Waiting room smells like a urinal. More crowded than the DMV. And the don't tell you until you arrive and pay that they are running 60-90 minutes late. Disgusting. read more

Appointment was for 12:20 and it was almost 2 p.m. before the person I brought was called. AND they require someone to sit and wait for the person having surgery. They could not leave. Uncomfortable chairs in a space way too small for personal space. Would never go back there. Uncomfortable and unsafe. read more

Here's a post-cataract review to amend my pre-surgery tepid reaction: you won't regret having your eyes in their care. Dr. Kelly and the team delivered, to my full satisfaction. read more

I go once year for a diabetic eye exam. He performs a thorough eye exam with dilation of the pupils. They are very professional and caring. The office is comfortable. read more

I was very happy with Dr. Hawthorn and the care she gave me. The office staff and her medical team were super. I had a minor surgery that I was nervous about but when she came out to talk with me right before, her smile and gentle nature put me at ease immediately. The procedure went well and I'm very happy with the clinic and especially Dr. Hawthorn. Thank you all so much! read more

Terrible place to get your eyes looked out. They don't tell you pricing before hand and claim they do. Paid $310 for a check up and after I paid and did the check up they told me i owed $90 more because they ran more test without my knowledge. Once I brought the attention to "billing" they claimed they have a recording of them telling me that it was $310 to start and could possible cost more. Staff was rude throughout the whole experience. The doctor wasn't through throughout the whole check up. read more

I have visited this clinic several times and have had cataract surgery on my right eye 18 months ago and now I need cataract surgery on my left eye. While I highly recommend Dr. Hawthorne, who has an amazing bedside manner and is professional and highly skilled, I do not recommend you visit this clinic if you want to be treated politely and professionally by her office staff. Every time I have gone there, she has different employees there so obviously the turnover is high. From the momentI walked in, I was treated rudely. I was not given a warm greeting, and was simply told to print my name, provide the appointment time and my arrival time. They used to have a little digital clock on the counter so that you could easily note your arrival time. When I made mention that the clock wasn't there anymore to the office manager, she simply stated they don't have it anymore. I then stated the obvious that I would need to pull out my phone to notate the arrival time then, finally she said that it was 9:26 AM. However, the next patient that arrived was greeted warmly and was politely told to print her name, her appointment time and that her arrival time was 9:35 AM! Why was I not treated the same way? I had to wait a very long time and after I was done with the initial testing, I asked the medical assistant if they had a restroom in the back of the office. He told me no, I would need to go to the front of the office and would have to wait for Dr. Hawthorne in the front waiting room, which is always extremely crowded and cramped. I had just had my eyes dilated and I much preferred being able to wait in the back waiting room where it's not nearly as crowded and is not bright - but he told me that I would see Hawthorne shortly so I joked and said that I would hold it. 40 minutes later, I still had not been called by Dr. Hawthorne. When I went to use their restroom, there was no toilet paper. I then asked the front desk if I could go ahead and wait in the back waiting room to see Dr. Hawthorne, and thankfully was told that I could. When I mentioned to a staff member about the restroom needing toilet paper, the office manager rudely said to me that they had already been told. Even though I will return to get the cataract surgery since I was happy with the job that Dr. Hawthorne did with my right eye, I will not go there again because the office staff is so rude! Even now when I was called to speak with the surgery scheduling coordinator, the receptionist would not allow me to speak. She kept interrupting me while I was trying to explain my situation! If you want to be treated with professionalism, kindness and respect by the office staff, YOU WILL NOT FIND IT HERE!! I also left this review on Google and I am going to leave a review about this clinic to my health insurance provider as well. Dr. Hawthorne, you need to train your staff to have the same professional, polite and caring manner that you have! read more

terribly long wait times. apparently no regard for patients schedules. avoid this business.

