Houston IVF

The doctors here are impressively knowledgeable and professional and friendly. Technology is cutting edge. Their success rates are better than all other clinics in Houston per ASRM data. The nurses (Susan) are so friendly and attentive – she answered my email questions very quickly and was so caring. She even called me to check on me when I had some spotting in early pregnancy even though I was no longer an IVF patient. Dr. Hickman was my doctor, but the other doctors did some of my procedures and all seemed to go well.

Houston IVF reached out to my boss to try to rectify our atrocious experience with their clinic… mind you nearly 2 months after the incident. I do appreciate their effort, which I find warrants a 3-​star updated review. I hope they truly have changed their ways. I still think I need a sincere apology from Bonnie — she was shockingly appalling, and pretty much the rudest person I have ever encountered in my life — yes, THAT BAD.

Regardless of our outcome, I knew I wanted to write a 5 star review. I cannot say a bough good things about the staff at Houston IVF. We never had a long wait, visits were prompt, yet thorough enough to cover our concerns. The communication during the IVF cycle was as much as you (patient) needed. My husband and I were very impressed through the process and finally expecting! I would highly recommend this clinic.

I referred a friend who had gone through 3 unsuccessful IVF cycles through another infertility clinic in Houston, where her eggs never even became fertilized. She became pregnant her FIRST MONTH at Houston IVF during her first IVF cycle with Dr. Hickman. I am just so thankful for Dr. Hickman and Houston IVF– they are truly miracle workers!

My husband and I had almost given up on conceiving. We went through eight IUIs and three IVF cycles in California before coming to Houston IVF. You can imagine the disappointment cycle after cycle! The emotional and financial stress of the process puts such a weight on your marriage. Even after all of the failed cycles, we weren’t ready to give up.
We did some research on clinics that had the best success rates and found Houston IVF. Having family in Houston, we decided to give it another shot. We had unexplained infertility and I was told that I had bad egg quality which always bothered me (my doctor in Los Angeles would say that each time they went over my failed cycle.)
We went off to Houston in the Spring for our last attempt at having a child. I went through one IVF cycle at Houston IVF and conceived my son. My egg quality was so much better it was amazing! I was always treated so well by the staff and doctors. After several years, we tried again; now, we are a family of four!
When I read over the two or three starred reviews for Houston IVF, it bums me out! I can only say wonderful things about them. I spent so much time there; the staff feel like family. Dr. Hickman and Dr. McKinsey are such talented, caring doctors. They are so passionate about the work they do. I will forever be grateful for them! I love my family and love being a mother!

The office will tell you that they don’t file insurance, but that you can file a claim with your insurance yourself and get reimbursed. However, they won’t tell you that you have to waive your right to in-​network benefits, which means your insurance won’t do anything for you. It is very deceptive to tell people they can get reimbursed when the office knows full well that will never happen.

My husband and I were extremely disappointed with them and I’m only giving two stars because the procedure (oocyte cryopreservation) itself was successful. This morning we paid to have our oocytes transferred to another company because we no longer wish to do business with Houston IVF.
Short version: With Houston IVF, prepare yourself for a frustrating answering system, unreturned calls, unanswered emails, late appointments, sketchy «price sheets» and a general disregard for customer service.
Long version: The most important information you should know is that Houston IVF creates standard pricing sheets that exclude thousands of dollars worth of services that are mandatory for the procedure in question. The entire fertility round and procedure is around $ 14,000, but the price sheets we were shown were around half that amount though we were told there were other «incidental» costs required. They are not «incidental» in any way, and we signed up for the procedure without understanding how many additional costs there were. We were ONLY given these price sheets and nothing more, so we were angry that the «incidentals» added up to so much. This turned out to be a pattern of theirs (see below).
The second immediate problem we had was getting access to nurses and support staff for basic questions. I absolutely hate their answering system, which doesn’t give you options for accessing a human. This is extremely important because the preparation and injections for egg freezing are very complicated, and the average person will have a number of non-​urgent questions. Even if you have an extension number you’ll reach an answering machine, and don’t expect to have calls returned the same day.
Third, appointments are nearly always late, which is very poor customer service. We had to take time off work during the day and it’s pretty inconsiderate to call us in for an appointment 45 minutes after it was scheduled, and for this to happen regularly.
The procedure itself was successful, and we had eggs frozen, and this is the only reason I’m even giving them two stars. A year after the procedure we went back to them to continue our process (IVF cycle and gestational surrogacy), and the customer service had gotten even worse.
This time we made an effort to get all costs sorted out so we wouldn’t be blindsided like before. Our first meeting angered us so much we almost walked out that day. Specifically, we met with the doctor to go over our plans and intentions, then we asked to speak to their financial representative. They sent a woman in and after about 10 minutes of asking her questions she couldn’t answer she told us she was actually a nurse and not a financial representative. We stated explicitly we wanted a financial person who was familiar with pricing, not medical questions. She left, then they sent in ANOTHER NURSE. Like the first one, she couldn’t answer any questions about prices. It was unbelievable.
At this point we had been there for two hours and were pretty angry. They finally sent in their «Business Manager», who proceeded to describe costs in detail. This was great until I asked about specific things I knew should be included in the price sheet but weren’t. She started scribbling additional figures in pencil on the side, adding up to thousands of dollars. Again, there were thousands of dollars they were leaving out of the price sheets even though all those additional services were REQUIRED for the procedure AND paid directly to Houston IVF. At this point we were ready to leave, so we asked her to send us a comprehensive price sheet, preferably in Excel or something more professional-​looking than a bunch of scribbled figures. She promised she would, we exchanged emails, and we went home frustrated but somewhat hopeful.
Well, neither of us received an email for days. I emailed her every other weekday with no response, until after a week she sent me an email telling me she would «get back to me after lunch». Well, guess what we received after lunch? An email with a bunch of typed figures and a list of costs, all jumbled up with no formatting and no way to tell which costs were subtotals and what figures were supposed to be added up. There wasn’t even a total. It was a complete joke, and we were done.
We’ve since transferred to a different company and I wish we would have paid attention to reviews of customer service instead of just ‘success’ percentages, which we later learned can be manipulated. The new company we’re using has a human answering the phone, specialized people to help with different aspects of the procedure, complete and comprehensive pricing, and people who regularly return our calls and emails. It was costly and logistically difficult to have those oocytes transferred but completely worth it.

