Eric C Buxton, MD

I’ve been a patient since November 2015 and I have to say, he’s fantastic. The expense is well worth it as he’s the first physician I’ve encountered in a really long time that 1. Spends more than 5 minutes in the room 2. Will really look at your lab results in relation to your general health and 3. Carefully consider/​discuss the best course of treatment with you as a patient. I am in the medical field myself, and I can tell you that this guy is a rare gem. He’s an excellent endocrinologist and has the interpersonal skills to match. Totally pleased.

This review is nothing new, just repeats what others have said: great in person, but cannot be bothered to return phone calls, pay attention to a patient once he has left the office.
Is this because he is not being paid to return phone calls? Is this because he does not care?
Dr. Buxton, I am in pain, feel ill, left 8 messages for you to please call me because the med you gave me is not working. Amanda, the person who answers the phone is embarassed by the fact you have not attended to me.
The first time this happened, at the next appointment he said he called my cell, but nothing recorded on the log of my smart phone. He said he called my landline and left a message, but there was no message. Oh, well, mistakes happen.
But, now this time: nothing. In desperation I went to my PCP. My PCP called him and asked Dr. Buxton to call me. A week later he has not called.
I asked him about email, but he said, basically, too much trouble. He did not respond to a certified letter.
Maybe this helps your bottom line, Dr. Buxton, but it sure doesn’t help your patients.

Type 1 diabetic here. I had an endo at UCSF-​Mt. Zion for 9 years. He was nice, but I felt that I was more of a guinea pig than a patient. Moreover, although I work in SF, I wanted to see someone closer to home in Marin County. Dr. Buxton is a real find. He is smart, caring, compassionate and very friendly. He takes the time to talk to you about your life and your health, and he doesn’t make snap judgments about changes in your health care régime. Rather, he looks at the data (glucose levels, pump settings, insulin load, etc.) and your blood work and suggests very reasonable changes to ensure a low A1C and a happy/​healthy life. I’ve never had a problem getting an appointment, and (contrary to what others have to say) he is readily available if you need him or have a question. He is a gem and I am very lucky to have him watching out for me.

Dr. Buxton is awesome! Really cares about his patients and makes you feel comfortable. He actually listens which is amazing! I have Hashimotos and he listened to all my symptoms and concerns unlike a ton of other doctor’s I’ve been to. He started me on hormone therapy regardless of the fact that my TSH level is normal. I’m really thankful to him and recommend him to any women suffering with hashimotos!!!

I’m still new to type 1 diabetes and finding a good endocrinologist is very important to me. My past endo’s have been good enough, not amazing but okay. We recently moved to the area and I found Dr Buxton through Unilocal reviews. I can’t say enough nice things about him. He is supportive and nice. He doesn’t rush you out and answers all your questions thoroughly. I was concerned with my numbers running the extreme roller-​coaster they were and he got me a temporary plan that day AND (this is huge, sorry for the caps; never had this treatment before) followed up with me a few days after I reported the numbers. He called me personally and talked about my lab work, and what to do next. I know he’s got to be busy but he took the time to make sure that I was taken care of. I hate that this will not be my permanent endo. Not sure I’ll find another as good. I would highly recommend him to anyone in need of a good endocrinologist.

I would give him 10 stars if I could. He is expensive if it is out of network but worth every penny in my book for someone who goes by how you FEEL and not what a lab slip says… of course, he takes labs into account, but really also listens to your gut, which I don’t think I’ve ever had another Dr do… and isn’t that the way it should be?!?
His reception staff wasn’t effusive but they were very nice, very professional and very efficient. They are the kind of front office staff that I would want if I were running a practice.
Anyway, I just wanted to put my 2 cents in. If he is in-​network for you, go nuts– you can’t afford NOT to see him. If you can afford out-​of-​network, I still think he is worth every dime (btw, I have lost 12 pds in 6 weeks after going to him– a miracle for me)

