NOT SAFE for Elderly Patients Our visit to this MRI office was deeply concerning from start to finish. The front desk staff was extremely rude to my elderly mother and completely inattentive to patient safety. After her scan, she was left to walk out of the dressing room into a nondescript hallway with several locked doors--and there were no staff at reception or anywhere nearby. I'm grateful she didn't fall or injure herself before I spotted her looking through the glass window toward the waiting area. Healthcare professionals should absolutely know better and do better. The situation went from neglectful to outright disrespectful when my mother realized she had forgotten something in a locker. Again, no staff were present. We searched for help, knocking on several doors before the receptionist finally appeared, remarking that she was "on lunch" and asking what my elderly mother wanted--in a clearly patronizing tone. When I asked to speak with a manager, the staff member refused and said she would be "reporting" me instead. We left without recovering the item. Later, the same staff member called to say they found it but refused to give her name, ending the call abruptly with "Have a blessed day." This behavior is unacceptable and completely unprofessional. Elderly patients deserve compassion, patience, and respect--none of which were shown here. We will never return to Shields MRI. read more

I've been going to Shields in Framingham for the past 3 years for annual MRI. All the staff have always been very friendly and professional and I feel so comfortable with them. They have the newest equipment that are not claustrophobic and can scan you so much faster then the one at the hospital. Also, they run a very reliable schedule so you won't have to worry about delays for your appointment. I highly recommend this Shields site. read more

How could the MA Medical Profession allow a terrible company like Shields MRI to dominate the Imaging industry? They have a consistently low 1-2-point rating on Birdeye; I have a negative story to tell myself but would require more than 50 characters to do so. I have right shoulder pain, commonly referred to as Frozen Shoulder (Adhesive Capsulitis). My NP referred me to an orthopedic specialty for a consult and signed an order for an MRI. I scheduled a ride with the van and was sent to a dirty old facility on Baker Ave. in Concord. I was asked to disrobe and don two gowns and place my things into one of two lockers. The lockers were padlocked; however, as I would later discover, my key would open both locks. I waited for my turn for imaging in a hot storage room. When I was finally called, I was brought to a loading dock and lifted into a parked semi-trailer containing what appeared to me to be the original prototype of an MRI machine. I was un-ceremoniously stuffed into a long, smelly tube and told to remain very still, as if I cold move jammed into the narrow space as I was; I am not a large man. The technician began the deafening machine, which sounded like the worst heavy metal band from the 1970's that you have ever had the misfortune to listen to, thankfully I'd been given earplugs to jam into my ears. After an interminable length of time, I was finally released, my ears and head still ringing from the experience. If that MRI facility was state of the art, then I'm of Royal blood. The results showed nothing of import, according to the orthopedic specialist who was as helpful as a Supreme Court conservative 'supermajority' and I was back at square one. In my PCP's infinite wisdom I was told to make a second appointment with Shields for a Neck and Spine MRI, this time I asked for the Westford facility. I can only assume that Acton Medical doesn't want to waist staff time on hold with Emerson Central Scheduling anymore than we, the general public does, and so the scheduling of an MRI falls to the patient. Fine, I scheduled another set of images with Shields and arranged for a van and driver to take me, only this time the facility was partially disassembled, unfortunately, the fine folks at Shields failed to inform me that the location had been rescheduled. You see, Shields mistakenly assumes that everyone possesses a smartphone capable of connecting to their automated messages. I'm 74 years old and living on a fixed income, I don't own an iPhone, my bad, according to Shields. Forced to wait for the van to return, retrieve me, and drive me home, I decided to make some calls to discover the reason for this faux pas. I waited on hold with central scheduling for 30 minutes while the operator called the main office, during which time I was disconnected. I called back, when she finally had an answer, Shield's insinuated that it was my fault for missing my appointment because they had fulfilled their obligations by notifying me in a format that my phone is incapable of receiving. I have a few choice words for Shields MRI that are unseemly for this missive. read more

I was very upset to visit my urologist a month after my mri to discover that they had not sent my test results to him. While I was in his office he had to call Shields and request the results be faxed to him. They also neglected to send him the images! The "read" results also did not mention the tumor in my bladder that my doctor discovered upon my examination! I firmly believe that if the reading of the results of this mri by their doctors were as accurate as possible this tumor would have been brought to my doctor's attention as soon as the test results would have been received by him and not a month after! I have to undergo surgery now and therapy after. Needless to say we will be looking into further review regarding this Shields actions. read more

From the woman and the front desk to the tech, Lori, i had a great experience at this Shields location. They were kind and caring. I was nervous and the were able to be businesslike while also being caring. Thank you! Keep up the good work. read more

Conveniently located right off of Rt. 9, and superbly clean with a very nice waiting room and amenities. Staff is friendly and courteous and they try their best to keep things moving. The MRI machines have Sirius XM radio which is a really nice touch. My only complaint is that the room you wait in right before you head to MRI only has like 2 or 3 magazines and on the day I was there, there was only 1 or 2 magazines in there. I wound up being in that room for about a half hour without any form of entertainment. It really isn't the end of the world but I know the time would have gone faster with perhaps a magazine rack with some options! No biggie. Anyway, I hope I don't require another MRI any time soon but if I do, I'll be sure to go to Shields. read more

Technician was so patient, funny and kind. Results were easily accessed by several foot specialists. They're the best around.

