UNETHICAL PRACTICE. I spent one minute with Dr. Briggs having wax removed from one ear. He charged me the copay for seeing a specialist (which I expected) as well as an additional "surgery" fee ($275) for the wax removal. While this may not technically be insurance fraud, it certainly is unethical. I've never come across another ENT or PCP who charges separately for this very simple service. I asked about it in person and he (rudely) agreed to drop the surgery charge. After I left the office, I was billed for the "surgery" anyway. I called the office to follow up on the charge that Dr. Briggs had agreed to drop and was told that I would no longer be allowed to be a patient at his office. Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem. Dr. Briggs seems like a skilled doctor. Not sure why he needs to unnecessarily overcharge. Not a good business move. read more

First of all, I saw the doctor during peak COVID and he lifted his mask to talk to me. Second, I had a bill sent OVER a year late, which isn't even legal in Texas. I called up and they said they had some technical issues with electronic statements, but that's not my fault. When I finally got the bill, it was dated 1 month prior to when I received it, so the date wasn't even real. What they are doing is illegal, but given that my bill is small, I just don't want to go through the hassle of them sending me to collections over it. I don't recommend using this office. read more

True Story: Awesome doc, no doubt. My wifey came in to check her throat and walked out happy. The problem is that I walked in with both hands and feet, but walked out with 1 hand and 1 leg... I picked to keep the right hand because I'm right handed, and the left leg, so I can balance myself out as I hop around in life.. It's true, self-paying customers, consultations cost an am an a leg. Nobody's fault that I'm poor as hell:) read more

Great Doctor. I came here essentially because I had a massive bloody nose that would NOT STOP bleeding. So after filling out new patient paperwork and about a 1.5 hour wait in the lobby, I finally got into see the Dr. The only true negative was that I listed on my paperwork that I am allergic to Mint. The Doctors assistants did not read that AT ALL, and when they sprayed a desensitizer up my nose, it was MINT, Which I immediately had a bad reaction to. I had to do the best I could to blow my nose to get the mint out which of course started the bleeding again. Long story short, Dr. Briggs did a great job cauterizing the blood vessel that was the source. I had to make a return visit a couple days later to have it recauterized, which they did for no additional cost. He is an exceptional Ear Nose & Throat Dr, and I would look past my one negative comment and absolutely recommend Dr. Briggs. His interactions with me were 5 star. read more

Russell Briggs is an excellent doctor! Feel very confident recommending him to anyone. I have had breathing issues for years in my left nostril but been to lazy to do anything about it as it didn't seem severe. I had a check up and it turns out I had a very deviated septum! Russell got me scheduled for surgery within a few weeks, did a great job on the surgery with a positive attitude, and on day 4 he took out my stents and cleaned me up. Now my nose is still a bit swollen internally as expected, but I am already breathing better on my bad side and he said my septum is back to straight and normal operation! The process went as smooth as it could go. If you do deviated septum surgery the worst of it lasts 3 days. Full recovery in 1-3 weeks. Really worth it for a lifetime of normal breathing. Should have done this a decade ago! If you've got breathing trouble give them a visit for sure :) read more

Performed surgery on a broken nose in Dec 2022, it was botched and didn't heal correctly, Dr Briggs agreed to fix it and cover all costs associated with the follow up surgery. He never paid the anesthesia bill, even after I hand delivered it to him in person (and he agreed to). His office is unresponsive and won't cooperate to resolve. Ultimately sent to collections, and still his office would not cooperate or cover the fees he agreed to. My experience was horrible with his office and I do not recommend his services at all. Find another ENT, anyone else! read more

It was actually a good experience. Reasonably simple to get an appointment, quick and efficient check-in, and the doctor was very friendly and competent. He probably spent more time with me than most doctors do nowadays. The whole office is pretty efficiently run. I wanted to get a deviated septum fixed, so they called me back with an estimate the next day and said that I needed to let them know ASAP if I wanted to schedule it by the end of the year (I was in last October and wanted to get it done because I had already maxed out my deductible). They suggested I get estimates from the "other" providers (anesthesiologist and the surgical facility), which again, was great. I called back twice to schedule and left messages, but never heard from anyone. Finally talked to someone on the third try (after two weeks had passed) but now could not get in before the end of the year, so that was frustrating. But overall, a good experience except for the lack of returned calls. Fast forward to August (10 months after my appointment), and they send me a bill for $19.68. Seriously? The last action on the bill was from November of last year. So they somehow lost the bill, and now are trying to collect less than $20 ten months later. My company sends out multiple invoices a day, and I would be embarrassed to go back to a client and tell them "sorry, but I only collected $310 from that 10 minute appointment we had last year, so you owe me another $20 please." I even called and asked them to write it off, and they said "No, you need to pay it." Personally I'd be embarrassed to ask for $20 ten months later. I get that medical billing and insurance is a pain for these doctors, but I found this to be ridiculous. They could have bought some goodwill by just eating it, but they are going to insist on collecting every penny. So, good doctor, generally good office experience, but poor bookkeeping. read more

