Red River Family Practice

I have been going to see Dr Werntz since the mid-1900’s and he is the best primary card physician I have ever had. I’m a doctor’s daughter, so I am picky about my care. One of the things I appreciate about Dr. Werntz is that he gives me the pros and cons of my options for care, and let’s me choose what I think will work best for me. He doesn’t talk down to me, and he is a deeply compassionate man. He left work for several years to volunteer for Aids hospice work. He is also informed and open to alternative practice for some healing issues.
It’s great that they are also open a half day on Saturdays, twice that has saved me from ER fees. And when I’ve dropped in on a Saturday and seen another doctor, they have all been really great.
If you aren’t going to Red River Family Practice, you are missing the best that medicine has to offer.

Everyone knows how difficult it can be to find a doctor who is both great at his/​her job AND has a wonderful bedside manner. Well, I hit the jackpot when I came to Red River Family Practice and began seeing the incomparable Dr. Eric Lambeth, MD.
Dr. Lambeth is an internist (a general practitioner with extra schooling so that he is able to handle more complex cases). I am only 44 and have no specific medical issues that require an internist, but I wanted the «best» so I chose to go with an internal medicine doctor.
After reviewing the credentials of Dr. Lambeth, I made an appointment with him; however, I went in to the appointment not knowing what to expect as far as his personality and bedside manner. Well, I was in for a delight because Dr. Lambeth is by far the BEST physician I have ever seen. He is kind, funny, knowledgeable, interesting, and compassionate. He is not just a spokesperson for the drug companies; he suggests things other than medication when appropriate. Dr. Lambeth also does not expect his patients to live a perfect life; in fact, he understands that sometimes, you have to have a «cheat meal» or maybe you don’t always work out every day. He’s very realistic and yet is supportive of making lifestyle changes. He also calls me personally when I have blood test results in.
Wonderfully, there is no judgment from Dr. Lambeth at all. At the same time, he encourages me to change what I need to (as realistically as possible). He helps me understand and patiently explains what my test results and medications mean. He spends TIME with his patients.
In short, if I could clone Dr. Lambeth and make all my doctors like him, I certainly would because he is amazing. I cannot believe that I was fortunate enough to find a doctor with both medical expertise and a great bedside manner. I just hope he doesn’t ever retire!
Red River Family Practice in general is a really nice facility and the receptionists are lovely and helpful. I also really like Dr. Lambeth’s nurse, Dexter, who always gets back to me immediately when I call. (The only «con» to RRFP — and it’s a minor one — is that it is a bit confusing to get to when you first visit. You have to park and make sure you go into the right building. And for some reason, I still get confused when I go. But that’s a small, tiny issue in light of receiving the best medical attention and care I have ever received).

i just recently moved to Austin and needed to find a primary care physician. Using my insurance company’s website tool to find a physician, I found Dr. Werntz at Red River.
When talking to the receptionist, once she found out I was a «new» patient, she very quickly said she needed to transfer me to the person’s voice mail who handles new patents… and off I went. Someone actually answered the phone but wouldn’t say anything. After a couple of «hellos» on my part there was some fumbling and I was dropped into the voice mail.
I left a fairly detailed message about what I was looking for and the current condition I was hoping to see the doctor about. I did not receive a call back.
Today I tried again and let the receptionist what had happened. She was very curt and wanted to know which Doctor I wanted to see. She asked me if I was wanted to see him because of his specialty. I let her know I wanted to see him for HBP as well as another condition. She bluntly advised he wouldn’t be able to see me till Nov. 19^th and wanted to know if I wanted to schedule for then.
I was blown away!!! She literally couldn’t have cared any less about me or my situation.
I read the reviews on here and wanted to believe it was people just having a bad day. But what I have discovered is that these reviews seem to be spot on in reference to the office staff.
First off, if this is the type of treatment any patient can expect to receive from the office staff at this clinic, why would anyone want to go back. We all want a doctor who we feel has our best interest at heart. BUT, if his/​her office staff makes life difficult for you (and 95% of the time you are there because you do not feel well anyway) why would you want to come back?
I haven’t event had a chance to meet Dr. Werntz. He might be the best doctor in Austin. But his office staff has made it quite clear I’m not wanted at their office. Or at the very least a pain in their side if I do make an appointment.
Secondly, I can’t believe the doctors know this is how people are being treated. I would like to believe that if they did, they would certainly be replacing their office staff. THAT BEING SAID, there are quite a few reviews on here for an extended period of time all saying the same thing about the office staff… so I have to assume the doctors must know what’s happening. And if they do… I’m pretty sure this would be the last doctors office I would want to trust me health to.
«Welcome to Austin!»

