Choosing a TMS clinic (in Boston or in general)

August 27, 2019 7:44 AM

Do you have a recommendation for a TMS clinic in the Boston area? How about general advice on selecting one?

I am not asking "should my friend have TMS?" or "is TMS a good treatment?" They've made this choice together with their psychiatrist. They know about other treatments for depression, including other fancy new ones, and they've chosen this one.

I am asking how they should pick a clinic. There are a number in our area, varying in different ways:

• Some offer fancy forms of TMS ("deep TMS," "theta burst"), others offer the normal kind.
• Some are affiliated with hospitals, others are private.
• Some are close by, some are far away.
• Some are longstanding, some are newly established.
• All take my friend's insurance.

Which of these differences matter? What's the sensible way to make a choice? Or, if you're in the area, have you had especially good or bad experiences with any of the clinics here?

posted by nebulawindphone to Health & Fitness (2 answers total)

Best answer: Recently I went through a round of TMS and finding a clinic was pretty tricky.

The different 'types' don't make much difference; there's only a few different protocols they're allowed to use and still be covered under insurance. Only the ones cleared by the FDA are allowed to be billed for insurance purposes, but there are several other protocols that can be done that are not. My TMS provider ended up doing two protocols during each visit, basically throwing the second one in for free. The second used was a common protocol used in europe.

Since you have to go multiple times a week, I would weight distance and ease of travel there higher than other criteria. It can be very tiring some weeks. Adding unnecessary commute time to that can be rough.

I also had an issue with a TMS group trying to get clients to waive their rights; I would avoid situations and practices like this for reasons given in the askme.

You can also ask for success rates at their clinic, not just TMS in general. It shouldn't be taken as a direct red flag that they can't or won't produce it, but ones that do are probably more through in general.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:48 AM on August 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The gold standard of mental health hospitals can be found at McLean Hospital in Belmont. They have a TMS Clinic.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 2:49 PM on August 27, 2019 [1 favorite]