Service was polite and competent. My problem with the business is that I saw them after an accident. I lost my job and healthcare from that accident. The other driver was found 100% at fault and Austin ENT refused to send their bills to the insurance company. I ended up paying full price for this service. I didn't get rich and will live out my life with tinnitus. And when I asked the billing office if I could get any discount off or the full insurance company rates, the billing clerk responded: You got a settlement..." If you are in an accident, look for another provider in my opinion. 31 July update - billing clerk confirms that biz will charge private citizen full rate and expect me to absorb the losses. read more

My college daughter's appointment was fine, and she was told she needs surgery and to call the scheduler. She began to call the scheduler the following day and subsequently she and I called and emailed consistently for a two-week period, with no response. Because she has a limited time period to get the surgery done, we went to the office to get her medical records so we could find another ENT. We were able to get the records from the front desk and scheduled with another doctor. Since then, but not once before, Dr Briggs' has called multiple times to schedule her surgery. Major dysfunction on that end of the practice, and they lost our business. First they didn't call at all, and now they keep calling, even though we've told them we've scheduled elsewhere. read more

My son had an ear infection that wouldn't get better even with the 4th round of oral antibiotics. We were referred to Dr Briggs from our pediatrician. Of course being new parents we were nervous when Dr Briggs said ear tubes, but we had no other choice since nothing was working for our boy. It was a little difficult getting in touch with the surgery center and anesthesia to find an estimated cost, but eventually we handled the situation. We went into the hospital and Dr Briggs walked us through the surgery and then they took my boy back and he was done in 15 minutes. Dr Briggs walked out and told us it went well. Our son is now 2 and sees Dr Briggs for follow ups and he's doing just fine. I have no being having bad issues with my deviated septum and you bet I'm going to call Dr Briggs to fix me. read more

Dr Briggs Is a awesome physician and very informative. He explained what he suspected was the possible problem. Now his staff is another story, they do not clearly know what insurance is accepted within the office. My big issue is, we got a call at 5:30 on a Friday afternoon from a staff member that I did not have a Tumor but a Brain aneurysm. Also, she failed to give any detail, as to the size. The individual who called did not appear to understand the severity of telling a patient they had a "Brain Aneurysm" especially on Friday afternoon, the weekend before a holiday. We were in a panic all weekend. read more

I am curious if anyone else provided the $250 deposit required for allergy testing, completed the allergy testing in September of 2022, called the billing department for a $250 deposit return and did not hear back, instead received a partial check in February 2023 for less than half of the deposit in the mail? My insurance company was NOT billed, if it were I would have only been $4 out of pocket. At this point, I have left 4 messages for the billing department, 1 message with the office for an explanation and have received no returned call. Anyone? read more

I'm a flight attendant and was having issues with my ears being clogged, I went in basically to make sure I wouldn't blow an ear drum on the plane. My appointment basically went like this "looks in ears - I don't see fluid there's some wax let's remove that - you should be ok well give you some allergy medication Incase there is inflammation it'll help it go down, if you keep having issues or it gets worse come back' Ok great! I paid my $50 co pay and go on my way. Then I keep getting bills for $45? I already paid my co pay? They charged me $150 to clean some wax out of my ear of which insurance would only cover $100. Are you kidding? What was the copay for? I was in your office less than ten minutes, I'm fine spending the copay on you telling me my ear drums won't blow out that's literally what I was paying for. Maybe if you're going to charge someone $150 to remove wax from one ear you could tell them first so I can go to my PCP and have it done for free. read more

Still my favorite ENT! This office is able to get you in quickly, takes my insurance, and the staff is always very pleasant. I have been seen by both Dr. Briggs and Stierman, and their nurse Paulene is always a sweetie. Thanks for being such a great office to work with when it comes to my healthcare. :) Ashley read more

