Kelsey-Seybold Clinic – The Shops at Houston Center 4

Great location, easy appointments, and many labs can be done in one location. What is not to like? For starters — over-​charging and lack of transparency in billing. They don’t tell you how much you are going to be charged, and what tests are preventive (insurance pays for one annual exam) and which are not, so you end up paying for very highly priced tests (H1bAc is not a preventive test, for example). The same tests can be ordered privately via
for a tiny, tiny fraction of Kelsey’s prices and conducted by local LabCorps labs (
) — the SAME labs Kelsey uses for its tests). Problem is they don’t tell you the costs beforehand and send you bills later — they give the impression that insurance covers the tests but everything is hidden behind a veil of secrecy. But they are not alone — the whole system is rotten with highly over-​priced services, lack of transparency and lack of care. While the doctor is fine at the time of giving services, there is very little follow-​up or even a phone call asking how someone is doing.
Getting refills is also problematic — even if you have been on a medication for years, they require hospital visits, so they can bill you for simple refills — for many people with high-​deductible insurance plans, this becomes very cost-​prohibitive just to get refills.
I strongly recommend that patients ask for prices before any services, in writing, so they can’t cheat you later. Also, there are private new services coming up (such as
), which are much, much cheaper, and you can order the same tests your doctor would have ordered, for 6 to 10 times cheaper!!!

Conveniently located, easy to find parking anywhere in the building or outlining areas and lab and pharmacy are located in the same floor.

Never go to a KS, they only want money. They will send you bills after bills. If you have a PCP with them, you will be tricked even more. When you call they will assign any doctor and you will get high bills. I’ve switched to another local physician and things are smooth.

They tell you that they want to order labs and say it is covered by your insurance only to be slapped with a excessive bill. Then state they have been sending you statements but I have never received them. Terrible place. All they want is to bill as much as they can and when the insurance does not pay they come after you.

Dealing with prescriptions and Dr. Kenneth Kennedy is always a hassle. I seldom use prescribed medication and don’t need to refill often. Refills that are called in for simple sleeping medication that I’ve taken for many years, are denied without scheduling further visits. What happened to the days of common sense? It is all about racking up additional office visit fees? That’s what I feel like when going to doctors that are in less demand at Kelsey.
Most people that work downtown are extremely busy and don’t have time for nonsense appointments to «explain» to a doctor why you still have trouble sleeping and why you deserve a prescription.

This has been my clinic for the last 3 years. Dr. Kennedy is really great and I have never left without any question answered. The service is quick, efficient and friendly. The lab folks are great and gentle (I hate needles). The location is perfect for busy folks downtown to jet in and out for a visit, vaccination or lab work.

Why does billing always have to be such a problem? I was slapped with an unexpected bill and the billing department is unwilling to budge to grant me a couple of months extra to pay this bill. Before the procedure, a staff member spoke with my insurance and assured me I wouldn’t pay more than I was paying that day. Lo and behold, 2 weeks later I receive a bill in the mail for hundreds of dollars. I called billing and spoke to a supervisor but NO clemency was granted. Even in the holiday spirit these people are unwilling to work with you… but rest assured they will pin the blame on the insurance just to get you off the phone.
The doctor I see is overworked and has appointments scheduled every 10 minutes. She has misdiagnosed me twice already. The only reason I have gone back here is because of the easy proximity to my work. I will not be returning to Kelsey Seybold. Even on the verge of tears over the phone they refused to give me two measly months’ extension to pay an unexpected bill. That’s enough for me to take my business elsewhere.