I posted a negative review under a different ID a year ago for Dr. Michael Killian, but Unilocal removed it. Perhaps Dr. Killian or the Red River Clinic paid Unilocal to remove it. Shame on you Unilocal!Who are you really working for? The consumer or the business? Let me sum it up my problems with Red River Clinic anew here.
I had just quaiified for Medicare, and I made an appointment at Red River Clinic for A Welcome to Medicare visit with Dr. Killian based on the positive Unilocal reviews here. What a mistake! The Welcome to Medicare visit was supposed to be free to me. Medicare was supposed to cover the entire cost of the visit. Instead I was charged a co-​payment for the visit. At the time I did not have Part B. When I complained to the billing department, I was told that Dr. Killian had provided and charged me for advice for an old shoulder injury. I did not solicit this advice or ask for it. I wasted a lot of time dealing with the billing department. The billing department told me that I should know the medical codes before I made an appointment. The woman in charge of the billing department told me that asking for a Welcome to Medicare visit at the time that I made the appointment was not enough. I was supposed to tell Dr. Killian personally that I was there for that visit specifically.
I wish that I could say that the appointment went well, but it didn’t. Although Dr. KIllian was pleasant and affable, he discouraged me from having a fecal occult blood test. He did order blood tests and renewed some medications for me. However, he filled out the wrong lab form for blood tests. As a consequence, the lab had to contact him to correct the paperwork, and I had to return the following day to take the tests. Also, I received a copy of his notes during the visit, and it was clear to me that he had combined my notes with that of the previous patient. In addition there were medication errors. I had to return to the pharmacy two or three times to get my medication straightened out. I will not return to Red River Clinic and Dr. Killian.

