Dr. Mary Patricia Francisco, MD

Dr. Fransisco did not listen to any of the concerns I had about my infant son. She never answered any of my questions. She also sent myself and my son to urgent care for spine xrays where there were very sick people!! He is only 2 months old! Her staff is beyond rude and her nurse should not be working with kids. What a terrible experience.

I have never felt more uncomfortable in a doctors office. She treats her patients so awfully. I do not recommend going here if you can do so.

Dr. Francisco will not find the cause of your child's pain. She will prescribe medication after medication and this will only cover up the pain. GI for Kids agreed our child was on too many medications and were willing to run every test to find the cause for her pain. Food allergies are to blame. Don't take your child to Dr. Francisco.

Our daughter, age 13 has been seeing Dr. Francisco for a year and a half. Dr. Francisco is more concerned with getting your child back in school then getting to the bottom of the illness. After our last visit, her biggest concern was school and there was no way my daughter needed to go to school on the medication that was making her high, dizzy, sleepy, and feeling like she couldn't walk. Dr. Francisco only put on the school nurse form that medicine could cause drowsiness. I asked her to run tests and she looks at you like why? It's a problem with her intestines. That's news to us, we thought she had gastritis. When you leave her office, you learn nothing and you try to educate yourself. Bottom line, you are the voice for your child. I called my daughter's school and they didn't want her at school in pain and on so many pills. She is now on home bound and we are seeing GI for Kids in Knox. soon and just in case they pull a "franciso" we have another appointment at Duke… Children's Hospital. Our pediatrician agrees finding a new GI Dr. will be best. It's your choice as a parent, let Dr. Francisco put your child on all kinds of medication for chronic pain or find a GI Dr. that will investigate and get to the bottom of your child's problem. I also agree with previous review another mom placed regarding long wait times, rudeness from phone operator, and long wait times on phone. Just wait till you decide to leave and you have to get medical records faxed to new Dr. I drove over and signed release form and a week later new GI Dr. hasn't received. I called back and they transferred me to Medical Records. Medical Records didn't have my signed release form. I have to call back and talk to Lady at the front desk that I gave the form to, she said it's right here. I had to ask her, where? She said she scanned it and was looking right at it on her computer screen. I called Medical Records back and she said she doesn't have same screen the front desk has and the form has to be faxed. I took the fax number and called Maureen back at the front desk and said your never going to believe this, but Crystal in Medical Records doesn't have the same screen you have and my form has to be faxed. She was shocked! I asked her if I could give her Crystal's fax number and she took it and faxed. One week later the Medical Records for my daughter were faxed! Thank The Lord for giving me the feeling that I better make sure they faxed her records. If I wouldn't have called and showed up in Knox. with out records, that would have been a nightmare for new GI Dr. Make sure you follow up with Medical Record ask for names that you leave your release form with and who you speak with every time you call. I will update with a new review to let parents know how our visit goes in Knox.

Overall: If there was anyone else available in the area, we would never have gone back after the first visit. My son hated her after one conversation and his opinion has not improved over time (2 years of "treatment"). Cons: Front office staff are brusque to the point of rudeness, no greeting, no small talk, very grim and irritable. You're invisible until you are right in front of them (there's never a "Hi, I'll be right with you" or anything like that) and then it's "Can I help you?" usually with a heavy sigh like you are causing them a huge inconvenience by showing up. Wait times are long, hold times on the phone are long, and we have yet to be seen "on time" despite showing up early to every appointment-- usually we are in the lobby waiting until approx. 30 minutes past our appointment time, and then another 10-30 minutes waiting in the exam room before we see the dr. Pros: The nursing staff is much friendlier but you do not see much of them. Dr. Francisco is… competent and friendly although fairly "cool" in manner (and her attitude is a bit patronizing). They are extremely good about followup and contacting you after they've seen you. Unfortunately, this feels like merely an attempt to make more money rather than any real concern for the patient.

She was a bit short with us, not too much so however. The real kicker was her unwillingness to really investigate our infant sons issues. She was quick to tell us that everything was normal with him, despite his continued symptoms. Wouldnt even switch his formulas or order simple, noninvasive testing that could help alleviate his pain.