Dr. Briggs saved my life. The various somewhat subtle symptoms of my developing papillary thyroid cancer had gone undiagnosed, it turns out, for over 2 years. When I started coughing up bits of scabby tissue, 2 or 3 times a week, which was essentially dismissed by my (ex) GP, I demanded a referral to a pulmonologist who ordered a chest CT, then a fine needle biopsy of the nodules on my thyroid the CT revealed -- which were present in a CT scan in 2015 and ignored, along with other symptoms. That revealed the carcinoma, and I was referred to Dr. Briggs. Very quickly, I was scheduled for surgery during which it was discovered that my trachea had been invaded, to the point that four rings had to be removed. (The maximum is five; I had three months left.) In Dr. Brigg's words: "it was a bloody mess!" That was on July 20, 2017 All was removed, and the remaining trachea reattached, with a Grillo stitch holding my chin towards my chest used to ensure that I couldn't tilt my head back and rip the repair. Since that operation, Dr. Briggs has seen me frequently, caring each time to provide me with the best treatment, best advice, and since then referrals to other providers for other follow-up care, intervening when needed to obtain appointments that required they adjust their existing schedules to my needs. I am free of cancer, through I-131 examination. I am 79, and other conditions, including rheumatism, are surfacing. Dr. Briggs continues to participate in finding me providers to address these, as well as scheduling additional follow-up appointments. At age 78, I and my best, also 78, hiked mountains in Shenandoah. We had agreed to go again, next October when we will be 80, and I need to work at regaining my strength, condition -- and determination -- to do so. read more

Totally help my grandson's and made a big impact helping my youngest grandson and the best was he knew something wasn't right with the sound of my mom lungs. Put this way he had us take my mom get x-ray . Which land her in the hospital with pneumonia . If wasn't for Dr, Briggs i don't know what would happen. Thank you so much. I wrote the review for wrong doctor it was before Dr Kevin Taheri. Dr Briggs save my husband , he had mrsa in his nose. I'm totally embarrassed . Sorry read more

Dr Briggs did a wonderful job in improving my sinus problems. The office however is a different story. I was charged for a procedure that I did not get on the first visit. On the second visit they collected my co pay from both me and my supplemental. The extra has not been returned dispute assurances to the contrary. Check your bills carefully at this establishment. read more

Dr. Briggs was the 3rd ENT in the area I visited to have my septum repaired. The other 2 were wishy-washy about the results they could get. Not only was he fast to diagnose, unlike the other docs, he immediately put me at ease with a recommendation that he KNEW would work to fix my airflow and severe TX allergy problems, from too many broken noses. Surgery was fine, and the 3 weeks after were horrible with a feeling of suffocating everytime I laid back. Dr. Briggs kept my mind at ease the whole time and even came in on Thanksgiving to make a minor surgical correction at no charge to help me breathe better during recovery. When I was overbilled at the end due to an insurance issue, he wrote off the balance. This is one doc NOT just out for money. I could not recommend him more! And 4 months out, now breathing better then i have in 20 years!! read more

Dr. Briggs is by far one of the best doctors that I have ever seen. I scheduled an appointment with him myself with no referral, since my doctor at the time was not at all helpful. I was having some pressure in my sinus area around my temple and my doctor didn't really know what it was and prescribed me with some steroids, which did not help. The second time I went back to her office letting her know that it hadn't helped, she hastily told me to go to a specialist without referring one. I found Dr. Briggs through yelp and got in within a week. He told me that it was not a sinus issue after all which is why the steroids had not helped. Instead of just sending me back to my PCP, he ordered a brain MRI himself and gave me other possible outcomes for the pressure. After the MRI instead of just calling me with the results, he had me come in and talked to me about it. (Turns out it was normal) but he let me know other possibilities even though it was not his specialty and he could have easily sent me away to figure it out on my own. As I was leaving I really wished he could be my GP, but I decided to ask him for a referral to one since he is not, (and I knew I had to drop mine after she misdiagnosed me) but was a really excellent doctor. He gave me the names of two. One of which I have an appointment with in two weeks. I cannot praise Dr. Briggs enough, I highly recommend him. He had a great bedside manner, very caring and listened to all of my concerns but at the same time very matter of fact and intelligent. He didn't sugarcoat the possibilities but I still left feeling better than I did before even though my symptoms were the same. That to me is the sign of a great doctor! read more

