. (Personally, I find this home-town approach comforting and far preferable to the modern group practice, in which you never or rarely see the same front office personnel or triage nurse, and you are kept waiting sometimes for the better part of an hour. The lone small-practice drawback is that only cash and checks are accepted for co-payments, which makes it a bit cumbersome to claim from a healthcare spending account.)I find everyone in the practice to be welcoming, friendly, polite (no small matter in medicine these days...), helpful and caring. Wait times are always moderate or better. Dr. Marks… himself is a funny, friendly man whose approach represents the best of one-on-one medical care. His explanations are clear and straightforward, and his recommendations are always carefully and simply delivered.I highly recommend the practice.is friendly, personable and caring. know which

In a critical situation, Dr. Marks made time to fin an appointment into his schedule one day after being contacted, did a thorough examination and assessment, conveyed his diagnosis clearly and thoughtfully, advised effectively and did his best to arrange follow-up care for someone who isn't a regular patient. His effort is much appreciated and has offered sensible guidance for our next steps. He squeezed this appointment around his existing schedule.