Dr. Robert Fremont Howard, MD

Dr. Howard doesn’t know what he’s doing. He ignored all of my medical records and told me I didn’t have lupus, which other doctors confirmed. The worst interaction with him happened when he diagnosed me with a terminal disease and told me I had 3 years to live. It ruined the everything for me and my family for months until two experts finally told me that I didn’t even have the disease. They advised me to never return to Dr. Howard, so I’m not. I can’t rate him low enough.

getting refills on Meds is like pulling teeth will ignore for weeks

He doesn't listen. He ignores previous diagnoses & medical records. He gives the option to answer questions yes or no only. He's uncaring & indifferent. Don't waste your time. Find another provider who actually will listen & treat you.

My mother went to see Dr. Howard after being referred by her primary care physician. She has been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis for more than 10 years. She changed insurances and had to change doctors. On her first appointment with Dr. Howard he told her he didn't think she had RA despite her medical records showing that she had positive blood tests for this several times over. He asked her a bunch of yes/no questions and diagnosed her with fibromyalgia and tried to refer her to a pain management doctor. He prescribed her neurontin three time daily at large doses and she couldnt even walk after taking it. He then told her that he would prescribe more pain medication if she would get of her sleeping medication. After her telling him she wasn't interested in changing her pain medication regimen he basically dismissed her. In her following 2 appointments, after her blood tests came back positive for RA, he continued to talk about pain management and changing her medications.… She is having a flare up that is affecting her shoulder and thumb which her previous rheumatologist would inject with cortisone. He refuses to do any injections at all. When asked what his role in her care is he just said my job is to prescribe immune suppressant drugs and refer you to different doctors to handle everything else. If she has an acute problem he cannot help her. She now has been referred to a orthopedic surgeon for her shoulder and a hand surgeon for her thumb. Not to mention that he is also a specialist. So that $150 just in copays. He then prescribed her an immune suppressant medication that has to be preauthorized by insurance companies if they cover it at all and has done nothing to help with her symptoms while she waits to see if maybe her insurance would cover it. I have been a nurse for 6 years and I have seen some incompetent doctors in my time but I would not let this man treat my worst enemy. He has no compassion for patients and he does not listen to anything.

I was hesitant to see Dr. Howard because of all the negative reviews, but I feel he listened to me, was very thorough, and I feel like I'm on the road to wellness. I'd definitely recommend him to anyone.

I went in fearful and left in tears. Did his battery of blood and xrays for lupus. Gave him 3 visits after positive diagnosis. This is NOT a caring provider. A robot would show more sensitivity. For a doctor who supposedly treats chronic pain, he has no empathy whatsoever. Only the thick skinned and tenacious should try this man. As for me, I will not be returning.

Never before, have I ever run into a doctor like this one. Dr specifically stated that he did not want to know what was wrong with me, what my symptoms were, or anything else. He stated he would run tests and find out what was wrong with me, and tell me. He ran up several thousand dollars worth of tests to confirm what I could have told him when I walked in. Totally incompetent.

He is a seemingly nice man; however, he's an incompetent doctor. He is very punctual & timely, which is wonderful until you realize it's entirely at your expense. He uses forms--for everything. Yes or no answers only. He does not listen nor does he concern himself with your history, medical records, previous rheumatologic diagnoses, or complete symptoms. Although rheumatic diseases can be rare, complicated, & multiple, he does not listen or consider any previous medical findings, especially if they contain complicated history, symptoms, & multiple diagnoses. He wants neat & clean diagnostic & treatment standards, at the expense of his patients' health due to his refusal to listen completely & consider YEARS of medical records. He only accepts his own findings, yet he will not fit you in when you have an acute problem that he has stated he must diagnose or see for himself before he will treat you. He repeats himself & provides you with the same handouts at every visit. After your first… two visits with him, you may believe you have a decent doctor because he's nice, punctual, & quick, but you quickly realize that he doesn't listen, he doesn't believe your medical history--even the records themselves, he doesn't allow time for you to talk to him until at the END of the appointment when he rushes you because he has other patients & your allotted time has concluded, and he refuses to grant you an acute appointment when you experience extreme symptoms that he has stipulated he must verify. His standard reasoning for ignoring your previous 25 years of symptoms, diagnoses, treatment, & records is that all of those things can be manipulated & falsified. You combine all of these (his standard operating procedures) with complex, extensive rheumatic health problems and you end up being referred to as a psychiatric patient needing psych treatment, receiving little to nothing further regarding medical treatment. It is very easy to be frustrated, insulted, and confused in his office environment when he chooses to ignore test results & medical records--his justification being that you must be manipulating them in light of the number of health problems your records & test results contain. Your very painful, problematic symptoms worsen & get out of control in the meantime, and it is easy to lose hope & give up on continuing to seek the necessary & beneficial treatments you require & deserve. "Dr." Howard seriously needs to seek help & re-training. His office & support staff all need fired as they clearly hate their jobs as well as being unable to do them. They are discourteous, rude, condescending ("I am a healthcare professional. You're just the patient..."), unhappy & inept. If you have the option of seeing another rheumatologist, take it. You're wasting your time, money, & energy if you take an appointment with Dr. Howard. Dissatisfaction, pain, & a limited lifestyle are what you can expect should you choose to continue with Dr. Howard. Brutal honesty: No. Don't, just no... Your disease may end your life long before Dr. Howard decides to treat you--IF he decides to treat you or accept your test results.