Knowledgeable doctor and staff is the only redeeming quality here. Wait times are beyond absurd. With a confirmed appointment, I arrived 15 mins early. Waited 2 hours past my appointment on the first visit and am currently writing this from the waiting room on my second visit (it's been 1 hour 32 mins...and counting). My vision is crucial for my career I felt like my questions were rushed. I can't recommend this office to anyone who has plans for the day. read more

After seeing Dr. Hawthorne for years, I can see with new lenses and my glaucoma is under control. She is always kind, exact, professional and I consider her a vital part of my medical team. In addition, her office staff is very accommodating and work with me to find a time to come in without having to wait forever. I would never consider going anywhere else. read more

I've gone to the Southwest Medical Village office twice for full eye exams. The wait time has been short and the doctors as well as medical staff have been attentive to my concerns. read more

An hour worth of driving round trip and twenty minutes of waiting in the lobby only to be told there was an mistake in scheduling and they couldn't see me. This is even after I called the day before to confirm and I received a confirmation text. Extremely frustrating. Why this mistake wasn't noticed when I called? Who knows. I will not be returning to this clinic. read more

I have had 3 eye surgeries and two more procedures as well here. Absolutely the best care, a blessing for anyone who is a patient. Dr. Kelley I consider a miracle Dr. I have had very serious eye issues after a heart infection causing vision loss that top eye drs of the world said would never be fixable even with technology advancement. Dr, Kelley proved them wrong... I can now drive with either eye closed, something not possible since 1992 when I had 20/15 vision... Dr. Jaffrey, another great eye surgeon. He repaired a hemmorage in my retina with great success. You are in the best hands be assured at this office. They have the best equipment and knowledge with genuine care... Forever grateful more than I can ever express. A missing piece of my life I never thought I would get back because of Dr. Kelley. A dream to fly now maybe possible again, wow what a blessing! read more

DO NOT go to Howerton Eye Clinic! The doctors are good but their support staff is horrible! I have tried twice to order contacts from Howerton Eye Clinic and both times it has been so irritating and inefficient. Most recently, I left a voicemail for a call back and when I didn't hear back 48 hours later I called back and spoke to someone who said they ordered my contacts (on Friday). On Monday, I got a call confirming the order. I hadn't seen the contacts in the mail by Thursday so I called on Friday morning and was told that they contacts were in fact NOT ordered. The woman that does the ordering can't answer a direct question, made excuse after excuse, and eventually blamed it on an "oversight". This clinic is not worth the stress. If they can't get my contacts ordered, how do I trust them with my eye care? DO BETTER! read more

To: Howerton Eye Clinic Austin, Dr Scott Kelly 24 Mar 2024 From: Patient, Karl Dr Kelly, I recently completed a surgical schedule with 2 cataract removals and replacement lenses at your clinic. I wanted to send you a personal letter to tell you how much I appreciate you and your entire staff for one of the finest experiences I have ever had in the medical field. I am a retired USAF Instructor Fighter Pilot with 20 years of service and over 4,000 hours flying time in many aircraft including the F4 Phantom and F-16 Falcon. It is hard to explain just how near and dear my eyesight is to me. I started flying for the USAF at age 26 with 20/10 in both eyes and was blessed to hold that until age 40 when I ended up at night trying to land through a fog bank and could not read my instrument approach procedure. I was lucky (and clever enough) to land OK, but went straight to the flight surgeon to get reading glasses when I returned to base. Just following my taking the COVID vaccine (regretfully), I developed a blind spot in my FOV test at the VA. That progressed to further loss of acuity until I finally ran into Dr Nixon and found out I had WETMAC on top of the Retinoschisis. His injections have arrested the retinal deterioration. Then the cataracts attacked, very fast. I never thought I could ever allow ANYONE to put a needle in my eye, but I did. THEN I never thought I could ever allow anyone to surgically cut my eye open, but I DID. That was You, and it was easy after all your detailed explanation. The two of you have given me back my sight when I was on the verge of going blind. It is nothing short of a miracle, one that my wife and I prayed for deeply. I am currently a member of an Honor Guard which provides Full Military Honors for all Veterans who have passed in a two county area. I volunteered for many duties, including scheduling, training, WWII rifle restoration and maintenance, web page design and upkeep, reading the chaplain narrative for flag folding, and many others. These duties ALL require extensive editing on the computer. I gave up flying a few years ago, but at age 72 my fear was I would have to resign from this vital mission of helping all those veteran families in need. You and Dr Nixon have restored my ability to do that. May God Bless You Sir, and your staff. You run a very fine clinic and have selected, and trained, many fine people. I have told many of them they are wizards, and they are, as are you. EVERYONE is kind, courteous, professional, and very talented. Please pass on my deepest appreciation to them all. The only reason I have not posted this on Google is they tell me I have to release my personal information and I have chosen not to do that. However, my wife will post this to her FB page (public) as well as yours, and also on Yelp, minus my name. Feel free to do the same (anonymously), wherever it will help promote your services. I can't thank you enough. You and your team have had an enormous impact on my quality of life, and more important my life's charitable work, that is immeasurable. I highly recommend Howerton Eye Clinic and give them 5 star rating read more