Like everyone else, my experience has been that the doctors here are great; the office staff are terrible and downright retaliatory.
My experience:
Ever since switching from my PPO to an HSA, Red River has been charging me $ 70 up front before I see the doctor. I figured they already knew the cost of the visit, so I accepted the charge, but then after my visit, more bills would come in the mail, so essentially they would charge me twice. Out of the two years I’ve been going there, I have yet to have a doctor’s visit where I did not call the billing folks because something was wrong with my billing (they actually double-​charged me, like charging me $ 70 at the office and then billing me $ 70 for the exact same service) or I didn’t understand the codes they were using.
Case in point, I visited the doctor one time expecting to pay my normal $ 70 per visit. Dr. Bartz prescribed me medication and sent me on my way. When I got to the pharmacy, they informed me my medication was $ 1400. That was way too high, and had I known the medication was that much, I wouldn’t have ordered it. I said this to Dr. Bartz’s voicemail the day of. No follow up was made.
I received a bill in the mail for an extra $ 30 on top of my $ 70 bill, and I asked why when I never picked up the medication. Nobody seemed to be aware that I didn’t pick up the medication, and they informed me that it was a «specialty» visit, and so it cost more. I asked the office staff why, and they simply repeated what they said before and told me to pay the bill.
Add this to the fact that they charged an extra $ 70 for a procedure that was, according to my insurance, supposed to be 100% covered, I called them again to ask why. Our conversation:
Me: I don’t really get this charge. My insurance said I was supposed to be covered.
Billing: Well, that’s what you owe.
Me: Look, every time I get service here I’m calling the billing department. I’m tired, and I’m just about to leave if this isn’t resolved.
Billing: Ma’am. That’s what I’m trying to explain to you, ma’am, we billed you for an office visit and that’s what you owe.
Me: But my insurance said they’d cover it.
Billing: Well, this office visit is separate from the insurance.
Me: Why?
Billing: Are you dissatisfied with your service, ma’am?
Me: No, it was fine, but it needs to be recoded if it was charged separately from insurance.
Billing: I don’t do the coding.
Me: Okay… then who can fix this?
Billing: The doctors. Shall I tell them that you were unhappy with their service and they need to recode?
Me: No, I was fine with the service.
Billing: Should I tell them that you were unhappy with their service and need to recode?
Me: *sighs* Sure. Whatever. I just need them to reconsider.
Billing: I will let them know that you were unhappy with their service. I’ll follow up with you later today.
Me: Okay.
No follow up was made that day. I get not one, but two Termination of Service letters (one by priority, one by regular mail in case… I don’t know, I didn’t get the message?) that says, «because you were unhappy with our service, that constitutes a break in the patient/​physician relationship and we will no longer be your primary care.»
I got an updated bill in the mail, and a phone call to let me know that they sent an updated bill, but conveniently left out the fact that they sent over two letters telling me they don’t want to be my physicians anymore.
I felt wheedled into saying that I was unhappy just so they could send those letters to me (probably because there’s a legal disclosure somewhere that if I say that they can terminate), but good riddance.
I liked the doctors, but the office is trigger-​happy and likes to cut any patient if they ask too many questions on their quite honestly bizarre billing practices. I’ve never once been billed at the office and then later by a physician unless it was a copay, and my insurance doesn’t do copays.
Do yourself a favor and look elsewhere – some of these doctors also work at other practices that are much more above board with their billing and courtesy practices.

I adored the doctors during the 15 years I was a patient here so it pains me to give them the low rating. Twice in the span of a few months I was told «Go to Urgent Care» because they could not see me in the next two days although I had a fever, flaming headache and no voice (ended up being a sinus infection), and even my raspy squeak did not convince the receptionist to give me a timely appointment. Instead, as a consolation prize the front desk scheduled me for useless appointment days later I did not want and then I got billed for missing it.
I found another practice that sees patients on the same day.

Move along to another practice!
I was a patient in this practice for nearly five years. I was recently terminated for missing an appointment that the office rescheduled without confirming with me.
In the course of being a patient, I have been sent to collections… Despite being seen every 3 mos. The overdue balance was never addressed in person. I was just told one day I could not be seen until I handled my collection bill. Which I did and thought to give it another go.
Also, I have had my medications not at all sent to the pharmacy giving me withdrawal symptoms over a weekend.
Now, after enduring all this money and refill fiasco they are terminating me for a «no show» that I never scheduled or agreed to attend. I cannot even remember ever missing an appointment. At times, I had to be seen more often.
The staff showed no sympathy or understanding of their own error. I never even received an apology. Even when I told the manager that I am at risk of having a seizure if my medication is abruptly stopped. She had no concern whatsoever.
I just filed a complaint with the Texas Medical Board. After taking a look at the correct procedures for terminating a patient, I believe this situation may be a type of patient abandonment. The Texas Medical Board says after discussing termination with patient orally that then it can be considered. I was given no verbal warning. Just a certified letter telling me to leave on a Saturday. And I was never given any reason other than the «no show» for an appointment I never agreed to make.
I regret ever being loyal with this office despite their obvious shortcomings. If you want to feel disposable and uncared for then I think this is the place for you. If not, move along.
:-)

