Philip W Caterbone, DO

I just read Vanessa C’s review and felt compelled to write a review that affirms her comments. I adore Dr. Caterbone and find the fact that he doesn’t come to an office visit armed with my file refreshing. He actually listens to me. I, too, chose him as my primary care physician because he’s a DO; he’s never disappointed me.

Not a good experience. The front of house staff is terrible. Dr Caterbone knows it’s true. On my third visit we discussed the problem and he told me «yeah, I could hire good people, but I have two offices and I’m booked all year, so why would I want to hire expensive front of house people. Patients come regardless». UM, TO MAKE YOUR PATIENTS HAVE A EASIER TIME AT FEELING BETTER.
However, the front of house thing is only one aspect of the dysfunction. The Dr prescribed a medicine to me that had warning about antacids and alcohol. He mentioned neither. The pharmacist mentioned neither and thankfully I saw the warning on the bottle/​literature regarding the antacids, but I nearly wrecked my liver because of his failure to take the time to talk with me and explain what he was prescribing.
I love Caterbone’s location and that is the only reason I ever went there. However, Austin Regional Clinic is right down the road.

If only it was possible to give a zero star. First of all, this is not specifically about the doctor.
The receptionist was terrible, she was rude and had an attitude. My appointment was at 5:30. I got there at 5:33. There was someone in front of me so I waited a little. When it was my turn, the receptionist said your appointment is at 5:30, it’s 5:36. You’re 6 minutes late. You have to reschedule then went on to mumble something. I was confused so I waited a while. I went back to her and said so do I have to reschedule and she said yes I can reschedule you for Monday. Because you’re a new patient, you need to be here 15 minutes early.
First of all she could have said that the FIRST time instead of saying «you’re 6 minutes late». Second of all, when I called to make the appointment they asked me if I was a new patient, took down my insurance policy number and everything. During that conversation, there was not even a MENTION of «hey you need to be here 15 minutes early cause you’re a new patient.»

I have no idea what went on with other Unilocaler’s visits. They must have seen Dr, Caterbone’s doppelgänger, or something, because my experience was great!
Let me preface the rest of this review by saying I have a medical background and have been working in the industry for almost 9 years at this point. Doctors love me and hate me because I know how to do the research and come into a visit armed with information. They usually tell me about 2 x what I already know. I’m not afraid to question their diagnosis and prognosis. This rarely goes over well due to their typically snobby attitude topped off with an inflated, yet somewhat apropos, god-​complex (hey, they can cure disease and prevent death, right?).
I’d just been to another doctor who told me I was wrong about a nutrition issue I had questions about because the results that I expected didn’t occur. My background is pharmaceutical nutrition so I know quite a bit about the subject. The old doc treated me like a moron and poo-poo’d my concerns. Also, the other doc gave me an antibiotic rx for a sinus infection that didn’t cover the bacteria that was present so it took me almost a month to get better. To put it plainly, I was fed up.
When I decided to see Dr. Caterbone, my reasons for choosing him were twofold. First, I wanted a DO because I trust their education better, based on my work experience. Second, I actually realized that the absence of a chart in his hand heralded the possibility that he treats patients holistically. How many of you go into a doc office and they just read and re-​read the chart while you’re talking? It’s ridiculous. Hello Dr. Smartypants! I’m right here!
I was right. Dr. Caterbone gave me the option of getting a presciption on my next visit *after* I went home and researched the diagnosis he gave me because other lifestyle and supplement changes can treat my problem (which I won’t share here). Not to mention, this issue has been ongoing for a few years now and 4 other doctors didn’t find it but Dr. Caterbone did. And (!) he didn’t treat me like an idiot.

I agree that the office staff here is terrible. I told the receptionist I was a new patient, she handed me a form to fill out and asked me to sit down. I filled out the form and brought it back up to her. «$ 40 please,» she says. Well, my copayment is $ 20. I told her this and realized that she had been putting in my information on another patients file. Yes, I have a common name, but I just told you that I was a new patient, and you did hand me the «New Patient Form.»
After being seen by a nurse, I sat in the doctor’s office for 25 minutes before Dr. Caterbone came in. He glanced at my file, touched my throat and nose and told me I had a sinus infection. He wrote me two prescriptions and left. I saw Dr Caterbone for 2 minutes.
This place is awful. I would not recommend going here, even though the location is convenient. I got more personalized care at Austin Regional Clinic.

