Houghton Robert, MD

Avoid! Based on a few other reviews here, my experience seems typical and I can’t comment on the doctor, but the staff seems incompetent. I called to get established as a new patient. After being on hold for about 15 minutes, Grace told me she’d have to call me back to «put me in the system.» Um, OK. Of course I never got a call back. 2 days later I called. I was on hold for 25 minutes. I finally spoke with Grace again and she said the system wasn’t «taking» my insurance info. Pretty sure I have valid insurance. She said she’d figured it out and call me back. Needless to say I never received a call back. I gave up and found another doctor — made an appointment in 5 minutes.

Unacceptable level of incompetence. Read below before making an appointment.
After an extensive blood test I get a phone call from Dr. Houghton’s office telling me all my test results came back fine. As a result I cancelled my follow up appointment because what is there to talk about? About a month later it’s discovered that I have a serious medical condition and need immediate treatment. This condition was discovered in my blood test results and should have been addressed immediately.
He’s sorry for their huge mistake, and that’s nice, but there should never have been a mistake. This was a very serious matter concerning my health. Obviously I will never see him again. Pathetic excuse for professionals.

Do you have a concern or a problem?! Wait, wait. nope, now you don’t :)
Dr. Houghton’s unbeatable experience and outstanding personal skills will make all of your worries disappear. I have been a patient for years now and will gladly recommend him to my friends.
His referral data base consist of highly qualified practitioners and it will take care of your needs… if not, come see me! lol

Alrighty where do i start. I went to that doctor over a year ago. And got a positive first impression, despite the fact that it took 1.5hrs after my appointment time to actually see the doctor for some reason. The doctor is nice. I also saw dr. Arab there, that also took over an hour after my appointment time to actually see the doctor, but that doesnt really bother me, I guess while you visit doctors you are kind of prepared for delays.
But what really bothers me started happening in November. I sent in my bills to dr Houghton on time. Dr Arab just sent bill that said to send in check or go pay in cash. I guess those were the only 2 options. So i went to see doctor Arab in august and got bill in September. Since i have HSA i wanted to pay with that. Called to Arab’s office, they said they don’t accept credit cards or something like that which is weird… and the only way i could pay with it is to go to Houghton’s office and pay with it there, which isn’t the problem. So i called on Friday, went there on Monday. They told me they only accept Dr Arab’s payments on Fridays. So i went back on Friday and paid, left a name and everything. So in November i got a second notice for Dr Arab, and i called them telling them that i paid and its on my HSA. They told me they will find the payment and give me a call the next day (i called on Monday)…by Friday i hadn’t heard from anyone so i called. I gave them the date of my payment and they told me they will call by next day to let me know if they found it. It took them 2 more weeks to look for it. That included me calling them every other day because they told me they will call the next day and never did. So after 3 weeks they finally found it BUT they didnt call me. I found that out by calling them. I thought its great. No big deal, it happens you know.
But today i got a call from debt collectors. This time from visit to doctor Houghton. Apparently i hadn’t sent in the payment for him which was over a year ago and which i know for a fact that i actually did send in. I never got a second notice, so i figured its paid. I did live in the same place the entire time too so cant be that the notice was sent to an old address. i just moved a month ago. And got the first bill about a year ago. I also never got a call saying «Hey, we haven’t received your payment» or those 1000 times i called them and gave them my account info NO ONE ever mentioned that hey there is another payment they haven’t received! Because during dr Arab’s bill problem i called both Dr. Arabs and Dr Houghton’s offices.
Even though Dr Houghton is very nice, i cant give it more than 2 stars because wait times are long and apparently their payment system isn’t working at all!

