Advanced Asthma & Allergy Center

The entire team is wonderful and so thoughtful. Dr. Collaco and his staff are great with demanding patients.

I’m very impressed with Dr Collaco and his practice. I recently moved to Houston and needed a good allergy and asthma doc and I was very fortunate to find Dr Collaco!

I really like Dr. Collaco. I have seen a vast improvement in my allergy situation since I started seeing him a year ago. In 2013/​pre-​treatment, I was out sick for 3 weeks. In 2014, 2 – 3 days. In 2015, I got a cold that knocked out my defenses and let a sinus infection in. Over this year, we have upped to the next level of medication when needed and found my special blend of nose-​happy meds. Tossing asthma into the equation also helps.
Dr. Collaco takes the time to explain what medications you are getting and why. He’ll also warn you, no bull****, about what you can and cannot do on that medication and how it may affect you. If drinking alcohol with it will make you puke, he’ll tell you. If drinking alcohol with it has no effect, he’ll tell you. If you’re going to be the level of hyper that you’ll vacuum your entire house around 2am, he’ll tell you. He occasionally uses words like «crap» or «damn,» but that may also be a reflection of how I speak when I’m describing my face melting. I could see how his personality may come on a little strong for some people. However, that works well for me.
I have also worked with the nurse practitioner and the latest intern-​ish person. The NP is a pleasant lady and will take the time to chat with you about everything that’s going on. At the end of my appointment, NP and Collaco came in with the news about how to kill the mess in my sinuses.
The reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the support staff. I have met a few good ones, but they tend to be lazy and unattentive. On my last trip, I walked up to the counter to pay and a lady on a laptop greets me and says somebody will be by to help me in a minute. I stand there… I stand there and play with my phone. I look over at the 2 other ladies in the back hallway chatting with each other. They can clearly see me, but don’t care. I’m somewhat laying my upper body across the counter and playing on my phone (I’m tired, I’m sick of being sick and want to go home). Nobody budges. Finally, Collaco is walking in the back hall and sees me. He asks the chatty ladies if I’m waiting to check out, they say «Yes. XYZ will take care of it.» He asks why they can’t, then one of them calls for XYZ.
Finally, somebody comes to check me out. It wasn’t an exorbitant amount of time, but it was annoying to have 3 staff members see me and not do anything. I was owed a refund for some allergy tests from last year that my insurance decided to pay more for (woohoo!). I had mentioned this when I checked in. When I checkout, I mention it again. The lady checking me out looks thrown-​off and calls for one of the chatty ladies. Cashier asks Chatty if she has my refund check. Chatty says «I don’t know if I have her check. I have a lot of checks,» with an air that she is above the idea of looking at my name and her list of checks, but she does it anyway.
The check is dated for 3 months previously, but fortunately doesn’t have the «void after 90 days» on it so I know it’s good for another 90 days. Note: I used to work as a bank teller, so I always look for these things — all checks are good for 6 months unless otherwise noted on the check, which many businesses do. The amount is also written slightly incorrectly, but I don’t think it’ll be a hang up at the bank since the numbers are correct, just missing the word «hundred.»
Also, when I called in to make my appointment, whoever picked up the phone was speaking so lazily that I could not understand their questions. There was no accent, just low, depressing, lazy voice. After the third repeat, I had to say «I cannot understand what you are saying. I think you’re asking if I am an existing patient, which I am.» That was my third time to say I was an «existing patient,» but she corrected me with the term «current patient.»

Dr. C has been our family’s doctor for at least 5 years and by family I mean my husband my daughter my sister, her husband and their 4 kids. My Mom and my other sister who live out of town also see Dr. C when they are in town. We recommend Dr. C to friends and family without hesitation.
We are so blessed we found such a competent and caring doctor. There are too many instances to list where Dr. C has gone above and beyond for us. His staff is highly organized, they manage appointments, insurance claims, payments, calls etc. with the upmost professionalism and personal care.
If you need effective management of you asthma and or allergies, a doctor who listens and treats you like family, run don’t walk to Advanced Asthma and Allergy Center.