First, Dr. Caterbone has been sanctioned by the Texas Medical Board:

I picked him as my primary care physician because his office is close to home. However, I usually see Dr. Clark, who is great. She’s starting her own practice and I plan to follow her, especially since what happened yesterday.
I had an eye infection and called my optometrist; they only had one spot available for the next few days. Because it was outside my annual eye exam, I needed a referral from my PCP for insurance to cover it. The optometrist office called for the referral. Normally, physicians will give it to them. Not Dr. Caterbone. He refused to give the referral without an office visit. What? Like what could he say/​do about an eye infection? He’s NOT an optometrist. Plus, going to his office first meant that I couldn’t get into my optometrist until Monday. Do you realize what can happen to your eye when you wait?
I did the self-​pay at the optometrist. Self-​pay was only $ 10 more than paying the two co-​pays.
I hope Dr. Clark is going to be on BCBS insurance. I’ll just need to get it changed over.

I visited Dr. Caterbone during a serious bout of tonsillitis in September of 2009. I knew what I had and that I needed antibiotics and he was good enough to prescribe them. The girl at the front desk was rude and informed me that I did not have a co-​pay (as I do) for office visits and that I’d be paying the full amount.
Too sick to go elsewhere and in desperate need of antibiotics, I hoped that I could sort it out after I was feeling better. After a half-​dozen calls to the office, they’ve informed me that, 8 weeks later, they’ve yet to submit the claim to my insurance company.
I may never get my money back. You can see from the other reviews that this doctor is to be avoided at all costs.
Update: As of March and after multiple visits to the actual office, I coerced them into filing the claim (you know, that thing that doctors offices are supposed to do immediately). As of today, my insurance has paid them, they have received the EOB and a check — yet they are now claiming that their billing department has to «process» things before they’ll issue me the refund of what I never should have been charged. After an annoying debate over the phone with their current office manager (a more intelligent, but far less diplomatic woman), she hung up on me.
Bottom line? Avoid at all costs. I spoke with a BCBS representative today in their fraud department and, while they won’t divulge the details of other complaints, I was told that this certainly wasn’t the first dispute to be brought up with them.
I mentioned this to the office manager at Caterbone’s fantastic little chop-​shop and she informed me, «You don’t know how this works, we’re not going to lose our provider status.» And though I’m certain every receptionist in the world is well-​versed with the procedures it takes to either obtain or lose provider status, well, I’m going to do what I can to ensure that they do.
Update: In May, I finally picked up a check from them. It took another dozen phone calls but they finally agreed to reimburse my money. Absolutely incredible (in a bad way) experience. I logged a lot of the phone calls for my report to BCBS — I contacted their office over 40 times between September and May. It would have been much easier and cheaper to simply let it go, but after the way I was treated, there was no way I was going to let this office get away with my money.

Avoid. Seriously, there must be better doctors.
I called asking for a physical and they took my appointment. It was right by my house so I thought it’d be really convenient.
The doctor just asked me ‘what tests do you want me to run’? I have no idea — you’re the doctor. In the end he had me walking out with a allergy prescription.
This was the only doctor’s office I’ve ever been to where the trash was overflowing and there was kleenex on the floor. Nasty.
Buddy — you weren’t worth my $ 10 co-​pay