DO NOT GO TO THIS CLINIC unless you are comfortable being treated like trash from Dr. Hawthorne and Dr. Torres. This place is a joke and do not understand how it is still in business. The attitude never fails! Definitely last time going to this place! Pathetic customer service! ABSOLUTELY PATHETIC FROM THE OWNER!!!! Hate to even give this trashy place a one star cause it's not even worth it!!!! Learn to treat patients with care and dignity and not YOUR GHETTO ATTITUDE! Including your staff! read more

I wish I had read the other reviews before going to Howerton. Every appointment has resulted in lengthy wait times in overcrowded waiting rooms. The staff seems so accustomed to what they do that they forget basic patient care. Howerton employees may care for dozens upon dozens of cataract patients every week, but this is my first exposure to a frightening experience. I want to believe that my concerns are being handled by an empathetic or sympathetic staff, but that's not my experience. I felt like just another patient to push through the process. I did like the doctor, but that wasn't enough to improve my review rating. Please do your research before going to Howerton. A 3 out of 5 rating is mediocre and that's not enough to trust your vision too. read more

My first appointment here I waited 1 1/2 hours to be seen. The Dr. reassured me at my follow up appointment if I came earlier in the day there would be less of a wait. At my follow up appointment today I was the first and only patient in the waiting room and still has to wait 35 min! When I scheduled the appointment they said I would be the the first appointment of the day. I really don't understand, if I'm the first appointment why did I have to wait for more than half an hour? Oscar one of the assistants was the only friendly and knowledgeable person. The rest of the staff aren't friendly and I had to talk to 3 different staff to finally get my correct pharmacy on file. I won't ever come back here. read more

I love everyone who works there. So nice and helpful. Went in feeling down and left smiling.

Such a wonderful place to visit. Dr. Kelly and Dr. Hawthorne care so much for their patients. This isn't a clinic looking to make a profit, it's a clinic looking to care for people. And they do exactly that. Thank you for all you do. Eric H. read more

Dr..Torres was great as well as her staff. I recommend her and Howerton to all. Thanks y'all, see you in 2 months. DDS read more

I have been a patient at Howerton for over two years now and am always pleased at their service and efficency. As an M.D. I am impressed by the way the office is run in such a friendly and helpfull manner. They have all the latest opthamalogical equipment and use it in a swift and professional manner. Their staff is well trained and knowledgeable. Dr. Hawthorne is always willing to explain any diagnostic problems or procedures. After several years of very serious opthalmic procedures, I am please to have her as my physician. read more

