Vanderbilt Eye Institute

Dr. Kammer was the absolute BEST! I definitely miss him! I went to Dr. Baird for the same eye exam that I got from Dr. Kammer. Nothing about my insurance had changed. Nothing about the exam I got had changed, except the provider. I contacted my insurance and they said my exam was covered. After my exam, I received a bill for $503 for a preventative exam that had always been covered fully by insurance. An exam that I called to ensure was still covered, before I came in for my visit. It was covered. It seems Vanderbilt billing, coded the exam the same as always, but with one exception. They changed the primary reason code to routine eye exam when it was clearly a medical eye exam. This coding error caused both my vision and medical insurances to deny the claim. I spoke to the billing office for over a year. They refused to rectify the coding issue. They consistently told me that it had been coded correctly. However, after several three-way calls with Vanderbilt billing and my insurance, nobody budged and nothing ever happened to help me! I’m the patient and I was forced to be the in the middle of stalemate between the insurance and the provider. Vanderbilt billing did agree to reduce my bill from $503 to $277. However, that amount for a preventative service that should have been fully covered and always had been under, Dr. Kammer is so unfair. It is the complete opposite of patient advocacy and care. Now, I’m getting tons of reminders to a pay a bill that I never should have received. A bill from a place that didn’t even value a return patient enough to simply adjust one billing code over the span of a year. This may not mean much to Vanderbilt Eye Institute billing office, but it means a lot to me.

VU Eye Institute My experience was good. Reception staff, medical assistants and doc were all courteous and informative. Dr N Podoll was great. He was pleasant, xeplained my results clearly. I would gladly return to his care as needed

Had an initial consult and was seen by 2 doctors at once. They were both extremely thorough in their exams. They took time to explain what they were looking for, what they saw, and next steps. I highly recommend and will be going back for my continued treatment.

We had a wonderful experience here! They did an amazing job keeping my daughter calm during all the exams.

Vandy Eye Institute has been my primary ophthalmologist after a concern was raised by my optician from another clinic. The staff here (front desk, med techs, and doctors) have always been polite, efficient, and easy to talk through concerns. Scheduling is honestly so streamlined: you can do so in person or make subsequent changes online (with phone follow-up). Many of the past reviews are true: the wait time is pretty lengthy, but I view this more as a systemic issue than anything else. Everyone here is focused on discussing patient charts and ensuring overall consistency. I would bring snacks and a water bottle as well as reading material. My one other suggestion is simply for the office to turn on the TV’s. The walls are thin, and professional voices are quite audible. If I could hear about others’ medical history and my own from the waiting area, I’m sure others could as well. I think staff discussion of patients (no matter their opinion or context) is totally warranted, but it may be awkward for other patients to hear. Plenty of parking in a private lot with elevator and stair access to the office. I mainly recommend this for individuals with more serious eye issues. If you’re just getting an eye exam, perhaps choose another location without the hefty wait time.