I went to see a Dr back in June (one of the best doctors I ever visit with) unfortunately in a place that all they care about is money.
The option for «schedule your appt on line» is tricky. there are not that many options for why you are visiting the doctor. I enter «physical» as they didn’t have a «follow up» so the insurance don’t cover the full amount for physical but they do for follow up/​doctor visit. I asked them to please correct the billing and sent it back to the insurance but they refused to do so.
I’m past due to a mammogram, they got me back and forward signing papers to have my last radiology report sent to them, I finally made an appt for Tuesday Sept 2^nd. but I got a call from the office telling me that if I don’t pay the balance I can’t have my exam.
so they care more about a balance of 128.00 dollars than a petience health. Sometimes we are in a hardship and can’t afford all bills more less to pay for mistakes/​non willingness to copperate with a person.

I’ve been to a Kelsey Seybold Clinic is Clear Lake before an wasn’t impressed. This location was far worse though. They were the closest listing for a Dermatologist in my network though so i gave them a chance. It took two months to get an appointment because they only have one dermatologist on staff.
I got there early and waiting for 10 minutes for someone to come out to the reception desk to check me in. The woman barely spoke to me and was rude when she did. she charged me my copay and i was sent back to see the doctor. Dr. Mullinax was nice but neither her nor her assistant seemed to know what they were doing.
A month later I was notified by my insurance that the doctor was not in my network at the time of my appointment. She had let her contact lapse since i made my appointment and the woman at reception withheld that information. I got a ridiculously large bill from KS.
My insurance company agreed to pay part of the bill but i was still stuck with paying over $ 300 for a check up.
I contacted KS but but they were no help.
Needless to say, I won’t be visiting any Kelsey-​Seybold Clinics in the future.

So the reception staff is great. They are friendly and helpful. They cannot explain why you are asked to come 30 minutes early to your first appointment as it is no longer required however.
I needed to see an orthopedic specialist. KS made me see a GP first. He referred me to their in-​house specialist. I had to wait over a month for an appointment. The day before the appointment the specialist’s staff called me to cancel the appointment. They said you have to see an orthopedic surgeon, not a specialist. I explained to them that their clinic and their doctor made the appointment and they still insisted on being rude towards me. I had been waiting, in pain, for over a month because of their incompetence and not so much as a sorry.
I then continued to get follow on auto-​nastygrams from their system asking me why I hadn’t shown up for the appointment THEY cancelled. After those stopped I started getting more auto-​nastygrams asking why I hadn’t followed up with the specialist as prescribed by the first doctor. Unbelievable.
On the plus side I hear they hand out pain killers like candy.
***UPDATE***
Since I posted this initial review I have been contacted by KS staff. They’ve apologized and rescheduled me to see the right doctor at the Main Campus location. I went there and had a much better experience. I’m changing my rating to 3 stars for now, although it’s really a reflection of the organization as a whole versus just the downtown location.
****UPDATE #2******
So the doctor I saw, Dr. Shah was great. His PA was great as well. They recommended that I get an MRI. The office folk told me that they would schedule it after my insurance approved it. Good news, right? So I get a call a week later that my insurance will pay for it and I make arrangements to take off work, etc. The day before the MRI I get a call and find out that my insurance company will only apply it towards the deductible and I’ll have to go out of pocket over $ 1000 USD. While my sucky insurance is not the fault of KS, they shouldn’t have scheduled me for an appointment as I was very clear that I couldn’t afford the MRI if my insurance wouldn’t pay for it. So I jumped through quite a few hoops for nothing. In the larger scheme of things this is more Obama’s fault than anyone else’s so no big deal.
Moving on, I get a call to make another appointment to determine another course of action since I can’t get an MRI. I get an automated call a few weeks later on a Thursday to come in the next day for my appointment. Since I normally take a commuter bus into downtown I made sure to drive the next day and came into work at 4:30AM so I could leave work early for the appointment. I drive 40 minutes to get to the main KS campus and… wait for it… NO appointment. Somehow my appointment has magically moved to Monday and the doctor wasn’t even there on that Friday. So either they had a technical glitch in their automated system or someone there screwed up. No big deal, I only drove an extra 100 miles in my car that day, paid $ 18.00 for parking and came into work 3.5 hours early.
Finally, I get a bill for the portion of my doctor’s visit that was not covered by my now newly improved by President Obozo insurance. It says I can pay online. Great! I go to the website as directed and create an account. Over 24 hours later I receive the password. Really? It takes 24 hours? Ok, no big deal, moving on… I get into the bill pay website and change my password, select the bill to be paid and… WAIT FOR IT… it doesn’t work. Some kind of server error. Tried multiple times.
Summary of my KS experience. Two doctors sucked at the downtown location. The check in staff were good at both the downtown and main campus locations. Doctor Shah and the PA working with him were great at the main campus location. ALL OF THEIR IT BASED SCHEDULING, ETC HAS BEEN NOTHING BUT A HEADACHE. I’d rather call and wait on hold and be transferred two or three times rather than beat my head against their lousy IT user interface (s).