UNBELIEVABLE! I called on behalf of my 4 month old daughter to be seen as referred by my pediatrician. I get transferred to the lady that deals with new patients and simply asked if they take my insurance and she replied so unprofessional and rude about it! She says "Uh no we don't take that insurance and no i don't know who does." just flat out unhelpful and didn't want to mess with me. Get a better staff Dr. Briggs, what a freaking joke your practice is. read more

I would give negative stars if I could. First of all, I had vertigo from an accident, came in and had an exam, was told I was fine. Not only was I NOT fine, but it didn't take me a day to feel better, it took me 2 months! In the meantime, my insurance asked THREE times for the Tax Identification Number, so they could submit payment. This office refused to comply, which is baffling to me. I work in a dental office and I know that insurance providers always ask the TIN for processing claims. I was livid to find that I received a collections notice from this office!!! DO NOT GO TO THIS OFFICE. They are not ethical and they will play games with you. I was never notified by phone, email, or mail that I needed to make a payment. My insurance tried to pay them and they played games and sent me to collections instead. Don't make the mistake I did. If this practice cared for their patients, they would not send them to collections when insurance has been trying to pay them!! I have letters from my insurance company to PROVE that they sent at least THREE notices that they needed more information. The dental office I work for would NEVER do this! read more

Russell D. Briggs, MD - Third Request - Ear Nose & Throat Near Me - Austin, Texas

Dr. Briggs is the best! I had a failed septoplasty from another surgeon in the area last year. Dr. Briggs was able to clearly tell me everything that had gone wrong and was able to fix everything smoothly with a revision surgery. He is super accommodating and excited to help in any way he can. I cannot recommend him enough! read more

Dr. Briggs did not answer my questions or return my calls. He only focused on one of my symptoms and I had to call to get my results

Best doctors hands down. We've been patients of Dr. Steirman and Dr. Briggs for over 15 years. They have helped myself, my husband and my children so many times. They truly are remarkable. I will say though that they really need to get help figuring out why the staff does not return calls. Luckily I have one of the doctors cell numbers so I'm able to text him but nothing ever changes. His staff does not call back! read more

Dr. Briggs is great! He is very professional and has helped me with my chronic sinus infections. The Westlake staff are also very professional and helpful. read more

I went in for a advice on a swollen tonsil. He poked around and said "it's not cancerous" and that's it. Then I asked him to remove a little bit of earwax from my right ear, and he did. The whole visit took less than 10 minutes. They're billing me for a surgical procedure for earwax removal, which, before insurance, is $102.76. That's fucking ridiculous. They should state that before I ask the doctor to help me get ONE piece of ear wax out of my ear without going into debt. Do NOT recommend. read more

A first rate office. I was able to get an appointment within 45 minutes of calling. Reception was courteous and quick. Gave me the five pages to fill out but told me to bring in the first two pages when complete to save some time. Meanwhile I completed the remaining forms. I was called in with ten minutes. Dr Briggs came in with a big welcoming smile and got directly to the point asking me what was going on. He had obviously read the forms I filled out before he came in. Very friendly ran me through some physical test to evaluate vertigo. He was able to diagnose my problem in 10 minutes and gave my a full explanation and the reasons he eliminated other possible causes. Overall the experience was as good as I could ask for. I highly recommend seeing Dr Briggs and his great staff read more

Dr. Briggs is a great doctor, the office staff is another story. If you have to deal with his office it is a nightmare. I've been trying to get the billing area to call me for a month now, about a procedure I had done at the end of August, and no one will call me back even when I was assured that I would get a call back. I asked to have an office manager call me and as of today, 11/4/19, she hasn't called either. The same thing happened when trying to schedule allergy testing and a procedure, no one calls you back. The voicemail even states that "we will call you back today". Very frustrating to say the least, especially when you like the doctor. read more

What can I say...we have had the best experience. From meeting Dr. Briggs, to surgery, and beyond; he has been a caring and thorough doctor. We appreciate his services for our daughter through her tonsillectomy and would highly recommend visiting him to anyone who needs someone who will listen and understand what you're going through. Very professional, as well as the staff. read more

I really wanted to give Dr. Briggs a good rating. He did do an excellent job with my sons surgery and he has a great bedside manner both in the consult and during and after surgery. However, I am forced to give a low rating because of course we had to prepay for the surgery and then they overcharged us a lot. Basically they charged us $1000 for a procedure that Aetna only pays $300 for. So our insurance paid them at the beginning of December and we still have not received our refund. I have called and left numerous messages and no one is returning my calls. Now luckily for us we have met our annual deductible so we are not sitting around waiting a month for $700 but regardless we do have money coming back and expect it to be refunded immediately. We did not have this problem with any of the other facilities associated with our sons surgery. read more