Seeing this Dr. is a waste of time, because it appears that whatever he tells you, you have to get a second opinion. I guess the first tip-​off should have been that he comes in to the room without your file, but a prescription pad. Good for some, just not what I’m really looking for.
And I’m not really going to go into too much detail about his staff (mainly because it makes me very mad to think about it…) but they are, quite possibly, THE most incompetent group of idiots I can imagine. Don’t trust them to do anything they say, and really don’t let them stick needles in you. They’re very, very bad at it.
So it all starts when he tells me I have PCOS, this problem where I will stop ovulating early, and pretty much told me that if I wanted 2 kids I had to get started now. Seriously, right now. Forget about my plans to begin grad school in the fall, he told me «well, what’s more important, career or kids?» Ouch. You can’t really ask that of women these days, because we probably have a plan to get it all done, and if not, we will just to prove it to you. My Ob/​Gyn confirmed that while I had the condition, it wasn’t nearly as big of a deal as he made it seem, and encouraged me to have kids when I was ready. She assured me that there were all kinds of options available to me if I had trouble. (By the way, ladies if you need a good one, Dr. Turner, at A Woman’s Place is AWESOME!!)
So moving along to last week… I had been getting some weird itchy red bumps on my arms and wrists and after a few days went to Dr. Caterbone to see what the F was going on. He tells me it’s either scabies, or chicken pox. Well, I can’t imagine how I would have gotten scabies, but since I was 16 when I got the chicken pox the first time, and I don’t remember it being a horrible case at the time, it was possible that I was in the rare 5% of people who could get it again. So he gives me pills for Scabies and says if the bumps don’t get better in 2 days then it must be chicken pox and to stay indoors until the pox get crusty.
So it’s ten days after the first set of pox set in, I’ve been trapped in the house all week, used up ALL of my sick leave and some of my vacation time, and missed several classes as a result. The worst part is that I have been out of my mind itching and scratching, climbing the walls just waiting for it to get better. Well, it wasn’t getting any better, and when a new crop showed up on my arm that was it, something had to give.
I went to the late night clinic and saw a Dr. that told ‘this is definitely not chicken pox’. She said it was just a random rash that was caused by a virus. She said that she see’s it a lot, and there’s no rhyme or reason to it. She gave me a prescription for Prednizone and in one day I’m feeling better already. I’m kicking myself for not getting it looked at again, but when you think you have chicken pox, nobody wants to be near you. They say you can kill old people and unborn babies if you are around pregnant women, so you are basically stuck in your house, itching.
So, I am now on the lookout for a new doctor, and accepting all suggestions if you want to throw some my way…

I won’t be back either. Very short, rude and abrupt, doesn’t like to listen to you talk about your reason for visiting. He just wants to hear «my throat hurts» and write you a Rx for antibiotic. Doesn’t care about family history, when things started feeling bad, how you feel, empathy is out the window with this guy.
I was in the for another reason all together and while I was there asked him about ways to quit smoking, I heard there was a medication for that (and i DONT like taking meds just asking if it worked) and he rudely just said «just quit, just stop» as if it weren’t an addiction and acted like I was totally wasting his time by feeling bad and being in his office and he got up like «we’re done.» That was the end of that appointment. Newsflash dude, YOU WORK FOR ME when I’m in your office. You schedule me in for 15 minutes don’t take my vitals and kick me out with a Rx after 2 minutes. LISTEN TO YOUR CLIENTS.
Sheryl clark is way better but too bad she’s never there at the SoCo location. If you have to go to this location, reserve with her if at all possible!

Not recommended. The office is unprofessional, the staff is unprofessional, and the doctor treated me poorly. I especially don’t recommend him if you are even remotely overweight.

I had a similar experience to the other reviewer. They lost my information at my second visit, he seemed more than eager to write me whatever prescriptions I could name, and didn’t seem to be listening to be at all. I too, needed a blood test done, and days later, I still have not found out the results.

This is by far the worst doctor I’ve ever been to. I would give him zero stars if possible.
I’ve seen Dr. Caterbone twice. The first time, I was thrilled to get an appointment, as it was late on a Friday and I was leaving for LA the next day. He came into the office, prescription pad and pen in hand, asked what was wrong, and asked if I wanted some antibiotics. He convinced me that I should just take the prescription, saying it would take three days to get lab test results for a culture and I’d be out of town. I thought it was strange — the readiness to write prescriptions — but decided to go ahead and take the meds.
I saw Dr. Caterbone again last Friday for a sore throat I’d had for several days. Once again, he came into the room with his pen and pad ready. I told him why I was there and he asked if I wanted some antibiotics. I told him I didn’t know if that was necessary and that I only wanted the antibiotics if I needed them. «So, do you want me to do a culture or something?» he asked. Umm, yeah. He scraped my throat with a Q-​tip and said the results would be back on Monday.
It is now Tuesday. I spoke with the nurse today. She said that the results are back, but he hasn’t gotten around to looking at them. Apparently he likes to wait until the evening to do that. I told her I’ve been running a fever for two days and whatever I have is getting worse. She said she’d tell the doctor that. I haven’t heard anything since.
Do not waste your money on this guy, not even a $ 20 copay. It’s like he’s getting paid a lot of money to write prescriptions. And also, who takes this long with lab test results? The last doctor I had could get culture results in the office within 30 minutes. This man is ridiculous.