Vancouver Eye Care, Ps

The doctor and the billing department were very professional and nice. However, the front desk staff made it so that I will likely be finding another eye clinic next time. When I called to book an appointment, I was rushed off the phone and the lady was very short with me, didn’t ask me any of the new patient questions, etc. She rushed so much that they had to call back the next day because my name was spelled wrong, my email was spelled wrong, my insurance was inputted incorrectly. Then, when I arrived for my appointment, they were shocked to find out that I currently wear contacts and needed a contact renewal. They said it was my responsibility to make sure to tell them that over the phone, even though no one ever had asked me, they just checked the box that said no. And then made it seem like it was my fault. They also did not offer the Optimap machine so I had to get my eyes dilated which I never have had to do at previous clinics. Which is fine if they don’t have it there, just was the cherry on top and wasn’t prepared for that. Overall just not the best experience with the front desk staff unfortunately.

Great experience, first time getting my contact lens and the front desk helped me understand the process and doctor helped me apply the lens, they were thorough on questions making sure I am getting the best lens I can and know how to apply them correctly and take them off correctly. I definitely recommend this location and the other locations. I used to wear glasses and after some encouragement I switched to contacts and I wish I switched sooner

TLDR: Got an eye infection from standard eye exam here and no guidance from this office/doctor. A couple of years ago I had an issue with this office taking over 2 months to get my contact lens order fulfilled with no proactive updates, but I let it slide because I really liked the optometrist and thought my prescription was more accurate than I've gotten at other places. That said, after my appointment this month I will never return. The day following my standard eye exam, my left eye was still extremely sensitive to light and bloodshot. I gave it a day and with no improvement, called the customer service line. She said she was sending my message to triage and to expect a call from the doctor. Well, after 2 more BUSINESS days the call never came... My eye was getting worse and puffy so I had to do an urgent care appointment to get prescribed medicated eye drops, they told me it was clearly infected and I likely got it from my appointment. After my urgent care appointment, I called back Vancouver Eye Care to let them know I got an infection from my appointment and never got a call from the doctor. The person on the line was apologetic, but I never heard anything else. Mistakes happen and according to urgent care, conjunctivitis is going around, so don't know that they lack proper hygiene practices, but the lack of concern over their patients' health after leaving the office is a huge red flag.

I will always be grateful to Dr. Theresa Clayton for catching the shingles in my eye and getting me in the same day as a new patient. However, after this last appointment I will not be returning due to her comment about patients who only come in when something is wrong and who don't have eye exams, and that she can't continue to treat me if I don't get an eye exam. Keep in mind this appointment (which I had on the books with them for six weeks) was originally for an eye exam and she was aware of that as she had just read that in the notes, but I had to switch it to medical because I am having a flare up and the infection has returned in my eye, and this has happened in the last two weeks. She literally yelled at me about NOT having an eye exam and about using the eye drops incorrectly (which I did not realize until that moment) and then left the room. She had examined me a total of maybe three or four minutes. And I had been waiting for almost two hours at that point. As a Master's Degree level professional in health care myself, who also sees patients regularly, I was shocked at how she treated me. The condescension and the yelling without letting me even try to explain my perspective was completely unprofessional and completely uncalled for. I am always shocked at the wait in the office, which is consistently one to two hours AFTER my appointment time. Have they ever considered that others are missing work for this long of wait time and maybe cannot afford to miss that much work??? I was skeptical about this facility given the reviews but up until now I had received decent care, even though the in office wait time was always horrendous each time I had an appointment. Unfortunately it is one of two opthamologists office that is in network for my insurance in Vancouver, but after the experience here today I will drive to Portland for my eye care needs if that is necessary. I do not like to leave these kind of reviews but I feel it is important to share this experience so those who choose to go to this facility know what to expect. It is disappointing when professionals in health care behave in this manner. It is no wonder people complain about the quality of care when health care professionals treat their patients like I was treated today. It's unfortunate and disappointing as a patient and as a health care professional. Do better Dr. Theresa Clayton and Vancouver Eye Care, your patients deserve much better.

Other than the medical assistant who conducted the first part of my eye exam before the doctor came in, I did not have a good experience at this eye care clinic. Despite significant pre-appointment work on my part, the office did not have the correct number for my medical insurance and made no effort to contact me before the appointment. They also did not have the paperwork that I had completed online. Next, I had made clear to the office beforehand that my wife, who also had an appointment at this visit, did not want any out-of-pocket cost for her appointment. Despite making this clear, the office charged her $165 when we arrived as they then proceeded to inform me that her visit was not covered by our insurance. This could have easily been conveyed to me at the time when I made our appointments several weeks earlier. Whether this was deliberate to make revenue or just poor attention to detail from the person I spoke to, it left me with a wary opinion of this office. I waited for a long time beyond my scheduled appointment time for anyone to see me. (A patient who arrived late was taken in before me.) Eventually, the medical assistant took me in and this was the best part of my experience at Vancouver Eye Care. The assistant was thorough as she asked me questions that were relevant to the purpose of my visit. After she left, however, I again waited a long time for the doctor to see me. The visit with the doctor seemed rushed. I told him some of the eye symptoms I was having and he never gave me any information on what might be causing these problems. I also had to remind him of the main purpose of my visit which he admitted he had missed on my paperwork. The doctor recommended that I take some additional eye tests. However, after my experience with this office, I'll get a second opinion from another ophthalmologist.