General Gynecology Program

We strive to offer world-class care with a personal touch. A hallmark of our service is our multidisciplinary team-based approach to patient care. Our collaborative practice model includes physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses and medical assistants who work together to provide optimal care for you. When patients present with symptoms that go beyond gynecology, we work with specialists in different fields throughout Mass General to make the correct diagnosis and administer treatment.

We offer quality, evidence-based gynecologic services to women and treat every person’s gynecological concerns with dignity and respect. Our clinicians are renowned for their expertise in providing treatments and therapies for the complete spectrum of other gynecologic issues, including:

• Family planning, contraceptive management, abortion care
• Preconceptual counseling and fertility
• Abnormal Pap smears
• Fibroids
• Endometriosis
• Ovarian cysts
• Heavy, painful or irregular periods
• Pelvic pain and pelvic infections
• Menopausal symptoms
• Vaginal and vulvar issues

Well Woman Care

Most patients can receive routine well woman care, including pap smears for cervical cancer screening, with their primary care providers (PCP) as part a single convenient primary care visit. If you are healthy and do not have any gynecologic problems, we encourage you to schedule this routine well woman care with your PCP.

In some situations, patients prefer that their routine gynecologic care be done by a gynecologist. In this case, your well woman gynecologic exam will be scheduled with one of our highly skilled, experienced certified women’s health nurse practitioners or certified nurse-midwives.

Family Planning – Contraception & Abortion

We are committed to providing comprehensive, full scope family planning care including contraception and abortion care. We collaborate with physicians, midwives, nurse practitioners, nurses and a multi-disciplinary team including colleagues in the Ultrasound & Prenatal Diagnostics Center, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, the Fetal Care Program and clinical social workers in Social Work to provide patient-centered care. We offer personalized contraception counseling and provision of all prescriptions including IUDs and contraceptive implants. In addition, we provide medication abortions and surgical abortion care in accordance with Massachusetts state law.

Specialty Care

Our gynecology services also includes a number of sub-specialty divisions that provide more specialized care:

• Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI)
• Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery
• Gynecologic Oncology
• Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery (MIGS)

A Range of Nonsurgical & Surgical Options

Our staff is renowned for their expertise in providing treatments and therapies for the complete spectrum of other gynecologic issues. Patients can receive all outpatient care, both nonsurgical and minor surgical including IUD and implant placement and removal, colposcopy, LEEP procedures and office hysteroscopy, within our self-contained unit at the Yawkey Center for Outpatient Care.

When surgery is required, we employ minimally invasive techniques that aid healing and speed recovery.

Communicating with Your Provider

Our General Gynecology Program follows a single-practice, team-based care model, which promotes continuity of care with your own physician in both obstetrics and gynecology. We provide 24 hour-a-day coverage. 

For non-urgent questions, such as requesting medication refills or requesting a follow-up appointment, we encourage you to use Patient Gateway to communicate with your provider. You can enroll by going to patientgateway.massgeneralbrigham.org.

If you prefer to call or have a more urgent question, you can call your provider’s office Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday from 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. or on Thursdays from 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. If you call with a question or concern, our nurses, who are in direct contact with your provider, will call back with an answer. If you have a non-urgent question or concern, your call may be returned in one to two days. 

Do not use Patient Gateway for emergencies. If you have an emergency, please call 911.

Community Outreach

The General Gynecology Program is a specialized referral center with a robust community outreach component. Our primary locations are located on the Mass General main campus in Boston and at Mass General Brigham Healthcare Center (Waltham).

We also provide care to underserved communities around the Boston area and abroad. We provide care at Mass General community health care centers in Charlestown, Chelsea, and Revere. Community outreach allows us to deliver high-quality, culturally appropriate care to these diverse populations.

A Record of Clinical Excellence

Isaac Schiff, MD, former chief of the Department Obstetrics & Gynecology, as well as other clinicians in our program are active in educating the general public and the greater medical community about women's health issues. 

Our providers are award-winning instructors at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Continuing Medical Education courses. They hold leadership roles in the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mass General Global Health, North American Menopause Association, Planned Parenthood and International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease.

Our department has earned a far-reaching reputation for clinical excellence and research innovations that are shaping the field of women's health. In addition, Mass General providers are regularly named among the best physicians in Boston by Boston Magazine.