Alan F Bain, DO

Well, I never received a call back. I have a referral from my doctor who says he refers people to Dr. Bain and his wife goes to him. I have Aetna PPO, and was informed Dr Bain is in network. Not sure why he doesn’t want me as a patient, really bad business practices all around. Wish there were a no star option. :(

Dr Bain is extremely well rated by the majority of his patients. A few, however, rated him poorly after typically one and no more than 2 visits. I am his established patient and I think I know why.
Many a genius can come across as distracted or disorganized in some ways. If you give up because of these first impressions, you will not reap the benefits of seeing Dr Bain. Also, if you find typical doctors helpful, keep seeing them. If you have seen enough of them and not getting meaningful help, however, go see Dr Bain with an open-​mind and work with him.
I started seeing Dr Bain a year ago, at a time I was at the end of my rope having tried a few well-​rated internists and seen a host of specialists at Northwestern for 10+ years, incurred tens of thousands of medical payment (all picked up by Blue Cross PPO), tens of scans, hundreds of labs and quite of number of procedures and still suffering from multiple chronic conditions. The first couple of hour-​long visits with Dr Bain was nothing like my typical doctor visits. First of all, he explained to me his treating philosophy — he is neither my typical primary care doctor nor my specialist. He told me that these doctors have their respectable places in medicine and I should keep them in my care. Instead, he asked me to use him as a 3^rd opinion to learn from the experience of other patients like me and gain insights to what might be worth pursuing in terms of treatment. He provided me a number of links to online sites, some of which patient forums, and told me to go study before seeing him again. He told me that his approach cannot be effective unless I educate myself first.
I have since found relief for a number of chronic conditions which I had been told by other doctors that were either benign, psychosomatic or inevitable due to aging. My bowel issues are mostly healed. My headaches are less frequent, and I am doing better now on a number of measures after stopping a symptom-​reducing drug that can cause blindness as a long-​term side effect. I know that this is NOT sheer luck because Dr Bain’s diagnoses and treatments were based on lab results, and he ordered those labs based on his thorough investigation of my health and his profound knowledge of medicine. Blue Cross PPO spent tens of thousands of dollars for my medical expenses during the past decades to have brought me no relief until I found Dr Bain. The tools to cure many chronic conditions are there in Western medicine, but it takes a genius doctor to unlock their potentials and I am so happy that I found him!
Dr Bain is not a profiteer. I learned that when I dragged my skeptical husband in to see him for his multiple age-​onset hereditary conditions. Dr Bain thanked me for the referral, talked to my husband at length and concluded that it was not (yet) time for them to start a doctor-​patient relationship (not until the patient sees the limits of conventional medicine, such as what you get from major medical centers). He did not even charge a visit to his insurance because, Dr Bain said, he did not dispense any medical advice during the visit. That’s a world of difference from any other doctor I know, many of whom would order you to come in for a hollow «follow-​up» visit just so they can bill one more. He is NOT a money-​grabber. That I think was unfair to say of him by one of the reviewers.

I am an attorney from NWI and I drive into CHI to see Dr. Bain regularly. He is a partner in my health care. We work together. He is a doctor who listens! He is willing to order lab work to address unknown health issues. He discovered my T3 was low — no thyroid doctor had ever tested my T3 levels. My energy level went way up when I added T3 to my thyroid meds. He found that I have high fibrinogen (thick blood that can clot). Diet and exercise can help. Then, I asked him why salt water made my arthritis go away. He tested me for MTHFR. Sure enough I have the genetic deformity and my body does not release toxins properly. It is hereditary and my niece has it as well. I now take certain supplements to help my body in its tasks. I feel much better! I can not say enough good things about Dr. Bain.