BEWARE OF SHADY BILLING PRACTICES!!! 3 weeks ago, on 3/25/2020, I visited Dr. Kristen Hawthorne at this Howerton Eye Clinic location. I expressed my concerns to the office manager and to her personally about their billing practices. Her response was "We have too many clients walk out without paying." Well, I'm sorry you are being forced to treat all your clients like thieves! Even though they verified I have insurance, they charged me $180 for the visit up-front and told me I would be refunded for the difference. Then, they only billed the insurance $120 knowing full well that they have a discounted network rate with United Healthcare. The total amount of serves was $92 and 3 weeks later, after 2 phone calls, I'm told it will be 30-40 days before they mail me a check for a refund because they won't refund back to the credit card I used. Who's the thief now? p.s. The technician touched my eye without washing their hands... in fact, they didn't even have soap at the sink in the exam room! ** This review is factual and accurate in every detail and I'll testify to its authenticity in court if needed. If you find honesty "hateful" then change your practices. Additionally, I expressed all these concerns including the hygiene issues to the doctor in person while I was there in the exam room. ** read more

If I could give 0 stars I would. This is a very sketchy and scammy office. I scheduled a routine eye appointment, asked them repeatedly if they take my insurance card which they confirmed with me and the insurance is in network. Fast forward months later I receive mail about owing the full amount of my visit. I call them after checking with my insurance, and they have the nerves of telling me that it is MY fault for not triple checking they take my insurance. WHICH I DID. Be aware that you need to specify with them that it is VISION ( literally scream this bc I said cigna vision and they still tried for a medical claim) and if they dilate your eyes that it would not go through with vision (because they do not take cigna vision). Knowing now that I had a medical exam ( bc they dilated my eyes) I will be calling my insurance to have it go through medical. The regular public have no way of differentiate the two, it is the responsibility of the educated staff to ensure you actually book the service you are telling them you need. The person I talked to-Ronny was automotive defensive which lets me know this is a common scam they are running. Just don't go here, avoid the deceit and hassle. I booked my appointment and still had to wait hours to get seen. The doctor didn't even say what the dilation was for and that it would make it a different exam? Then a routine eye exam. If on that day they didn't dilate my eyes, this would have been a routine exam and not a medical exam. I would have been liable for the whole amount. They know they don't take routine exam why book for those? & take accountability when you're the one who messed up that's ridiculous and terrible for your business. Terrible billing experience and average appointment. Do better!! read more

While the staff is friendly and the doctors know what they are doing, the overall practice is run inefficiently. My mother-in-law has been going here for years. Recently, I had to take her here for a checkup to see if she needed cataract surgery on her eyes. This consisted of a few eye exams and a visit with Dr. Hawthorne. The visit took 3 HOURS. Not only was my MIL getting upset and impatient, I was as well. There was no reason for this appointment to take as long as it did. Everything could have been completed in 1 hr to 1.5 hrs max. It's like an assembly line in this practice. You have multiple stations and A LOT of wait time in between. They have a ton of staff, so that just shows me that it's poorly managed. After you're done seeing the doctor, you have to go to a back lobby and wait for the scheduler. They have ONE person scheduling. It's ridiculous and it shows that our time is not important to them or respected. When you leave, you have a surgery date but no time. They tell you that you'll get a call a few days before with a surgery time. Again, inefficient. People have things going on. Why can't they provide a time when they are "scheduling" your surgery? On the day of her cataract surgery, she was told to be at the surgical center at 8:30am. She sat in the waiting room until 10:30am before they took her back to prep her for surgery. 2 HOURS of waiting. Why are we there at 8:30am if they aren't taking her into surgery until 10:30???? Again, no respect for our time. For her follow-up the day after surgery, her appt was at 8:45am. We got there early at 8:20am. They did an eye exam and tested the pressure on both of her eyes, then she visited with the doctor. After the doctor visit, she had to wait in the back lobby for the scheduler. Again, another unnecessary lengthy process. My MIL was getting upset yet again. We didn't leave that office until 10am. A visit that probably could have been completed in 30-45 min max. The eye exam and pressure test took less than 5 min Even the check out process is a pain. It's anything but quick. Payments have to be broken up and ran separately. They have ONE person checking out patients too. It is clear that this practice is busy. They have a lot of of staff present. It is evident that they are not managing the flow of work well. They need to speed things up and respect the patient's time. No one has 2-3 hours for an appt. They need to hire a second scheduler and and second person to check out patients. I can tell you that if I was a patient here, I would have never returned after the first visit. I won't be making any recommendations either. If you expect patients to respect your time and be on time to your office, you should be on time when it comes to seeing your patients. That's the whole reason for "scheduling an appt." It works both ways. What's the point if your appt is at 8:30am but you're not seen until 10:30? Why even make an appt? Re-evaluate you're processes. There's a lot of room for improvement. read more

