Visionary Eye Doctors

Reviews 3

LE

Les You

This is my second review of Dr. Cremers at Visionary Eye Doctors. It’s been nine weeks since my first visit to see her. At my first visit, I was in terrible pain and using over the counter and prescription eye drops every ten minutes due to my dry eye disease (DED). My second visit was three weeks later, and my eyes had already made significant progress due to her treatment plan. When I saw her recently, my DED had regressed to being close to normal. I never thought this could be done since I have been suffering for years with this horrible medical issue and had been told by other ophthalmologists that DED cannot be cured. I expect my DED will continue to get better under Dr. Cremers’ care until it is no longer an issue for me. Dr. Cremers is an expert at DED. For years, I have been looking for someone like her who knows how to treat it. I have seen many dry eye specialists in the DC area and none of them were able to produce the results Dr. Cremers has produced in only nine weeks. If you are suffering from dry eye disease, you owe it to yourself to make an appointment with Dr. Cremers at Visionary Eye Doctors. The office is run efficiently and everyone there is helpful. I highly recommend Dr. Cremers and her staff. INITIAL REVIEW: I recently had my first appointment at Visionary Eye Doctors (VED) in Rockville, MD. My experience was entirely professional, welcoming, and productive. The office is modern, clean, and comfortable. They are a high volume practice that may have an overflow of patients, but the whole staff works very well together and they do their best to make the visit go as quickly as possible while still providing you with the best of medical care and administrative efficiency. Everyone at VED goes out of their way to help you with your needs whatever they may be. I was pleasantly surprised to receive a call at 6:30 one night from Jennifer Ramirez, Clinical Director, in response to a voice message I left earlier that same day regarding a correction to my medical chart. She pleasantly made the correction to my chart while we chatted on the phone. The reason for my visit to VED was to see Dr. Sandra Lora Cremers, for a dry eye consultation. I have been suffering with dry eye disease (DED) for many years, and I have seen many ophthalmologists for this condition, but none of them provided me the treatment Dr. Cremers offers. She is passionate about treating her patients for DED, and she knows more about this condition than all of the ophthalmologists I’ve seen combined. Besides having multiple unsuccessful surgeries for lagophthalmos, all of the other doctors advised me to use over the counter (OTC) eye drops for my discomfort. Dr. Cremers uses a Multi-Tiered and Step Ladder Approach to dry eye to treating this condition. She is determined to help her patients with their DED and shows her deep concern for you during your appointment. Thanks to her, I now feel confident I will finally get the relief I need from this painful condition. If you are suffering from DED, she is the top dry eye specialist in the DC area that can help you. I highly recommend her.

CA

Carlos Bass

The short version of my review: The staff is very rude and poorly trained. The doctor is unprofessional and did not explain my relatives diagnosis. Did not receive any aftercare instructions. All in all, our experience was frustrating and disappointing. In depth review: The staff was very rude and at times acted as if they were annoyed with our questions. Any questions were answered with short and rude answers. We were called back by the technician and went through the usual process. The only person who was kind and professional was the technician. Once the technician finished his part, he sent us to watch some educational movie. The real problem occurred when the movie finished. One of the assistants came over and rudely informed my relative needed eye surgery and it costs $1,800. Keep in mind the doctor DID NOT even see my relative. I asked if the doctor was ever going to see us. My question appeared to annoy her so she sent the doctor over. The doctor did not even know my relatives name. The doctor had no idea of my relatives symptoms or anything. My relative got three different eye drops without them explaining what the drops were, their side effects, or aftercare instructions. I had to nag and ask what my relative was diagnosed with. He told me what the diagnosis was but did not elaborate more. The doctor simply left afterwards. We went to the front desk and had to nag the front desk to give my relative a pair of paper shades as the eye drops made my relative extremely sensitive to light. Afterwards the front desk asked if I wanted to pay for the surgery now. They did not go over payment options or payment plans. I explained to them that my relative does not have insurance is not yet eligible for Medicaid or Social Security yet. I told them I would pay in cash and asked if they have any cash discount options. That was when another staff member said, "No, no, no, no do not give these people a discount." The staff member complied and said, "No" in a condescending manner. We thanked them for their help and left. We left and my relative cannot see out of his left eye and is experiencing pain 30 minutes after receiving those eye drops. I am considering taking him to an emergency room. So in short, this was a terrible experience and will never return. How do they expect me to pay $1,800 for treatment without receiving a diagnosis from a doctor? There are negative reviews and should have read them before coming to this horrible office. I find falling down a flight of stairs more pleasant than my experience there. I know my elderly relative certainly agrees.

CR

Crystal Garcia

The office was very clean, comfortable and technologically advanced. Apparently, there have been a lot of changes with vision insurance in the past year which is not known to the common person. I am all for technology, but you check in on a kiosk and in my opinion it takes away from personal contact and explanation. Therefore, I had not known if I was getting a medical vision exam or vision exam. The kiosk didnt ask me to specify and I didnt know. You would think it is self explanatory. I was handed papers for a contact fitting and the fitting fees indicated they were charged for a new contact user or brand change brand change. I fit neither category and I thought I was getting charged for something I shouldnt. I informed one of the technicians. The technician indicated it is a fitting fee. It didnt make sense. If my prescription was the same and I was using the same brand, I wouldnt need to be fitted. I didnt need training on contacts, etc. then she said that it was a federal law that you have to be fitted once a year. I looked that up and found quite the opposite. I was fuming because I thought I had chosen a nickel and dime doctor. I was getting ready to walk out. Dr. Riverez was the saving grace of the day: She was very understanding about the confusion. She explained everything thoroughly and the difference. She also was really great with my child. Very patient and kind. The technician helping her was also very helpful. By the time I got back to the front desk the line was very long which leads me to believe they need more help at the front. I once again got confused on the fees, but the assistant came out and explained them to me. I would recommend this practice.