I’ve been a patient at Red River Family Practice for three+ years. When I first moved to Austin and was in search of a new care provider I selected Red River due to it’s close proximity to my home and that they were in-​network with my insurance.
My first appointment (annual exam) went smoothly. Dr. Bartz was thorough and attentive. My labs and pap were performed correctly at the office and were handled correctly at the lab.
Less than a year later, after suffering from a cold/​sinus infection /​plague for a few weeks I was able to call in and schedule an appointment for the next day in order to get some antibiotics. Since i was already a current patient of the practice the receptionist was able to squeeze me in next day with a different provider so I didn’t have to suffer until the next week.
Since then things have started to go down hill.
The receptionists /​front desk staff have become very rushed, inattentive, dare I say «rude» when calling to make appointments. I come in four times a year for injections in addition to my annual exam and each time the phone scheduling becomes more and more abrasive and rushed. Last time around I attempted to schedule my next injection in conjunction with my annual exam in order to save everyone time, and pretty much had to interrupt the receptionist as they were hanging up on me to ensure that the injection would be ordered and available. C’mon people, it’s healthcare… take a moment to at least pretend you care about your patients.
At my annual exam the past two years pap was sent to the wrong testing laboratory. I specifically request that all of my specimens be processed by CPL. I even go so far as to bring my own filled out requisition forms, inform my nurse, and my provider, yet my paps are still sent to Quest.
My annual exams with Dr. Bartz have also gone downhill in the past two years. She’s always been a straight forward «to-​the-​point» type of provider, which is fine, but the line between to the point and ‘rushing’ has been crossed. Once again, this is my annual exam, at least pretend that you are interested in what I have to say.
Unfortunately, I will probably be researching other family practices /​OBGYN’s in my area in 2015.

When I first called in, of course as new patient they asked for the name of my insurance. They didn’t recognize it, although it’s some form of blue cross (only the biggest name in health insurance) they made me call them to confirm even though I told them I found them through Blue Cross’ website. A little annoying since Blue Cross takes forever to speak to someone.
My appointment was wonderful. I went to Dr. Lambeth he was great. Well worth the previous inconvenience.
DIRECTIONS: the parking was easy to find. From there, make sure you take the skywalk across to the building so you don’t get lost outside. The building directory is poorly lit, but its there.

Worst front desk employees I have ever encountered. This is my 3^rd time here, all with different receptionists and I absolutely DREAD coming to this office. Nasty attitude, outright rude, inappropriate conversations in front of patients, and definitely inappropriately dressed (absurd cleavage).

As a new resident of Austin, I ended up selecting this practice since they were in-​network with my health insurance. So far, I’ve really liked everyone here since they’re really nice and quite efficient.
I’ve seen Dr. Bartz twice and both times were easy to schedule with her. She’s to the point but not in a rude or negative way. I appreciate her brevity and didn’t feel nervous to discuss my health history & concerns with her. Their practice is «paperless» so its nice I can log into their portal to see tests results and they also electronically send prescriptions, etc. I did have some issues with my prescriptions for my mail-​away facility and Dr. Bartz’s nurse called me back almost immediately. Most practices I’ve been to take up to 72 hours. It was a pleasant surprise it was resolved right away.
They get a deduction of one star due to the fact the parking garage charges per hour.
Other than the parking situation, great practice (that seems to always runs on time!) and I haven’t had any problems with them.

Dr. Lambeth is fantastic!
I am in my mid 20s and have suffered from a chronic pain illness for many years now. That being said I’ve seen plenty of physicians and Dr. Lambeth is by far the best yet. Being relatively young and suffering from chronic pain means most doctors want to simply refer me to a pain management clinic or give me all kinds of drugs that don’t work. He isn’t one of those doctors. He is extremely knowledgeable and acutally listens to you. I’ve never felt rushed or like I am just a number like I have in the past. His bedside manner is phenomenal and I will remain his patient for as long as he is practicing medicine.
His office recently stopped accepting Aetna (my insurance provider) and I’d rather pay the cash price any day than have to find another doctor. Fortunately for me my employer changed our insurance company so I don’t have to worry about it anymore but even if they hadn’t I am here to stay. Nice try but you can’t get rid of me that easy Dr. Lambeth! :)
All I have to say is Kudos to you Dr. Lambeth for making me feel like I actually have someone in my corner when it comes to my medical care. Words cannot express how grateful I am to have found a physician of your caliber.
The staff has never given me any problems so I don’t know why there are negative reviews about them. I think most of it has to do with people not understanding how an insurance claim works, what’s covered and what’s not by their own policy, or they just have unrealistic expectations of people. In any case I have only nice things to say about the staff. Don’t mess that up staff people. J/​K
Cindy, Dr. Lambeth’s nurse, has always been very kind and helpful as well.
Keep up the good work everyone!