I have a lot of anxiety towards Dr. Visits in general. This office made me at ease. They were highly professional, kind, respectful, and really helped the whole process go by faster. I didn't have to change into a gown and only had to take my shoes off right before I got on the table. The operator was nice and helped me get off the table knowing I had a back issue. The process and the people at this Shields should be a model nationwide and I would recommend this place to anyone who needs a MRI. read more

Dad was the first MRI of the day (6:15 AM, ouch!) The receptionist was very friendly, had coffee brewed and waiting, and was very helpful with Dad's intake, billing questions, etc. He had previously been at Dana Farber for an MRI but he felt "closed in" in the machine, so DF referred him to Shileds. Unfortunately, they had the same equipment, but they were sensitive to his needs, gave him head phones with music, an eye mask, etc. I've had a dozen MRI's and never had these luxuries. He was in and out in 45 minutes, anxiety eased. Very clean facility and waiting area, with large flat screen TV to keep people like me entertained while waiting for the patient. Hopefully he won't have to go back, but would choose Shields again if necessary. read more

My specialist and shoulder surgeon over at the Cambridge Hospital referred me to this specific Shields MRI because he knew the staff there and told me that they were some of the best in New England; I followed his instructions and proceeded to go there on a quiet, week day. After driving along and getting off the highway, I few blocks later, I was parked in front of the building. I proceeded to check-in and within minutes I was in a gown and getting ready for what was, in my opionion, the worst two minutes of my life. I had a procedure called an arthrogram, on my right shoulder, which essentially consists in injecting both numbing agents and a special dye into my shoulder joints. The dye reacts with the MRI machine and enables for better and more accurate results. Originally only three people were present for the arthrogram but within seconds, as the throbbing pain shot down my shoulder, I was quickly surrounded by not 3 but 5 people. I proceeded to accidentally jerk and kick one of the staff members and blackout temporarily. It was a lovely experience, needless to say. Eventually the pain settled to a more tolerable level and after picking an XM station to listen to in my headset, I went into the horizontal, closed MRI machine for 45 minutes. After suffering through the arthrogram, the claustrophobia-inducing MRI machine was a piece of cake. My only complaint was that I could barely hear the radio in the headset, that machine is loud. Overall, despite the pain, my experience there was pretty good - the staff was doing a great job - it's not really their fault if the procedure hurt - it varies per person but often times the pain is a reliable constant - the facility was clean and well maintained. I just hope that I don't ever have to go there, again. Ever. Oh and again, sorry for kicking you, it was accidental. I swear. read more

A huge disappointment turned into an extraordinary act of kindness, and going above, beyond and then some - from Katie the Manager of scheduling and a few others. All so I could have an updated MRI for a hugely important Doctors appt with a surgeon. Still can't believe what they did for me. Speechless. read more

Wow, cut off three days vs. MRI at the hospital and it was several thousands ( yes thousands) less than at the hospital. Since there were two MRIs at the same time the second was 1/2 off. Plus they actually answer the phone ( no voice mail) and you can ask how the paperwork goes. The person I spoke to was actually cordial too. The medical profession should take a cue from these folks. read more

Check-in staff very pleasant, greeted by one young lady in particular who offered up a smile so bright it outshone the noontime sun. Everyone attentive and caring, all looked you in the eye, who listened to your comments and called you by name, all cordial, warm, professional yet personable, especially tech, I think his name is Mike, who did the MRI. Waiting area was quiet and comfortable; especially nice touch was coffee bar. If bad stuff going on in your life, worse by far places to be. read more

I had an MRI scheduled for 12pm on a Sunday at Shields MRI. At around 11:30am I received a phone call. Shields had had a cancellation and offered to take me early. I knew I that I couldn't make it there much earlier than 12 so I declined. I arrived at Shields around 11:55 and there was another man in the waiting room filling out paperwork. He was admitted around 12:00. I then filled out my paperwork and sat and waited. After a long wait I was brought to a very small room and asked to wait again. After another long wait I was finally brought in to have my MRI. It was 12:55 so asked John the technician why there was such a long delay. After a long pause he told me that the patient before me was a "very complicated case". I then asked why there was someone else scheduled for the same time as me and why did I have to sit and wait while they did his MRI. He then admitted that they had called him when they had a cancellation but he didn't arrive until right before my scheduled appointment time. I let him know how upset I was but he was unapologetic. He didn't think there was anything wrong with this. In my opinion it is just common sense that if you call someone around 11:30 that they will probably not be able to arrive until at least 11:50. This was a huge inconvenience to me as I had to wait an hour and during that time no one told me I was going to have an extended delay. I was late to work. I work on commission and I might have missed out on around $100. Shields got $2700 for my MRI and this made me feel that they just want to get as many in as possible throughout the course of the day without caring whether or not they are wasting their patients time. read more

The worst experience i have ever had, a 1-star is far too high. Not only did they screw up with the actual administering of my MRI causing it to take far longer than needed the billing process was absurd. When I showed up for the MRI I offered my card to pay my co-pay which they said was not required. I found it odd but shrugged it off. A few weeks later I recieved a bill for the $100 co-pay, i shook my head in frustration and payed the bill. A few weeks later I received a second bill for $33 dollars. I sighed again and paid. Over the next few week i received several bill ranging from $5 -$40 the last of which said it was 90 days past due and a collection agency was being called. Frustrated I called the payments department who then confirmed I had a zero balance. Annoyed but glad to put it behind me I forgot about it. Six months after the MRI i receive yet another bill for $80 with the note 120 days past due collection agency called. Now furious i called the payment department again only to recieve detailed information on how to set up a payment plan if i could not afford it. Finally after a short, easy, user friendly call with my insurance company it was determined this bill was real Shields had just waited 6 months to send it and decided to say it was 120 days past due for kicks. I have never written a yelp review before and am not one to complain when people are trying to do their best. However the service was so pathetic, the practices were so infantile and sales reps were so unknowledgable I felt i had to vent somewhere. Not only will i never go here again I will plead and beg with family, friends, neighbors or strangers i overhear talking to not put themselves through this painful, mind-numbing experience. read more