I was a mostly happy patient of Dr. Buxton’s until last week. He is knowledgeable and friendly and mostly terrific, however, it is impossible to get through to him when you have an issue. He doesn’t do email, he doesn’t return phone calls, and he just refused to comment on my recent lab work b/​c he didn’t order the labs, my OBGYN did.
Examples of how hard it is to reach him:
1. I found out I was pregnant and immediately called his office to understand next steps. NEVER rec’d a phone call back. I did reach him when I had an appointment, after I miscarried. He told me his staff never delivered the message that I was pregnant (the entire reason I sought him out was he was good with stabilizing thyroid issues to help increase chances of conceiving).
2. He used to do email and then couldn’t handle the volume, so stopped. Really?
3. I just had lab work ordered by my OB and found out my thryoid is way off track again. Dr. Buxton rec’d my lab work (he always gets a copy when my other doctors order any blood work). I called to ask for his advice on changing my Synthroid dosage and his office told me he would call me that he had just reviewed my files. 8 days and 4 messages later, I finally got through to his office and they told me he refused to comment on lab work that another doctor ordered. WHAT?! Why didn’t they tell me that over a week ago? Why didn’t they return any one of my 4 phone calls? Because I needed to come in to see him, but b/​c I wasn’t willing to wait until mid January (I called him on Dec. 9) and I hadn’t seen him within a year, he was refusing to give any prescription and advice, even as a stop gap until I can find a new endo.
I am astounded. I could never recommend Dr. Buxton at this point. Who cares if he’s good if you can’t reach him or see him when you are sick? And then he refuses to treat… to the detriment of a patient he has seen for at least 6 years!

I already wrote a review for Dr. Buxton on Dr. Becker’s Unilocal page, so I figured I needed to share my experience here!
Dr. Buxton has since moved his practice full time to his Greenbrae office, so this review is not for the SF office. (The SF office staff are kind of (actually are REALLY) a let down!)
I’ve been seeing Dr. Buxton for my Graves Disease (thyroid auto-​immune disorder) for 3 ½ years. I was first treated by an endocrinologist at Kaiser — and let me tell you! While she was a very caring doctor, she was by no means up to date on new thyroid developments and talked me into a treatment plan that I probably would not have done if I had known all of my options… And while going through thyroid issues, your brain doesn’t work all that well and it’s hard to be your own advocate!
My first visit with Dr. B (switched jobs & insurance) was incredible. He was the only endo in network for my insurance and I was worried it was going to be a let down. After 5 minutes he had truly listened to everything I was going through and gave me a whole new perspective of what to expect with him treating me. As others have stated in their reviews, he does not go by numbers alone. He goes by how you FEEL, which is incredible. A lot of endos will tell you your labs are «normal» and not change your meds, even if you feel awful. Dr. B is not this way. I left feeling confident that I was going to feel better and I really did. I was stabilized and feeling amazing 6 months later and I don’t regret anything.
It is rather hard to get an appointment without scheduling way in advance, but I recently saw him to discuss fertility with Graves and he was so wonderful to me and gave me all of the information I needed to know. His office staff in Greenbrae are happy, responsive, energetic and very sweet! This office is also very clean and modern. Even if he didn’t take my insurance (United Health Care), I would pay him out of pocket for his excellent knowledge and expertise with my medical condition. I just love him so much. If you need to see an endocrinologist that will treat your symptoms and not just numbers, you need to see Dr. Buxton. Right.Now.
P. S. Free samples of medication! Hooray!

Doctor Buxton told me he would contact my insurance company and talk to them about getting some medical gear I needed approved. He called once, hung up because he didn’t want to be on hold and then he never called them. For weeks I waited expecting him to get to it and he just forgot about it while I was waiting. He was hard to get a hold of when I tried to follow up and generally gave me the impression that he had more important things to do than help me.
His secretary was rather rude as well, giving me the run around. I had heard such good things about Doctor Buxton and was so thrilled when I finally got to see him and maybe he does know what he is talking about more than most. He seemed genuinely to care when i met with him, which only made it all the more heartbreaking when he just didn’t come through on calling my insurance company like he promised, or returning any of all the calls I left for him when I needed important clarification or even filling prescriptions was a nightmare through his office. The pump company he referred me to seemed like such an exciting, expert referral but ended up being a bust too. Even when I asked him for a referral to another doctor that took my health insurance, he took a week to get back and then at 5:00pm on a Friday I finally got a call with 2 doctors names. Neither of which ended up even taking my health insurance after all that. He just never really cared.
My experience was very disappointing. And when you need medical care and feel like your well being depends on it, as with stuff like Thyroid issues and T1 diabetes, it can be really devastating to constantly feel like you are being ignored, shuffled around and then dismissed.
Others on this site got my hopes up really high. I wish my experience had resembled theirs in any way. I really, really wish it had.