I see there have been some not so great reviews for Dr. Houghton and his staff. I’d like to share my experience with his practice. I have never been given the impression that I wasn’t a patient with money, but a patient to treat. After arriving to check in for an appointment I’m always welcomed warmly into the office.
As my first impression of the doctor, I was asking myself «What is taking the Doctor forever?» After being seen by the doctor I soon realized the reason for wait. Unlike many other practices I have been too. That Dr. Houghton takes his time to understand the patients concerns. He also doesn’t have a god complex. He will also allow you to ask other questions when you didn’t schedule an appointment for that reason. When before I was asked to make a seperate appointment with the front desk.
As for the staff they are all willing to do their best to make sure your visit and health are great.
Overall I appreciate everyone for giving their personal experiences with Dr. Houghton’s practice. I wish they all have been good like mine have. For those who my be potential patients please note that the Doctor and his staff are genuine about you. As for feeling as if they are pushing to make a sale from on vitamins on you please realize that not everyone has good insurance and the antibiotics are cheaper through them. Their job is to give us the best options so as patients we can make a decision that is best for us.
Bottom line I have stopped lookinf for a doctor. Just give yourself extra time o you can receive great service.

I went to see this doctor to get a FAA certification. My first impression was very good, the staff and Dr. Houghton himself were very friendly.
I was so impressed that we were actually thinking about making Dr. Houghton our primary care doctor.
Unfortunately I have changed my opinion since. I dropped off some test results with the staff and I was promised that they would review them with the doctor and that they would give me a call. Since I never heard back, I called the office and I was told that those results were submitted to the FAA and that I would hear from them. Since I never heard from the FAA, I called the doctor;s office again and there the story changed completely. I was told that I had to submit those results but that they would do it for me, since I had waited so long.
After one week I called again and I was told that they still had not sent the information to the FAA.
It seems that every time I would call, I was given a different story. At the end I just gave up and took matters in my own hands.
I am quiet disappointed that a great experience went downhill so fast because of the uncoordinated staff at the office.
I won’t be using this doctor again in the future.

No other doctor has taken special time out to help me, by phone, without a single penny in compensation. Dr Houghton did, and his staff was the only helpful staff I’ve dealt with in medicine lately. Highly recommended.

We had to wait for an hour with our appointment to get vaccinated.

Wasn’t super impressed with the doc. Sorry to give him a not so stellar review, but I found my experience quite cookie cutter as I felt they were trying to get me in and out. I also felt like the doctor was really pushing the medifast diet, which I had to repeatedly tell him I wasn’t interested.
Also, I had a billing issue where their billing people said I didn’t pay when I had paid. It was a simple misunderstanding, but still annoying. With so many choices of PPO doctors, the Dr. should make more of an effort to give you a personal experience.

I think Dr. Houghton is one of the best and most caring doctors that I have ever been to. I started reading the reviews and thought obviously the people complaining are prima donnas or they have never been to a busy doctor’s office. Please tell me complainers that this office was any different than any busy doctor’s office. I went for my appointment and had to wait but there was like 7 emergencies going on. However, once I got to see my fabulous doctor, he paid all his attention to me and my problems.

I have been going to Dr. Houghton for over 3years. My original doctor was out with a knee injury and his practice was going to be closed for 4 months. They recommended Dr. Houghton for their patients in the interim. I remember the first time I had an appointment with Dr. Houghton, He was so kind and caring and very knowledgeable. He took the time to listen to me and asked me follow up questions so he could diagnose me. I was in awe of how much time Dr. Houghton spent with me. I have never had a doctor spend that much time really listening and getting to the bottom of my medical problems. I was so impressed that I called my Husband at work to tell him about this New Doctor I just saw.
It is true that you may have to wait 15 – 20 minutes to see Dr. Houghton but it is because he treats every patient like they are his only patient and his top priority. Other Doctors run in and don’t even look at you, let alone listen to you; and you are lucky if they spend 10 minutes with you.
Because of the great service and genuine concern from Dr. Houghton and his staff I decided to stay with him even when my other Doctor returned.
If you are looking for Excellent Medical Care and a Personable easy to talk with Doctor than Doctor Houghton is your Man.

A great physician!
He is very caring, listens to your needs and actually acts more like a concerned individual than a high above God. Wouldn’t recommend Dr. Houghton and his wonderful staff to anyone looking for a physician in San Diego.

As a physician myself, I would highly recommend Dr. Houghton. He is an excellent physician and is kind, caring, and compassionate. One needs to be completely open with their doctor and I feel that Dr. Houghton makes that very easy. The office staff is friendly and efficient. Don’t let a few disgruntled people spoil your chance to have him as your primary doctor!