Dr. Briggs is one of the best doctors I have ever gotten to know. I had chronic sinusitis since I moved to Austin and was constantly sick. Allergy shots, various prescriptions and antibiotics had little to no effect. Finally, I found Dr. Briggs who first prescribed a rare, custom mixed nasal antibiotic that actually got me well. He then recommended that he fix my deviated septum that was the root cause of my sinus issues. Throughout the process he was very detailed, thorough and provided me with clear expectations. His staff is always happy and a pleasure to interact with. read more

Dr Briggs is amazing and has removed my daughters tonsils and adenoids summer 2019. My 3 star rating is only in reference to the phones not being answered for hours at a time and no messages returned ever even weeks later. We had to repeatedly call until phone was answered for pain management and post op care after procedure. I work in the medical field so I know how busy offices can be but that's unacceptable even in the busiest offices. read more

Dr. Briggs is the best ENT doctor in ATX! His staff is also top notch. He treated my 5 year old son for an ear infection. He took the time to explain what was going on and how to get my son out of pain. Thank you ENT Center of Austin for giving us exceptional care. read more

I recently moved to Austin so I rely solely on yelp for my recommendations. I was not impressed with my experience with these guy. The doctor himself was very nice but I was just a number here. the front desk dropped the ball (several times). I won't go into details but at the end of it I asked them to have the dr call me and never got a call. I will never use them again. read more

Dr. Briggs was highly recommended by a family member when my son was having ear pain. The staff got us in quickly, and Dr. Briggs saw us immediately. He was very patient, listening to my son and asking questions about his symptoms and pain, and he was kind and gentle during the ear exam. He suggested a non-invasive treatment to try first, and informed us of the potential for a more invasive procedure if the non-invasive did not work. I appreciated his frankness and honesty. Thankfully, the suggested treatment worked great! I recommend Dr. Briggs to anyone. read more

He did my major sinus surgery (sinus, turbinates, and septum). He is patient, caring, informative, I spiked a fever after surgery (turned out to be nothing) and he returned the page in 10 minutes on a Friday night). Smart guy. Clean, nice showroom. Good surgeon. I hated my experience at Arise Surgical Center but that's not his fault. read more

While Dr. Briggs seems like a good doctor - don't waste your money. I was given a pretty upsetting diagnosis and he spent all of 5 minutes talking to me. I felt rushed and on top of it - there was a completely different part of my diagnosis that he never even went over with me. I went to another ENT and he was very surprised by the information/treatment I received. Seems like Dr. Briggs just wants to see as many patients as he can in a day. read more

DON'T GO SEE THIS PRACTICE - not because of the doctor but because of their receptionist! Good lord. Incredibly rude, kept interrupting me, thought my insurance was medicaid or medicare, which it isn't. I told her I'd pay cash, and she said it was illegal for them to see me when we aren't on a plan they cover. Which is complete rubbish. My PCP and our pediatrician are not on our plan and we pay cash there all the time! The worst part was my daughter has tonsil problems and we really needed to see someone. Truly sorry that the entire practice gets a black eye from one rude receptionist. I hope the doctors know - I hope they read this. read more

Dr. Briggs A exceptional and great Doctor. He goes above and beyond his job and is just great all around. His staff was very good. One of the best of the Best!!!! I agree with all the positive comments, this doctor has Heart and a big Heart goes a long way. I wish their were more doctors like him because it helps people get better with mind over matter. I went to 3 dermatologist and none of themwould even do a biopsy, he did one on me and I am forever greatful for finding a doctor who did something I asked for. 5***** plus 5 more for Intergrity! read more

I thought Dr Briggs did a good job explaining medical jargon in plain English. He answered our questions well and patiently addressed all of our concerns. I didn't feel pressured to pursue any particular treatment plan like I have with other doctors. He gave us three options and we discussed the pros and cons of each. He was candid in what he would do if it were his daughter in the patient's chair. His nurse was friendly and very helpful as well. Front desk was also great. Wonderful office. I was impressed. I made my appointment online at midnight and got a phone call the next morning to confirm it. That made it easy. Also, I could click to schedule when I was available. I loved that. We move a lot, so I've seen at least 4 ENTs for my children. I definitely recommend this one. read more