Great staff friendly,and customer service helpful. Dr. Is knowledgeable and very helpful and friendly, I had lasik surgery done here 15 years ago and was able to see 20/20 for 15 years I definitely recommend them if your thinking about getting lasik surgery. read more

Unfortunately, experienced a couple major issues at both their S. Austin, and Kyle, TX locations. Therefore, I strongly recommend you seek ophthalmologist care and responsive billing elsewhere! I tried to rectify serious billing problem via staff 4 - 5 + months for naught. Finally sent email and letter to Dr. Hawthorne, regarding billing issue, no response. First issue, called early Dec. 2018 to schedule with ophthalmologist at Kyle location. Initially told must drive to Austin if seen before end of year because of their holiday schedule. Unbeknownst until afterward, saw staff optometrist (OD). This did not sit well, not informed when scheduled of switch to an OD, if I wanted OD I would not seek an ophthalmologist! Moreover, OD did not adequately explain or demonstrate recommended self treatment, merely set follow up 6 weeks later which resulted in another medical expense, copay, etc. I saw Dr. Hawthorne Feb. 2018, she explained and demonstrated prescribed self treatment. This should have occurred initially. Second issue, their inept billing dept. stuck me with final portion of bill a third party payer (TPP) would have paid. TPP declined payment as bill too old, it took Howerton billing 5+ months to send initial bill out, although I pleaded for couple months! Asked for supervisor and partial write-off, initially said would inquire and return call, which never occurred. After another 60+ days of follow up, supervisor named Yolanda finally had another staff member call back said 'nothing could be done'. Noteworthy, health insurance said a delay and second submission occurred perhaps due to coding error on Howerton's part. In conclusion, an honest coding mistake accounted for 45 days delay out of almost 6 months incurred by this unfit billing staff! To say nothing of their failure to listen for problem and never returned calls, but once!! read more

I was referred to see Dr. Hawthorne by another eye doctor. We waited for two hours- 2:30 to 4:30, saw the doctor for 5 minutes, and left at 4:35. Copay was $300. Reading through other reviews, the business has replied saying "unexpected patient issues can cause delays," but this is the norm. It seems they schedule 10-15 patients for one time slot, and have no regard for people's time. Stop replying with excuses and start respecting your patients' time. read more

If you can afford to go elsewhere do so. We're here because my mom is on medicaid. This is my third time accompanying her here and every time, despite scheduling the appointment for when the place opens, we've waited 90 minutes or more in this dumpy little sitting room. They appear to have scheduled about 10 people for the same time slot and just have people sitting and waiting forever. I have a job i am taking time off of to be here and it really pisses me off to sit here for no reason. If they can't see us until 9:15 then schedule the dam appointment for 9:15. The last time we were here for a 5 minute after surgery checkup they had us see 3 nurses with long waits between each. When we finally saw the doctor he removed the lens on my moms eye and asked whether the nurse had done it already. My thought is that uf weve seen 3 people who could have been helpful then why the he'll weren't they. We were then told to go sit in the waiting room AGAIN to wait to talk to the finance person. After being here for 2 hours already and now facing missing meetings at work for this crap, u walked out and left my phone number for them to call when they could. This place has zero regard for people's time and I will actively look for somewhere else to take my mother for anything in the future. read more

I considered lasik and paid them $500 as a non-refundable deposit. Due to certain circumstances I decided to not complete the procedure. They refunded my deposit and only charged me $45 for an office visit. Very fair! read more