Dr. Buxton was the best decision I ever made. I should start off by saying that I knew in advance that he did not accept my insurance, so my office visit would be «out of network», but I just couldn’t ignore ALL of the positive recommendations that I received for him. He truly is THE BEST, and I can say that now because I relocated to the other side of the country in 2012 and am already on my third endocrinologist because no one can live up to the care and attention that I received from Dr. Buxton.
The biggest thing that I am learning since my relocation is that Dr. Buxton allowed me to remain in control of my thyroid condition. He ran all of the necessary tests and made a note on the lab orders to always cc me the results. I can’t even begin to tell you how helpful that was and how many times I’ve referred back to my copies of the test results over the course of the last year. I haven’t been able to even GET the blood test results from my last 2 doctors without scheduling an appointment. I have now instructed the lab to cc me on all testing — thanks Dr. Buxton! I had no idea I could do that.
While under his care, Dr. Buxton had many phone conversations with me explaining what was happening and what my options were. He always left the decision up to me — with his own recommendation, of course. But, I was always in control.
Unfortunately, since my move, I have now seen the other side and am disappointed in the care, or should I say lack thereof, from my last 2 doctors (who I have since fired).
Today, yet again, I referred back to a test that Dr. Buxton had ordered and that’s what moved me to return to Unilocal and post this review even though its almost a year since I’ve seen him.
Its takes a while to get an appointment, so if you are considering it, call NOW.

Dr. Buxton is a awesome doctor. I cannot say enough good things about him. If you have thyroid issues, see him. Do not waste your time on anyone else! I have tried them all here in SF.
Dr. Buxton does a thorough intake. He is smart, caring and explains things in laymen’s terms. He is not condescending like most doctors I know. He does not talk down to me as a patient and he does his best to educate me about my disease so we can make decisions TOGETHER — not just him ordering me around.
He asks how I feel — doesn’t just look at the numbers or the test results. As a person suffering from an autoimmune disease and thyroid issues, I know very well how the tests are often not good indicators of my actual health or well-​being.
He is modern in his approach and young (but not too young) with excellent academic credentials — the best. He can think outside the box of the paradigm of western medicine. He doesn’t automatically shun naturopathic remedies and understands alternative remedies — and tries to remain as open to them as possible. Ultimately, he just wants his patients to get better.
Thank you so much Dr. Buxton! Thanks for making me feel like we are partners in taking control of my health.
Sidenote: I had a billing issue with Dr. Buxton’s staff so I wrote him a letter and he took care of it immediately and handled it with absolute graciousness!

Dr. Buxton is knowledgeable, informed, personable, and not pushy. He is better than most other endos where he will consider your symptoms rather than just your lab results. He can be thorough and involved. The only caveat is that, the best time for thorough conversations with him regarding your health/​symptoms is during the office visit. Call backs can be delayed, or only be messages from him given by office staff, which runs the risk of being miscommunicated.
Dr. Buxton is great, when you get him in person. The best time is DURING your office visit. No matter how Dr. Buxton makes it seem like he is accessible for consult for symptom feedback or medication tweaks after/​outside of the office visit, you can’t always count on a timely response. So plan on calling the office often, or schedule office visit more frequently so you get face time (costly though).
Long delays in response time can be frustratingly counterproductive, not to say dangerous, for thyroid conditions, since with each med dose adjustment, certain lab tests will not reflect the effects of the adjustment till 4 – 6 weeks after. Weeks later when you want to discuss the results or give feedback on your symptoms at the doc’s request after giving time for tweaks to fully take effect, the Dr. is hard to reach. Either you run out of medication due to the delay, or you suffer with your symptoms, which can get worse. And you can’t take any course of action till the doc gets back to you. Not good.
Often, I had to leave several messages with the office over the course of WEEKS, and then get a call back from someone – not an MD – giving vague direction without any explanation and raising even more questions, which the messenger can’t answer. A quick conversation where the patient’s concerns can be voiced and get addressed would be much more efficient. Playing telephone with a messenger is not. Leaving messages with the front office isn’t optimal, since the message may not be relayed completely or accurately, or there may be confidential matters you would rather speak directly with the doc about.
Office wait time can be very long. You can spend an hour in the waiting room, then get called in to wait in an exam room thinking that it’s finally your turn, an hour after your actual appointment time… and then you end up waiting for ages for the doc to come in. Although more patients mean more money, trying to squeeze in more than 2 patients per hour doesn’t always work, since 10 – 20 minutes per visit isn’t always enough when it comes to managing endocrine issues.
Insurance is not accepted at the SF (Dr. Becker’s) location, they’re not part of any networks. You’ll have to file your own claims. It’s an inconvenience, but at least you know the doctors won’t be making decisions on your health based on what the moronic insurance companies want.
As of 2013, Dr. Buxton will no longer be seeing patients at the SF location, but moving his entire practice to his Greenbrae location, or there is the option of seeing Dr. Becker instead. Hopefully this will be a change for the better in terms of Dr. Buxton’s accessibility (more regular hours), more timely response time (since he isn’t hopping between different office locations), and patient’s out of pocket expense (insurance is accepted at the Greenbrae location). It’s about time! If all this improves, then this will definitely be a 5-​star practice.