This was the weirdest experience I have ever had at a doctors office. He did absolutely nothing for me but talk in circles and he made no sense al all. I received no treatment and he just talked about random subjects. I am extremely surprised that people have posted in past Unilocal reviews that he was the best doctor. It must have been at a different time because this person is senile to say the least. I’m convinced they must be friends of his or something. Those false reviews made me go to him and I am sorry I did. When I was laying on the table he answered his cell phone on 3 different occasions, and went to his seat to start typing irrelevant information about something going on with his computer system and what «Kevin» was doing wrong. (Who ever that was) He was nervous about asking for the co-​pay as if people have denied him in the past. I paid him the co-​pay because I felt bad for how horrible of a so called professional he was. I figured no one ever comes back to him. So I considered it charity. I’m surprised that he is on BCBS’s list because he is in no way a doctor by any means. BCBS should take him off of their list. Basically my neck is still sore and I am going to go see a real doctor on Monday. Do not waste your time going here!

Dr. Bain is a caring, compassionate, thorough, physician. He is extremely knowledgeable in all areas. What I found best is that Dr. Bain takes the time to get to know his patients. He does a complete diagnostic evaluation. He consults with their physicians to get a crystal clear picture of what your medical issue is that needs to be addressed. He never rushes you and answers all of your questions. I was completely satisfied with my visit and would highly recommend Dr. Bain.

Bad, bad experience and I didn’t even get to see the doctor. Filled out all the paperwork and he refused to see me without a note from my main doctor. What the what?! If someone is going to get a second or third opinion, why would you need to go to your main doctor for a note? «Hi, main doctor, I am not 100% sure you are giving me the best care and I’d like a second option, can you sign off on this note so I can go see another doctor?» Why would I do that? It is baffling, to say the least, how I was treated. I’m extremely disappointed and insulted by my experience. I’ve been to a LOT of doctors and I’ve never had such an upsetting experience. A big warning to beware here.

Dr. Bain is the best doctor I have ever worked with. I stress that phrase worked with, because he takes a collaborative approach and respects his patients. No one has ever listened to me as much as Dr. Bain. He is a great person with an interesting personality, and I never feel like my questions and opinions are dismissed.
He also has great availability, is easy to communicate with, and doesn’t leave you hanging. He’s very passionate about his work.

Made a lot of conversation that had nothing to do with my health issues. He wanted to know what I did for a living right away and know where I was from, and alluded that being from the West Coast I was a «free thinker», whatever that means. I also felt like he was casing on me to see what type of insurance plan I was on as if he was evaluating me to see if I could afford treatment. I found the way in which he was questioning my personal life a bit odd. He seemed to be jugdemental and has a distrust of new patients that are self employed, because our deductibles are normally on the high side. He seemed to project a fear of not being paid onto new patients in which he has some type of prejudice against, that does not seem reasonable to me.

I’ve seen Dr. Bain for 5+ years and I’m very happy with his care. He’s smart, knowledgeable and he genuinely cares about his patients. He sits down with you, is very thorough and takes his time so you don’t feel rushed. He has a good sense of humor and is very personable. I really like that he has his own ideas too and that he thinks outside the box. When you call/​text/​email he gets right back to you and you don’t have to wait long for an appointment either.

In response to the reviewer below who said that Dr. Bain will not see you if you do not have insurance, that is false. I did not have insurance and saw Dr. Bain for a year and a half. He’s a great guy with good intentions and really wants to help you out. Unfortunately, he doesn’t really have any staff. This is a problem whenever you need to get a hold of him for something, though he is usually available and quick to respond through email. He is definitely a «quirky» guy, and some people may not feel comfortable with him or like the way he does things. He can kind of be «all over the place» at times, and would really benefit from getting someone to help him out in his office. As for my health problems, he helped me to find more pieces to my extremely complex health puzzle. He started me on natural thyroid replacement for my long untreated hypothyroidism/Hashimoto’s problem, and we investigated some infectious agents as the possible root cause of my autoimmune problems. I moved out of state and no longer see him, and I think that my case was a bit too complex for him (as it is for ALL the doctors I have seen) but he was willing to learn along with me whenever I’d bring in articles or whatever. As I stated above, I did not have health insurance, and he was willing to see me and also willing to work out payment plans for my treatment and bloodwork.