Dr. Collaco is great and I echo all of the reviews about him having great bedside manner, really listening to you, explaining things, and in short, helping you find relief. If you’re looking at this review to know if the Dr. is worth going to, the answer is probably yes and the rest of this is secondary, and also is fairly specific to my situation. Nevertheless, I feel it’s still valid.
What I really want to write this review for is the management of billing. While I agree that they seem to be generally knowledgeable about process, I have ended up with a mess on how much I paid/​actually owe.
I was given an «estimate» for what my office visit + allergy testing would be. I agreed to go forward with testing. When I got my itemized receipt from the office, which I needed to submit for reimbursement from my HRA (I had not gotten it at the visit, only a credit card machine receipt) I noticed I had been charged for 2 office visits instead of an office visit + testing.
Then, when I got my explanation of benefits from my insurance, it said I was only supposed to have paid a portion of the full office visit amount (s) for them being in-​network, but I definitely didn’t get any correspondence from the office saying they needed to refund me (or a check in the mail…) So of course I am thinking, something’s not right here. and I wondered if I overpaid since I paid up front for two, «full price» office visits.
I called my insurance who called the office to inquire. I then followed up — I confirmed they talked to my insurance and they confirmed they made an error in billing me twice for an office visit. They said this had something to do with how they needed to provide me with the estimate while I was in-​office, which I don’t really understand. At any rate, they said they would have to re-​submit the claim.
So now I have just gotten back my re-​processed claim and of course, I owe even MORE now ($ 160 more…) because the allergy testing cost was more than what they originally had me pay in the office based off of their «estimate».
I don’t know if this is normal, but you would think there would be a better/​more accurate/​less confusing way to quote rates or bill, so as to not end up giving clients a surprise extra bill once a claim is processed from their office. I have a high-​deductible plan and rely heavily on how much I have available in my HRA for reimbursement to decide if I want to go through with procedures not covered by my plan.
I don’t find it acceptable that they weren’t able to be more accurate than that on what I would pay, or (if it’s seriously not something they can help) that they weren’t more transparent about the possibility of the estimate being off by potentially over $ 100…I would have waited or done more inquiry with my insurance if I had known it was really that shoddy of an estimate from the office.
Also, as a side note, I live far from the office and for some reason they are adamant about not mailing anything to you. They have a patient portal but I couldn’t see my receipt on there, so when I inquired about getting it, they said if they couldn’t figure out how to upload it I would have to come pick it up (they did end up getting it online, I guess I was the first one who had ever asked). Same thing when I asked about a potential refund — IF I would have needed one, I would have had to go to them to pick it up vs. getting a check mailed.

I’ve been struggling with sinus infections for most of my life. I saw the good reviews for Dr. Collaco that I decided to give him a shot. After a lot of testing we figured out what I was allergic to which was only Oak. Essentially allergy shots wouldn’t work. He found some nasal sprays that fixed all of my issues! Seriously my sinus infections would give me a high fever and I would be miserable. I get a little drainage and some headaches but nothing to be concerned about. The doctor does a good job at listening to me and it’s easy to get in and out of his facility. Love this place!

Best doctor ever!
He is so knowledgeable it is amazing! He is also very direct and answered all of my questions. He is a PhD so he is always up to date on the medical journals, findings.
However, as smart as he is, he is so accessible. I am not in medicine and he is able to explain things to me.
His staff is awesome as well! Fatima and all of the nurses are awesome. Fatima is really knowledgeable when it comes to billing. Sounds silly, but it is a big pain if the person doing the billing is confused.

I had been at a «big» practice for over 5 years and felt like I was lost in the shuffle of constantly changing doctors and staff — with no end to my allergy shots in sight!
I am so grateful to have found Dr. Collaço and his wonderful staff. They do a wonderful job and actually know my name, my status and are invested in my treatment. Keep up the great work!

Dr. Collaco is pretty amazing.
I have had allergies all my life and was in total denial that I was in need for allergy shots. I had previously went to another doctor near where I lived and found out I was allergic to all this stuff, but I felt that I was just another patient.
Dr. Collaco took a look at my face, and I told him my symptoms, and we found out I had an infection. Who knew?!
The staff are very pleasant as well! Will be getting shots soon!

Dr. Collaco was so thorough and clearly so knowledgeable when I brought both of my children to see him. 5 stars, as finding the specialists for my children who are «it» makes a mom’s day, year, and life! :)

I went today and had an EXCELLENT experience! There was a big storm that passed through the area last night, so the office had a problem with the roof, but the staff was not affected by it — they still kept things going with no problem. The doctor was awesome and really knew his stuff — I learned more about what’s going on with me and I’m really confident about his treatment plan for me — I definitely recommend him.

We just moved to Houston and got Dr. Colacco’s name from a friend. My daughter was stung by a bee before we moved and had a bad reaction, and so our first visit with Dr. Colacco was a follow up for this. Dr. Colacco is perhaps the friendliest and most informative doctors I have ever visited for myself or my children. He was wonderful with my 11 year old and with me. He is clearly passionate about his specialty and this makes him an excellent doctor. His staff is also very friendly and helpful and his office is new and immaculate.

I am new to allergies and having returned to Houston after 5 years in NYC it was a shock to my system. I have loved being Dr. Christopher Collaco’s patient. His office is clean, nice and professional. All of the staff that work there go out of their way to make you comfortable. The doctor talks to you — not at you — and has really helped me get healthy again. I also love that he is aware of how much medications cost and always gives coupons or samples if they are available. I can not recommend this office or Dr. C enough.