Signed my mom up with Dr. Silva for the first time, and all went well. All the staff that I spoke to before and after the appointment were very responsive and helpful. Dr. Silva’s attentiveness, thoroughness, and also being that she’s bilingual helped us decide that she will be my mom’s primary physician. Satisfied clients.

Saw Dr Silva in 2012 shortly after the clinic opened to look at my thumb which was injured in a biking accident. After listening to my symptoms and looking at the x-​rays of my hand for a matter of seconds, she immediately dismissed my pain as «inflammation.»
A year of chronic pain later, I saw an orthopedic specialist to take a second look at my hand. He says its clearly shown in my x-​ray that I had several broken bones, and now need extensive surgery to repair my hand because the bones were not set at the time of injury. Thanks Dr Silva!
I will be pursuing a malpractice suit, but I would avoid Dr Silva and/​or this clinic at all costs.

I love Dr. Silva and Dr. Sehgal at this location. They are very caring physicians that take the time out of their overly busy schedules to talk and discuss any problems that you may be having. I do hate that you feel rushed while you are a patient there, it does seem to be very «in and out.» I have seen Dr. Gifford the Dermatologist there many times and he is one of the best at diagnosing different and interesting skin disorders that no one else knew of! If it wasn’t for the physicians there, I would not go because the nursing staff can make you a little angry at times… :/

Great location if you work downtown, you can walk above ground or in the tunnels, very convenient.
The receptionist is very unfriendly, never smiles, makes you feel like you’re burdening her by being there — people like this need to stick with jobs that don’t deal with patients or people on a daily basis, they are only bringing the name and reputation of the company down. She was like this on the phone when I called to schedule the appointment as well.
The nurse that took me back before the doctor came in, also, very unfriendly, I feel like these people need a pep talk. This is the only location I’ve visited that the staff seems angry and upset about their jobs.
My doctor has been great, I’ve been seeing her at various locations for several years now, she is friendly and for what I need, she is a good fit.
To the other staff: CHEER UP people, it’s Christmas!

Awesome location if you work or live near downtown. If you’re not a downtowner, then you might have an issue finding it.
I arrived on a late Friday morning, about an hour and a half early since I had finished my errands for the day. Luckily the receptionist was very helpful in getting me in right away. Loved not having to do tons of paperwork — I just showed my insurance card and ID and was on my way in. This facility is fairly new and in tip top condition. I felt at ease that room I was in was modern and overall very clean. I was promptly visited by the doctor who was extremely nice and attentive. I didn’t have a major issue, so she sent me on my way to get x-​rays done. That same afternoon I was called with the results and an appointment was made for me to see a specialist.
Overall it was a pleasant experience and I will definitely go back.