I mainly see Dr. Brinson because she is awesome, very outgoing and a wealth of knowledge — she takes her time getting to know you and what your going through. She doesn’t treat you like another client or another $$ — she also owns her own research company and is very active in the community — you won’t be disappointed in this doctor!
Staff is very friendly, outgoing, patience and always willing to help.
If you looking for an awesome doctor along with great staff — then look no further than Red River Family Practice.

Dr. Killian was just fine, but as other reviewers have stated the office is awful. Francis the office manager was incredibly rude until she determined that I had insurance.
After service, my insurance company stiffed them and two other practices on the bill. While the other two practices worked with me and my insurance to sort everything out, Red River Family Practice sent my account straight to collections. Because they weren’t willing to work with me and that awful insurance company, they still haven’t been payed and they have hurt my credit.
This place is a perfect example of how business profits and medicine can be a perverse pairing, and get in the way of quality patient care.

I don’t know anything about medicine so all I can really judge this practice by is there customer service. I had been going to this practice for 7 years until I was spoken to rudely too many times by the people at the front desk. It seems like a simple concept – just be nice too the people who are making you money! Guy who was answering the phone on 1÷3÷13, you are rude and should be fired. I am firing your employers medical practice because you can’t be polite.

I recently moved to the area from Baton Rouge. I was referred to Red River and based on other reviews I was excited about contacting the practice to set up an introductory appointment and discuss my existing conditions and prescriptions. When I called the receptionist answered I asked to set up an appointment and to discuss my existing conditions and current prescriptions with one of doctors. It went like this, «Hello, I’m new to the area and was referred to the practice. I verified my insurance is accepted and would like to set up an…» Before I even finished asking that simple question she rudely interrupted me and said, «No, we don’t have any appointments for new patients for 5 — 6 weeks.»
First impressions are of the utmost importance for ANY business. That conversation made it my first and final impression. I don’t believe it’s too much to ask to be treated politely. The reviews I have read for the individual doctors rave about how they take the time for their patients. I hope they plan to extend that to their staff or hire new staff that will provide that same level of professionalism, care, and courtesy. The economy hasn’t fully recovered and I’m sure there are other people out there who would be more than happy to answer the phone and be polite to any caller whether they are or are not a current patient.

Let me start by saying I like Dr. Bartz. She is easygoing, pleasant, efficient, and tells it like it is. She is the reason I continue going to Red River Family Practice. She is the ONLY reason I continue going here. The office itself is understaffed and overworked, disorganized, and technologically behind. Any time you call with a simple question, you are routed to your physican’s assistant. At times, two physicians will be sharing one assistant, a job that seems to have a huge turnover, since it seems to be someone different every six months or so when I have the need to come in. This person has to singlehandedly return all phone calls and voicemails, handle prescription issues and refills, answer questions about side effects, handle insurance snafus, etc, etc, and it’s no wonder that you almost always have to wait a day or two for a callback, and feel like you’re imposing for having called with a question.
The biggest problem I’ve had to date is an attempt to answer some basic questions from my medical record – past appointment dates, exact diagnoses, etc – for an EOI form. No one in the office, not the receptionists, physician assistant, or records department would answer these basic questions over the phone, the assistant didn’t have the time or desire to fill the form out in person, and my attempt to get a copy of my medical record so that I could fill out the form myself has ended up with me calling some guy from the copy service on his cell phone asking where my record has ended up… which doesn’t seem good. It’s been two months of trying so far, and I can’t get this form filled out. For comparison, my boyfriend’s dr. office answered the same questions for him over the phone in 5 minutes. I think the issue here might be technological – the office doesn’t seem to have searchable electronic records in any way. In fact, they don’t even have email.
The excellent physicians at this practice should strongly consider associating themselves with a business with any sort of customer service. The administrative side of this place is sinking it.