The doctor, and everyone else here, seemed nice enough, but my experience here was a very bad one, and it had everything to do with transparency. This group is either incompetent or devious and uncaring.
In preparation to do some travel abroad, I called to make an appointment to get vaccinated. In setting up the appointment two weeks prior, I asked two critical questions: (1) Do you accept my insurance, and will you bill them? And (2) Can you order the Japanese encephalitis vaccine for me beforehand, to make sure you have it when I visit? The answer to both my questions was an unequivocal, «yes». And they let me down on both scores.
Of course, nobody did order my Japanese encephalitis vaccine. At my appointment, they asked if I could come back tomorrow, once they had it. I agreed without complaint. It was too late for me to do anything about it.
The next day, I came in for the shot. After giving me the shot, they presented me with the bill, refusing to go through my insurance. «My insurance company covers this,» I told them. «I specifically called my insurance company to verify it.» They refused. «These vaccines are too expensive. We don’t trust the insurance company to pay it. You’ll have to fight them to get reimbursed.» Of course, again, it was too late for me to go to a different doctor at this point. And nobody is held accountable for the reassurance I was given when I set up the appointment in the first place.
Losing $ 300 would be irritating, but that’s not the worst of it. I don’t even mind wrestling with my insurance company afterward. But I loathe the fact that I was given what amounts to a bait-​and-​switch.

UNPROFESSIONAL BUSINESS.
Worst experience with a doctor’s office I’ve ever had.
(This is the «condensed» version with the biggest complaints because my ordeal was so long and horrible I’d be writing for hours)
First, they rescheduled my appointment from 4:00 to 2:00 at the last minute, so I had to scramble to make sure my sub at work could come in earlier & prepared her for my crazy schedule.
I get there before 2:00, and no one is even in reception until 2:30! I hear the staff talking in the back, but no one came out to the waiting room (which has butt prints on its leather seats. Gross. And HIV related stuff everywhere. Yes, we get it, you specialize in HIV medicine).
The office staff finally moseys in, still pretty much ignoring me. I was fuming. I opened my mouth to complain and the receptionist cuts me off and in a rude tone asks if I had an appointment. Yes, I told her, for a half hour ago. She doesn’t acknowledge this but hands me forms to fill out.
A bit later I’m taken back to have my blood pressure & all that taken. I was visibly pissed but am a friendly person so I chatted it up with the staff in the back (which I must point out, the whole time I was there, which was about 3 hours, I was the only patient to my knowledge, and there were a dozen people on staff who looked like they were doing a lot of nothing). The lady taking my blood pressure seemed like she could care less about her job, and took forever to take my pulse, and blamed it on my posture. I tried to lighten the mood but she made a few rude remarks in my opinion. I asked what was the deal with not even being seen until 2:30 and she said, ‘The lunch break is over at 2:00.” How does that even explain it??? When my lunch break is over at 2:00, it ends at 1:59 and I’m back to work at 2:00. Then she left me to fester in the room for longer.
3:00 rolls around and still no doctor. A whole hour late! I storm out into the hall where I hear people chatting, and say to the group, «Excuse me, my appoinment was an hour ago.» A man turns around, mumbles something then goes into the room I was in. Oh, I guess that’s my doctor… and I’m supposed to follow him in.
He doesn’t even introduce himself or look at me, but immediately squints at the computer and mumbles a quick apology and asks why I’m in. I say, ‘Hold on, I just want to say that your office called ME to reschedule this for 2:00 and no one was even in reception until 2:30.’ He said they aren’t supposed to make appointments until 2:30 because that’s when lunch is over (not according to the sign in the lobby or to pulse-​taking lady).
Dr. Houghton himself seemed nice, and I’m not criticizing him personally at all, just my experience at his office. I feel like he was rushing and unprepared. It didn’t seem he had a chart on me though I filled forms out, so he kept squinting and typing and asking random questions. I kept trying to tell him my whole complicated story of why i was in there, which requires a bit on time to explain because I had a 3 weeks ordeal of different symptoms & experiences, including wisdom teeth extraction, 3 days of vomiting, 6 hours in the ER, and a plethora of random symptoms.
I feel he wasn’t listening and I do suggest he gets some glasses to see that computer. For real, man. Anyway, he did try to get me the best medication because it seems the one the ER gave didn’t work. He said he’d call it in and it’d be ready right away.
I get to the pharmacy an hour later and they tell me it wasn’t called in. «Wait 15 minutes and we’ll get ahold of your doctor.» I go up there 20 minutes later to find out they can’t reach him. I wait another 15 minutes, and they said he finally called it in or faxed it. I wait again. It didn’t go through. More waiting. Then I get a call from them saying my urine test came back fine, but the thing is I know something is wrong. I tell her as much, she puts me on hold. She comes back, «Yeah, actually you do have a trace of infection.» Oh brother. I ask if they could please figure out my prescription because now I’ve been at the pharmacy almost an hour. She said it should go through now. It didn’t.
The pharmacist says after about 20 more minutes that it went through this time, but one medication is not covered by my insurance and will cost me $ 200. No thank you! So she says she will call him again and it should be quick because he is on call. I wait another 15 minutes, then go up and she said she can’t get ahold of him and doesn’t understand why. I’ve had enough so I say I’m leaving and for them to call me.
At home, the pharmacist calls & she says, «Bad news, even though your doctor is supposed to be on call he is not taking any calls the rest of the night. I’ve never dealt with a doctor like this & I deal with doctors all day.» The next day she tried again & the new meds he gave were still expensive, $ 115, so I am giving up and never going back.
MAJOR TIME WASTER!!!