This is my first review on Unilocal,lets just say I am more than upset
In March of 2012, I saw a Dr. at the clinic for Strep. As others have stated on this site, nothing special, in fact, I would say below average seeing as how I had to go back to another Dr. after as the physician gave me the weakest antibiotic possible when I told her I had a history of reoccurring strep. First time I had seen the Doc, so no harm no foul there…
… What really has me upset is their billing practices. On their website, they specifically say they take Blue Cross. When I called to make the appointment they told me, you are in network. I even asked at the time of check in when filling out the paper work to ensure I was in network and paid the in network co-​pay at the time of service. Guess what, a month later, I receive a bill saying they are out of network and I owe $ 120. I call and explain the situation, they hem and haw and say the manger will review the account and call me back. One month later, no call back and I have a past due notice. I call again and they say the Dr. was out of network but they are in network. I tell them fine, I will pay the in network fee as that is what you held yourself out as and that I want to speak with a manager as the girl I am speaking with really does not understand why I am upset. She tells me know, the manager does not speak with patients but she will call me back. She calls back and says we need to call the insurance company because they think the claim might have been processed in network, I say impossible, but ok. We call, the Blue Cross Rep says that is right, out of network. They say ok we will call you back. One month later, no call, and a past due notice. I call and they say I need a letter from my insurance saying it was out of network. At this point I should have paid the bill, but now it is about the principle. I get the letter and fax it over. Three weeks later they call and say they can give their courtesy discount of 30% to me. I ask if this would have been available from the get go, they say yes, so I say no way, I should owe nothing. They say they will call back, we will see…

This is a good location to go to if you work in downtown. I have gone here for Dermatology and also to see a physician. Plus the pharmacy is across from it making it easy to fill the prescriptions.
The appointments are easy to get at this location and the doctors go in and out fast but you get adequate care. I have been pleased with Dr. Gifford in dermatology.
Again, very convenient to get to if you work in downtown so you don’t have to use up your sick time!

Kelsey Seybold is an assembly line of doctors who see you for 10 min and charge your insurance $$$$. Most of the doctors are nice enough but don’t seem concerned or even interested in assessing you.
The doctor I saw at this location was nice but I wasn’t pleased with the aftercare — or lack of it. I rushed my derma to send to her my lab results (I had labs done the same day I went to see her so to avoid doing repeats, she asked that my derma send over the results). My derma sent them to her on Thursday morning and it wasn’t until I called repeatedly that I found out on the following Monday afternoon (after I called them) that she needed different labs. So… I had to rush over there on Tuesday to get them in so I could possibly have some idea what the heck is wrong with me before the week is over. All I want is a dx so that I can move forward in treatment. Very frustrating.
The only high point is that the nurse Lydia that helped me on Monday was awesome. She not only followed up but she made me feel like she was really concerned. That is the ONLY reason they are getting 3 stars.
I really liked the doctor and hope that this was one of those — flukes. Doctors need to realize aftercare is just as important!
I’d have to go with a thumbs up for Lydia but a thumbs to the side for the doctor :(
**Disclaimer: I know that it’s slightly unrealistic to expect great personal care from PCPs like when I was a kid — and my super doc was Dr Kuo who made me secure even in the midst of illness but can’t a girl dream?**

Went here for the first time today to a physical for nursing school. When I first walked in I was greeted with a smile from the receptionist. She explained everything to me. Everything is electronic so when I got there, I didn’t have to fill out a stack of paper work. the dr i saw was very friendly and made sure I got all the tests done I needed. The lab is right around the corner from the lobby too.
The only draw back is that it was difficult to find it once you got into the building lol.

Kelsey-​Seybold is pretty much a one stop shop for everything from your General Practitioner (GP) to GYN. With their multiple locations (4 w/​in and close to 610) everything you need is covered.
Being new to Houston (when I first started going here) is why this particular location appealed to me and specifically includes Family Med, Dermatology, Internal Med and GYN.
I found a DO (a specific type of doctor/​GP) here and my insurance covers! But I found myself having the issues that come with a big practice. Communication was poor, I felt rushed by the DRs (not the nurses) and didn’t feel like I was being taken seriously when I brought up my concerns to several of the doctors I saw.
Needless to say, though they are pretty nice, Kelsey-​Seybold has a lot of work to do.