Dr. Hawthorne doesn't believe that Black women deserve Equity of care!! Doesn't believe our pain responses. STAY AWAY! I arrived early. I was in a lot of pain due to eye injury. Receptionist and ophthalmology tech (Carlos) were both very kind and caring. Dr. Hawthorne left me in her exam chair for OVER AN HOUR unattended and I fell asleep. When she finally arrived, and abruptly woke me up, she told me in a very condescending voice that I should, "be happy to have a nap, bc naps are GOOD FOR YOU." Her own staff were disgusted by her horrible tone. Seems like she's rude to staff as well. She proceeded to roughly poke around my injured eye, while being audibly annoyed at my pain responses. Also did not allow for driving restriction, although very aware that I have no peripheral vision. SHE'S A QUACK who is full of herself. STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE IF YOU WANT ADEQUATE CARE. read more

This howerton location was recommended by my grandmother after we found out that my oldest might need glasses. The initial wait wasn't too bad (maybe 30-45 mins?), filled out some forms, waited in the lobby. I do wish they had some toys for smaller kids, but its not a deal breaker. Then we were called back, the tech that saw my daughter was super friendly and incredibly patient with after we told her that my daughter has ADHD. Dr. Desai made the final call that yes indeed my little kid needs glasses. She was super friendly too! So glad that Howerton takes our insurance and the staff was friendly as well. Definitely will be visiting again. Also the IH-35 location has a super awesome fish tank! read more

Howerton Eye Clinic - Ophthalmologists Near Me - Austin, Texas

I've called three times to get my prescription. Nothing. They take the time to respond to reviews but not to actually service clients.

I was there to have my eye checked three times. The wait time is at least one half hour. It seems that that s how they run their business, have customers packed in and see them one by one only by their own schedule, ignoreing customers valuable times. Their medical services are not that great either. I was waiting one hour and 10 min there today, they told me that I needed to wait 20 more mins. Bad business, please go there if you have lots of time to kill. Dj read more

Exellent work Carlos Sanchez he helped my Mom a lot today . Super nice Angela fuentes read more

Horrible place unless you want to be seen by a clinic that does HIPAA violations Be careful with there insurance workers the lady looked up all my personal information and has it written down without my consent I am currently in the middle of solving this issue. I even have proof !!so make sure your personal information isn't violated!! Be careful! And if this happens to you do NOT go to the clinic to solve the issue ! They will not do anything about it because they always defend each other. Do what I'm doing and go to the highest person/company you can because they will do something about it! Especially with proof. And just like I did please make sure to get the ladies information that did this to you because it will help you ! read more

Good Grief !!! I signed up for a cataract surgery and they wanted me to pay in full, BEFORE the surgery ? Really ??? I didn't pay my Dentist before he did any work. Who does business like that ? read more

I'm sure there helping my grandpa out. But each time we have been here wait times have been longer than an hour (w/ scheduled appointment) and the waiting room is freezing, it's almost like they don't care of the comfort of there patients as you would think it would be more consistent. Main issue is they need to be more organized because most of the people take there parents or grandparents here and have to return back to do things, yet we are here stuck in a cold waiting room. read more

My 1st time to this clinic and the front staff and technicians were very polite, professional and answered all my questions. I really liked Dr. Kelly who explained everything to me and made a plan of care so my eyes can heal. Will be coming back. Thank you read more

Dr. Hawthorne has been taking care of my eyes through the past 14 months. I came in with problems with my cornea and she diagnosed me immediately and has put me on a regiment that over the past year has healed my eyes to the point I was now a candidate for a PRK surgery (another version of lasik). I've never in my 30 years considered any laser surgery bc I've never trusted anyone so much to let them put a laser to my eyeball. I didn't have one second thought nor one shadow of a doubt when it came to Dr. Hawthorne doing the procedure. She nailed it. I got the surgery a week ago and every single thing went perfectly. On top of all the success, Dr. Hawthorne just has a bedside manner that is soo comforting. I couldn't thank her enough for the care she puts into every case and every patient. read more