North Austin Texas Children's Hospital

My son was seeing a neurologist Dr. Balasa since he was 5 months old, he’s now 2. We loved him, he was the best. Always called as soon as he reviewed test results, answered any questions I had with detail. He took every concern I had for my son & did everything on his end to make sure he received the best care. Fast forward to a few months ago, Dr Balasa is no longer with TCH, and we were switched to Dr. Laura Masters. We had in initial video visit, as I am 3 hours away and just needed to meet her & needed to set up an EEG appointment. The visit was cut short, since my son wasn’t present, he was sick. She didn’t want to even discuss the EEG. However I didn’t let it go and was able to schedule the appointment as that was extremely important. His initial plan of care was to reevaluate at 2 years of age and see about taking him off Keppra if all things were good! Fast Forward to Nov 20, 2025, we made the drive to the hospital, have the EEG done, and head back home. Results were uploaded on the drive home, SAME DAY. I waited a day to give time to review before I called to discuss results with Dr. Laura Masters (Previous neurologist ALWAYS called within a day of receiving the test results) I called, and no answer. I then called daily sometimes 2-3 times, left voicemails, and even had staff reach out and no response. 1 day shy of 2 weeks, and I’m fed up. I called, spoke with whoever answered the phone, let her know what was going on, she tried to contact Dr Masters, NO answer. She reached out in a chat, and also left a message with her supervisor and the neurology supervisor. My son’s nurse, sent a message around 1pm letting me know results were in and sorry for the wait. (We love her, Katie was always amazing!) Dr Laura Masters sent me a message at 11:57PM causing “yeah eeg was good, well wein him off and give him 8 ml’s twice per day for a week, then 6mls, 4mls, the 2mls” I informed her that My son takes 2 ML’s daily, 1 ml in the morning and 1 ml at night. & of course, NO response. I waited until the morning to see if she’d respond, NOPE. So I sent another message, telling her how upset I was with the lack of care my son has received since she took over. She did NOT review my sons chart, IF I WASNT AWARE & IF I LISTENED TO HER BECAUSE SHES “A DOCTOR” my son would have been overdosed and could have died. & that would be removing my son from her care and switched to another hospital. Dr. Laura Masters had NO REMORSE. She ended up calling after that message & said she agreed with my decision to move to another hospital, after I told her she didn’t apologize or take time to read my son’s chart for the correct dosage. “Dr. Masters” STILL didnt go over the test results. When asked about it she said “well results were uploaded to the portal the same day, weren’t they?” HELLO, I am not the doctor and can not interpret the findings the same way a doctor would NOR can I change medication dosage when I know nothing about it !!!! Again, NO remorse and said it was a miscommunication. That is NOT a miscommunication. It her not caring enough to read the chart of a 2 year old. The SAME 2 year old I tried to have for 6 years, the same 2 year old who I almost lost 3 times after birth because he stopped breathing, which could have possibly been due to the seizure activity in his brain . The supervisor over the neurology dept confirmed if I didn’t catch the incorrect dosage it would have been DIRE to my son. Please be careful when choosing a neurologist. The PAIN, THE HEARTACHE, THE ANXIETY, THE UNEASY feelings, not to mention the HARM & POSSIBLE DEATH that Dr Laura Masters could have caused to my son, had I listened to her. I do not wish this on ANY parent.

If I could give zero stars, even that would be generous. The scheduling system and provider policies are beyond frustrating and completely disregard patient needs. We were forced to cancel our appointment because our current pulmonologist, Dr. Malvika Sagar, refused to allow us to see a different pulmonologist — even though she didn’t have an earlier appointment available. This kind of gatekeeping is not just inconvenient, it’s controlling and narcissistic. Patients should have the right to seek timely care, especially when their current provider is unavailable. Denying access to another qualified doctor under these circumstances is unethical and harmful. Healthcare should be about the patient, not about protecting egos or rigid policies. I’m deeply disappointed and concerned about the lack of flexibility and compassion in this system.

Great place to give birth, wonderful nurses, staff and doctors. Beautiful high tech facilities and amazing personalized care from extraordinarily kind, professional and knowledgeable health care providers. The labor and delivery and post-partum nurses may be actual angels. Incredible experience. The birth and recovery suites are all in one so no moving right after birth and they are large, private and comfy. The food is delicious, the toiletries are nice and I felt like I could have been at a hotel instead of a hospital. Couldn’t ask for a better birth experience.

My child was seen for suspected appendicitis at the recommendation of our pediatrician. The quality of care was good, and the staff were very caring and professional. However, be prepared for a VERY high bill, unless you've hit your deductible or have excellent insurance. My child was discharged from the ER after about 3-4 hours of care, in which she received blood work, IV fluids, and an ultrasound. The total bill was over $8,000, of which our insurance would only cover a portion, so we are stuck with almost $5,500 to pay. An itemized bill showed that a comprehensive metabolic panel cost more than $2,000, which is more than the ultrasound. A financial assistance application is available, but there's no indication if we would even qualify. Calls I made to discuss a payment plan were very rigid and unhelpful. In other words, they tell you what the minimum monthly payment will be regardless of your current financial situation. They were not willing to work with us on a custom payment plan at all when I spoke with someone.

My son had a procedure done by Doctor J. Smith and I couldn’t be more blessed to have had my son under him and his staff’s care. This hospital has the best professionals working here! Thank you Gabriella RN for taking some time to talk to us and to make sure we were okay ( along with more staff). I appreciate the one on one conversation with Doctor Smith after the procedure was done! And thank you to Faye nurse RN from the post op team for taking care of us as well. Front desk is always very welcoming as well and I appreciate you so much. Over all, thanks urology team at Texas Children’s Hospital! Ya’ll are the best!