I never got to see Dr. Bain. I made an appointment through ZOCDOC and received several emails. One was Dr. Bain asking for referral from my primary physician, who happens to be on vacation. I also got an email with a Microsoft Word attachment. When I tried to open it the software complained that I needed a newer version of Microsoft Word. I tried to download a converter that did not work. Since newer versions of Microsoft Office can produce PDF files I wonder why he isn’t using those.
How come the referral request was not mentioned on his web site or ZOCDOC?
Beware, the computers are taking over our doctors.

If you are looking for a healer, you have found him. He is amazing. He has helped me more than any other alternative or mainstream doc has. He is also very easy to talk too. He understands.

Dr. Bain is an extremely knowledgeable and caring doctor. He stays on the cutting edge of his field. He always answers my questions thoroughly in a patient and understanding manner. I highly recommend this office.

As a healthcare professional, I personally believe that Dr. Bain is the best doctor I’ve ever met. After nearly two years of symptoms and illness that were discounted by six other physicians, I stumbled across Dr. Bain during a desperate online search for someone who could make me feel healthy again… and in two visits he had the issue figured out and was able to identify a plan to alleviate symptoms and to regain my health. He listens to you– NEVER ignores what you tell him, asks questions to fully understand you and does whatever he needs to do to get you healthy again. Appointments are easy to make and he has great availability and will also make efforts to accommodate your schedule. As an added bonus sometimes he tap dances on a little wooden section of flooring in the exam room.

I really like Dr. Bain. Never thought I’d want a guy doctor and he may strike you as a little kooky, but he is very caring and personable.
Dr. Bain is a holistic oriented, natural healing doctor. All that means (to me, at least) is that he tries to give long-​term solutions to medical problems and won’t over-​medicate you. The last time I went to him, I needed something to help relax me on a long plane ride, and he prescribed me very small doses of medication — only after questioning me and making sure he could trust me with it. (I’m an attorney so I thought that was funny :)
His office is small but comfortably decorated. He has a nice plasma/​LCD TV in the waiting room on which he plays DVD’s of rock concerts. When I’m done with my appt, he always asks if I know any good bands I can recommend.
I also like that I can schedule things online with him, and he always can fit me in when I’m on a tight schedule. Working in the Loop I can visit him during lunchtime, grab a prescription med at the Walgreens right across the street, and be back at work in like 1 to 1.5 hours.

Dr. Bain is absolutely the best practitioner I have ever had the privilege of working with. Finally, I have found a physician who LISTENS to my concerns and doesn’t just brush them off. He always asks me tons of questions to try to get to the root of the problem so that it can be accurately treated. We work as a team and I really appreciate that. I have suffered with serious allergies and thyroid problems for many years and he’s been the first person to come up with a treatment plan that actually works. I love the fact that I am feeling normal again for the first time in a long time. I used to feel that I always had to have some type of prescription at hand to take when my allergies started acting up but not anymore. I will continue to be a patient of Dr. Bain’s for a long time!

Dr. Bain is the BEST!!! I found him through my insurance and he is conveniently located in the loop. I was always tired, not feeling myself and had a few other problems too. After a series of questions and blood work he diagnosed me with a very difficult thing to diagnose. He is wonderful!!! He asks a lot of questions and really cares to hear the answers! He also looks for others things that could be the problem like diet and stress. He uses a holistic approach to conventional medicine. A wonderful doctor!!! I highly recommend him to anyone :-D

I like Dr Bain!
First as you walk in the door he ALWAYS has a DVD playing of a great band or group playing. He gets you in and out and he asks lots of questions! I will say he is a little quirky, he may repeat himself, but overall, he takes care of business and he’s a funny guy, to be a doctor.

Dr. Bain treats the person not the symptoms. He has helped me through multiple medical problems and was able to diagnose me in one appointment after I went through many doctors and tests. He is compassionate and cares for you as a person. He is the best doctor you could ever hope for.