By: DoM Communications
In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we feature Andrew Siber, MD, assistant professor of medicine and physician at Tri-River Family Health Center in Uxbridge, MA.
Before beginning his medical career, Dr. Siber earned his bachelor's degree from Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He earned his medical degree from UMass Chan Medical School, where he also completed his internal medicine residency and served as chief medical resident.
Dr. Siber remained at UMass Chan, becoming the Site Director for the UMass Internal Medicine Residency at Milford Regional Medical Center and Tri-River Family Health Center. He also served as the Medical Director of the Department of Internal Medicine at Tri-River Family Health Center until 2024, where he currently serves as Section Chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine.
In his role at Tri-River, Dr. Siber is working to expand the number of on-site specialties to better meet the needs of patients. “I am currently assisting in developing programs and increasing the footprint of specialties here at Tri-River,” said Dr. Siber. “We are trying to expand the presence of all of those on-site, hopefully over the next year, by bringing in new providers as well as expanding those providers who are already here.”
Additionally, Dr. Siber is collaborating with Margaret Chang, MD, attending physician and medical director of the Office-Based Addiction Treatment Program at Tri-River Family Health Center, to further develop a specialty service focused on substance use disorder and pain management at Tri-River. “This service has been a work in progress for several years, and we are looking to make it a defined separate program and consult service,” explained Dr. Siber. “It currently sort of falls into these providers' regular schedules, but it’s turning into a more official program, hopefully by the spring.” To further develop the service, Dr. Siber hopes to create additional dedicated time in provider schedules for the specialty, helping to expand access throughout the UMass system.
Along with his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Siber is also involved in teaching internal medicine residents at Tri-River. “We have a sizeable teaching footprint. We were already the second largest medicine residency site, but we are also currently increasing the number of residents over the span of three years from 20 residents a year to 30 residents a year. We are going to slowly expand to that,” explained Dr. Siber. “It’s been another part of the plan to get more and more teaching down here as well, as UMass needs more spots for residents and medical students. We are trying to do what we can to provide those spaces.”
Among his clinical and educational initiatives, Dr. Siber explains that the most rewarding aspect of his work is providing excellent patient care. “The time I get to spend with my patients and see improvements in their lives and to build the relationships I am building now, remains the most rewarding thing and is still the primary focus of what I like to do,” shared Dr. Siber. He adds that improving the functionality of the clinic and seeing how these improvements positively impact patients' lives are also deeply gratifying. “Besides the clinical aspects, I will always still enjoy teaching residents and medical students,” added Dr. Siber.
Dr. Siber also serves as co-lead for the Department of Ambulatory Working Group in the Department of Medicine at UMass Chan. In this role, he aims to help practices run more efficiently and effectively, with a focus on improving patient access and addressing other clinical challenges.
We thank Dr. Siber for his ongoing dedication to our patients, students, and department!