Dr. McKnight and the staff at Houston IVF are wonderful. I previously went to another fertility clinic in Houston and was feeling rather down about doctors and fertility in general. At Houston IVF, everyone knew my name and my situation at each visit. They were always caring, courteous and helpful during a difficult/​stressful time. Dr. McKnight is compassionate and knew what treatment (s) had the best chance to work for me. I owe them so much!

Having «interviewed» every other IVF doctor in town I decided to go with Dr. Hickman because of his excellent success rates, his personal attention and his knowledge. This is the only facility in town where an MD will do your IVF scans as opposed to a technician, which I felt was very important. They have a beautiful and CLEAN office and even though I work in the Medical Center I travel to Memorial City because they are the best at what they do.

The medical staff here are compassionate, helpful and professional. Dr. McKenzie, the most considerate and patient doctor you will ever meet, assigned me to the new Dr McKnight for my retrieval and transfer. The latter is very capable, if not a little offhand in her commentary about your body parts and can inadvertently scare you half to death.
The nurses were just what the doctor ordered (pardon the pun). Communicative, efficient and compassionate. They called to discuss test results every couple of days. Phlebotomists were exceptionally good in the main with only one who seemed to be auditioning to play Jack the Ripper… i still tear up when i consider the pain.
The office took funds efficiently but there were issues with recovering medical records after unsuccessful IVF. We didnt have a single email record of how to get into our patient portal and so couldnt retrieve our records. We called the office on no fewer than 8 occasions and they finally gave us incomplete records and wouldnt respond to any further phone messages. Nobody could tell me how to access my patient portal and so they really need to take a closer look at that.
Overall, a positive experience with a negative outcome. Cant say i learned a lot from it as i couldnt get my hands on key records and so the office at the facility lets them down.
If you are AMA with any additional issues affecting your fertility. Don’t waste your time here. One doctor indicated that i might wish to adopt a dog after our failed cycle there. A poor joke and a bit puzzling.
Also puzzled as to why despite the fact they have lab facilities set up by the same man in charge of labs in one of the most successful fertility clinics in the country, CCRM, Houston IVF is not the best ranked clinic in Houston. Others seem to be registering higher percentages of live births in my age group and instigating more up to date protocols than this clinic.

Need help with infertility?
The doctors hear remember who you are and what your story is, long after your interactions. Dr. McKinsey called me and my husband when we were in the hospital at week 20 with a ruptured sac. She was very reassuring — and our boy did pull through.
The doctors here believe in mind-​body stress management and also pay attention to the latest medical research. Their team of embryologists specializes in different stages of the embryo.
The independent counselor that works out of these offices is also quite strong in managing the myriad emotions that accompany infertility, as well as the many routes one may take — IUI, IVF, gestational carrier, donor, adoption, giving up the dream of a child — whichever route, the counselor has experience guiding you through it.