Dr Lambeth is awesome. he is up-​to-​date, knowledgable, and a good communicator.
My impetus for writing was some of these negative reviews: I do think that the majority of these reviews aree derived from people having unrealistic expectations of their physicians.
1. Neither your doctor, nor his office are responsible for checking that what they prescribe is covered on your insurance. That goes for prescriptions as well as procedures. There are thousands of insurance plans with nuances for each employer. Docs do the best they can, but ultimately YOU are responsible for payment/​reimbursement issues of services rendered.
2. it is within normal practice to require women to get an annual exam in order to refill birth control. It is standard practice. It is your responsibility to keep up with refills of your medication. And no, being out of birth control does not warrant an ‘emergency’ or paging a physician outside of office hours. I cannot believe the same person was griping about $ 25 paging fee when wanting to bother a physician on a weekend for a non-​emergency.
3. Not being able to get an sppointment and instructing a patient to go to urgent care warranting a bad review? seriously? My boyfriend has been super sick this week and the staff has been responding promptly with complete instructions and considerate care.

This is a decent practice if you’re super proactive about your medical care and insurance limitations. I’m not, and I’ve had several hassles in my limited experience with RRFP. Up until now it hasn’t been bad enough to make me switch doctors, but let’s refer back to the part about how I’m not super proactive about my medical care, shall we?
I really like Dr. Bartz, and I did some research that showed she wasn’t being paid by any pharmaceutical companies. However…
They discontinued my birth control because they require an annual check up for its continuation, and they didn’t inform me. I found out when I tried to get my prescription on the Saturday morning of a long weekend. I called the answering service and they informed me that it would cost me (I think she said $ 25?) to contact the doctor for a non-​emergency. Since Monday was a holiday, I had to wait several days and double up on pills the first couple of days. It’s not all that fun to fuck with your hormones, btw. Of course, it’s a good idea to get a check up every year, obviously, but I wish someone had told me this was a strict rule at RRFP. They informed me by refusing to refill my prescription.
Another time I was having a problem with my hip (at 30. Yeah, laugh all you want) and they sent me to a physical therapist who wasn’t a provider for my insurance company and tried to charge me more than twice my usual copay. When I called RRFP to complain and ask for a new referral, they said they can’t be expected to find providers who accept every single insurance plan. I have a Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO – you’d have to try hard to find a provider who didn’t accept it, I would think.
I will say that I’ve gone in there for a same-​day appointment when I was sick once, and it was no kind of issue. But the more I think about it, writing this review and reading what other people have to say makes me think it really is time to find a new doctor.

At Red River Family Practice, patients are inevitably put in the middle of a war between doctors and insurance companies. Both as we know can be greedy and make deliberate, confusing billing mistakes in order to screw over the patient and give the runaround. And if you get caught in one of their billing errors be prepared for a battle of epic proportions.
I had a wart removed from my finger as part of a normal office visit/​checkup. You know, something that takes like 20 seconds. At other doctors this has always been covered by the office visit/​copay.
RRFP applied this procedure toward my insurance deductible and I received a $ 400 bill. I complained and requested the fee be waived and be billed as a normal office visit.
I found out that a month or two later they did correct the balance due but they said I owed $ 60 and had sent my account to collections without even notifying or calling me. Your billing mistake, your problem. Fix it.
Update: I called today to pay my balance because I need to get medical care. Turns out that after I paid my balance Francis came on the phone and told me they sent me a certified letter last week (which I haven’t received yet) dismissing me from the practice.
Sleazy, crappy, greedy customer service. I guess I’ll have to find a real doctor who cares about my health instead of my money.