I felt like Dr Houghton was always trying to sell me something (vitamins, medifast, etc). Each visit I marked him as a slime Dr. Trying to take advantage of his patients. Didn’t buy anything, but it was annoying as hell. I’d go in for a cold and be getting sold something.
He did review me to specialists when there were no other solutions.
I switched back to my PCM that was out sick for awhile. He’s back now. I am happy for that!

My husband has been a patient of Dr. Houghton’s for about four years now and he has received the best care in this office. My husband is not generally someone who goes to the doctor, but he has had recurring stomach issues that no one can pinpoint the cause of, even after dozens of blood tests, an endoscopy, colonscopy, ultrasound and some time with a partridge in a pear tree.
Dr. Houghton has been tireless in his efforts to find the cause of what makes my man throw up every morning and is genuinely concerned in following every possible lead.
His office is clean and modern, the staff are friendly and professional and having a lab right there is super-​convenient when blood draws and shots need to be done.
To be honest, Dr. Houghton is sometimes running late on his appointments by 30 or so minutes, but when you are in the room with him, it is apparent that he is running behind on appointments because he cares about his patients and is not going to rush anyone through like a number.
I always go in the exam room with my husband because he somehow always forgets what he needs to talk to the doctor about when he gets in the room, and Dr. Houghton is really casual, kind and caring to us both. He knows my husband’s health is important to me, and it is clear that it is important to Dr. Houghton as well.
While going to the doctor is never a blast, going to this doctor is a good example of what the patient-​doctor relationship should be. Not rushed, awkward and faceless — you are a person with real needs, a real life and worthy of his time and concern.
When it comes to the health of the man I married, the best is in order, and Dr. Houghton has been, thus far, the best.

I really enjoy my visits to Dr. Houghton’s 1855 First Ave office. I simply think they’re office is clean and spacious. No, it’s not glamourous, but it’s nice and clean and gets the job done (it has leather seats in the waiting room). Quite frankly, I wouldn’t want a glamourous doctors office — what does it say about the service if they HAVE to impress you with the lobby? Right, anyway, the docs are great and the staff are polite and efficient. I recently switched my provider BACK to Dr. Houghton because I enjoy the service. They have a lab in the back and plenty of rooms so each patient has their own space. I would recommend to anyone…

This doctor’s office is scary. Just plain scary. Do not go here. I went once and promptly changed my provider. BUT they keep billing me for someone else. I’ve called and told them they were billing me for someone else with the same last name and yet they still billed my insurance. Even after I had I reported them to my health insurance’s fraud investigation office, they still sent the bill to me.
The incompetence is frightening.