I was referred by my primary care dr. I'd been having a series of unusual symptoms and my primary ordered a brain MRI that came back abnormal indicating that I may have Multiple Sclerosis. As with most cases of possible MS, most doctors refer their patients to a rhumatologist to rule out other possible auto immune diseases such as lupus before referring them to a neurologist for an MS diagnosis. Of course I was anxious to find out what was going on with me and I expected Dr. Howard to at least address the initial findings from my MRI and explain what we would be looking for from his exam. Exam? What exam? He pulled out what I would describe as a handout you would get from a teacher that explained the different types of arthritis, fibromyalgia, and lupus with their general definitions and possible treatments for each. He asked me a series of yes or no questions and when I'd try to elaborate on my answers he'd interrupt me and go on to the next question. It was almost like he… was afraid I'd ask a question he didn't know the answer to and he had to rely on his "handouts" to get through his time with me. He spent more time talking about my pain level (I had no pain) and on the subject of fibromyalgia than anything else. After questioning me, he pretty much discounted the possibility of lupus and never mentioned the lesions shown on my MRI which was noted in the records my primary has sent to him. I was sent for lab work and found out he'd ordered 17 different blood tests. Minus seventeen vials of blood, I returned home and waited. Returned for my followup and found out all was clear and he diagnosed me with fibromyalgia. Where did that come from? I would have expected him to say that the tests were normal and perhaps I should now take the next step and see a neurologist to consider MS. Nope, he just sent me on my way. Why didn't I question him? By that time I'd lost my confidence in him and fortunately my primary decided it was time to send me to a neurologist where I WAS diagnosed with MS and everything started to fall into place. Dr. Howard doesn't even deserve one star. He may be a nice person, but he's a terrible doctor and I can't figure out, based on my experience and seeing the other reviews on him, how someone like him can be hired by a reputable institution.

Referred to this physician by a primary care physician that I trust and found very competent. After my experience with Dr. Howard and the experiences of other patients she also referred, mainly because he is in her network, she stated, "He is crazy and I will never refer to him again." I agreed with her assessment as well as all the other opinions I read on this site about him. Wants yes or no answers, ONLY. Doesn't want history, other lab work, no matter how recent, won't let one talk, ABOUT ANYTHING INCLUDING SYMPTOMS! Stated he was not there to give me advice or counsel me. Used a cookie cutter approach with questionaire requiring only yes or no answers. Further stated that he only writes prescriptions or refers back to primary for therapies such as pain management, physical therapy, psychiatric counseling, etc. Prescribed medication known to decrease WBC even though I had a history of low WBC's which was shown on the records that I brought with me. My count was borderline normal at… that time so he wanted me to try it. Result was hospitalization due to very low WBC's within 3 weeks and a referral to well known Northeastern Medical Care system eventually for reevaluation and to get a care plan. Returned to meet with Dr. Howard for followup only so I could tell him what happened. Hoping that he would learn something. He became very irate and told me that all that was probably wrong with me was that I had fibromyalgia, contradicting his and other doctor's previous and ongoing diagnosis. Then asked me if I would like to schedule another appointment? Crazy? You bet!