Houston Neurological Institute and Sleep Disorders Center

Everyone was nice. The tech (Paul I think) that did the first part of the nerve test was a nice gentlemen and turned out he shops at the ACE I manage. Dr. Vanowen was just as great. They both talk to you and put you at ease.

A day before my appt, front desk called to confirm & mid-conversation, she tells me they are not in network with my Insurance plan!!! Mind you, this appt was set months prior, I already requested off from work etc they should’ve been notified the patient(me) instead of the day “Before” an appt!! That was very, very unprofessional!!! I’m a medical office manager so this was very, very unacceptable for a place such as that office. I’m glad I will no longer go there!! They should have been verified my insurance months prior before setting up an appt & calling the day before to “confirm” the appt then realize within the phone call itself that “ooops we don’t accept your ins” is disgusting, and unprofessional big time!!! Luckily I found another neurologist that will take me on tomorrow.

If you want a neurological practice that has systems in place to help their patients when they need it, go somewhere else. As you read other reviews, disregard any comments about customer service from before around July 2024. At that time they overhauled their system for the worst. I have been a patient since 2022 for multiple sclerosis. I have appointments approximately every 3 months so I am pretty familiar with their practice. This summer they changed how you communicate with their office. I call to schedule and appointment and it rings and rings. So I had an MS flare but no follow up exam whatsoever. Not even a virtual appointment. If you call to speak to the physician assistant, it still goes to voicemail. They're recording is a lie. It says to leave a voicemailmail for a PA or nurse. But that is not who gets your message. You cannot speak to a doctor's nurse, physician assistant or appointment desk. You can only leave voicemails for an outside like routing service. Your call is not returned by a nurse or physician assistant or anyone familiar with your case. When I called because my PCP suspected a flare (which an MRI later confirmed) the whoever person who recorded my messages for MyChart and said the PCP ordered the MRI. This could have delayed my neurologist actually ordering one. Had it been someome familiar with how things work, they'd know the neurologist orders MRIs, not a PCP. The Whoever Person who returns your voicemail cannot actually provide any answers or help with your questions. They simply confirm the message and then pass it along to your doctor. So it's redundant . I get it's good they confirm bc as you see above they can get messages wrong. It is such a drawn out process to get any assistance now though . Leaving a message for someone in the practice would make much for sense. It is the same thing in the MyChart portal. The Whoever Person informed me that if you send a message to your doctor in MyChart it goes to this service that reviews it and is then routed to your doctor. So, the system lies. You are not messaging your doctor. It is some other service that then goes to your doctor. Your answers and possibly treatment will be delayed. This new system is more about getting patients answers, help or treatment. You will not get the help you need. If you have MS and it is at all active, strongly consider going elsewhere. If you try to call and report a flare, your doctor will not be informed promptly. This delays catching it on the MRI and getting you steroids if you use them. You can be hurting and scared while your message moves through these unnecessary channels. On Friday I sent a message to my doctor asking her to prescribe a medication she suggested. This morning (Wednesday) I left a voicemail for the PA (which doesn't actually go to them) about the same thing and got a call back from the Whoever Person. They said my portal message still hasn't been routed to the doctor!! So now, she'll route the message that I left this morning in a voicemail. No information on when my doctor will see or when I'll get the prescription. So I'll just sit here with my problem in the meantime. This system is not about getting you help or care. This new system shows a definitive shift away from any consideration for the patient experience. You will hurt, be confused, and need help and have no way to communicate in any timely fashion with your providers. Go to a place where you can get the help you need in the time you need it. Other reviews talk about the doctors and nurses so I won't do that here. Honestly, I haven't seen them since the new system. I don't even know how since no one answers when I try to schedule and appointment. I gave a 3 because of my doctors or it would be lower. Shame on the decision makers though who put this new system in place.

I am NOT a patient here BUT I have been receiving appointment and other text messages for someone named Sheila since 8/23. I have responded that I am NOT Sheila, called and left messages about the texts but received no call back after continuing to receive the messages as recently as this morning. I finally got someone to answer the phone only to be hung up on when they took me off hold and when I called back and was sent to the “office manager,” Helen who was extremely rude and acted like it was my fault that someone or something had screwed up! I explained to her I have had my phone number since 2004 so for 20 years and they had a problem I needed them to resolve. I will never even think about or refer anyone to see these physicians because they can be great but when your “office manager” talks to people as rude and hateful as she did me I wouldn’t want to ever have to deal with her for my patient care.

The entire staff is friendly and welcoming. They are also very professional in their dealings. We were listened to with honest concern and freely discussed our situation and possible outcomes to it. We felt very positive about our experience and the warmth and caring feelings we were given.