All weekend, I've been extremely uncomfortable with swollen, sore, itchy, crusty eyelids. I called the eye center about 8:15 AM and was told the doctor was doing surgery but my information would be taken and passed along to the doctor's technician. I should be available by phone to take the call. Well, here it is 4:30 PM and I still haven't heard back. This is so disheartening and unprofessional. There should be follow through with these type of situations. After waiting a few hours, I went to urgent care. I waited quite a while but eventually saw the ER doctor and got a suitable prescription. Nobody in so much discomfort should have to wait over 8 hours to be contacted. read more

I really like this practice and most people that work there, Execpt this front desk girl that's been there for years and I really don't know how. Everytime I interact with here either at the office or over the phone she is rude, I already complained about her in the past but she is still there with the same attitude. Right now as I'm writing this review because I call for a follow up and she was herself again so I asked to speak to somebody else..she put me on hold now for about 50 minutes but I will hang up as it's their lunch break. I really don't know her name but good luck if you get her. read more

Be very careful they will over charge you. This place is super expensive if you do have insurance or they do not accept your insurance. They are 5-7 times more expensive than other eye doctors. And they will never tell you their charges or if they accept your insurance in the front. The way they charge you to make money is much easier than robbing your wallet. Be careful! Be careful! Be careful! read more

Atrocious. The receptionists are extremely rude. In an effort to reorder medication the receptionist just hung up. This has happened to me several times in the past as well. Please hire professional employees. read more

If I could give this place a zero I would. For years they've been awful and CHA doesn't care bottom line. CHA loves sending surveys for every other Dr or specialist you see. But these 2 are always spared. They've been there for far too long and too many yrs and clearly have connections at CHA. The care here is awful! The heavy Dr. is just plain rude and condescending. His brother is tolerable but no better. The lack of common sense is strange almost deliberate the walls are thin and they find joy in disclosing your private diagnosis or illness freely. There's no discretion and what infuriates me is that they continue to DO IT! Other people have complained to their PCP, and it's just not addressed because of who they are. Noone deserves to be treated inhumane, their arrogance and superiorty complex will catch up to them one day. I'm a firm believer in Karma! The appt I had was due to my PCP urging me to do so, so to be fair I gave my provider the same pressure. I was mad because she knows and has heard the same conplaints and still sent me there. I guess they thought i was going to tolerate Arsehole behavior from overblown jerk! PCP advised me to file a report. Unfortunately, I too felt that the UNTOUCHABLES/ POWER RANGERS would face no consequence. I hope one day when they're in need,they are made to feel the way I was made to feel. Noone is immune from illness or sickness but apparently they are GODS! I would say the only time you are treated humanely is at the eye glass shop! They are just focused on doing their job and sticking to providing services w/ no judgement! I know this will get deleted or blocked but I don't care this was MY experience. read more

Good luck reaching them on the phone... Dont know who works there but they never pick up the phone. Useless.

There's nothing wrong with the staff. They are super nice but the wait time is super long. The fastest I have waited was 2 hours.... The wait just drags on.... read more

Dr Patalano is an amazing eye dr. I'd give five stars but the wait time is really bad. I recommend many ppl to him because I've seen how much success he has had with huge eye surgeries. So yes the wait time is long but this is an eye dr you want to wait for. It's just like when u go to the drs and have to wait. There are things that come up that we can't help like emergencies. I have so many patients that will wait all day if they have to just to see dr patalano read more

I was pleasantly surprised with this place. Dr. Vincent Patalano was phenomenal. He took the time to fully listen to my eye problems and conduct a thorough examination. He addressed all of my questions with clear communication. His staffs are super nice. His assistant is great! He is down to earth and very nice. I would recommend them to anyone. read more

I made the mistake of coming here exactly once. The wait times were absolutely horrible, it took over 1.5 hours to be called from the waiting room and then over an hour wait once my eyes were dilated. I was actually worried my pupils would be back to normal by the time they called me. The place is a zoo. Hopefully your insurance will cover you somewhere else. read more

I've been a patient here for 2+ years, and I'm very lucky to just need annual eye exams, so I can't speak to other services here. My recent eye exam went great and I got the updated prescription I needed without issue. However, for the past several months I've had issues disputing the $350 charge for said routine eye exam. I had called the office, my insurance provider, billing and more and continued to get nowhere. I somehow got to Donna's phone line, the practice manager at CHA Eye Clinic, and she's been AMAZING. She listened to my concerns, investigated the issue, called billing and my insurance on my behalf, and even escalated this concern internally to get the answers needed to fully resolve my issues. I could not have done this without her, all to fix a simple clerical error, but she never treated it like a small concern, and that made all of the difference for me. I hope her team knows what an asset she is to patients and what a kind and thoughtful person she is. I appreciate all her effort and the rest of the team who helped resolve this for me with careful attention and kindness. read more

I was scheduled for a full eye exam. During the exam, I told the (nurse?) that I had Lasik done previously, just so she was aware (and also mentioned other medical issues). After my eyes were dilated, I waited in the lobby. And waited. And waited. After 30 minutes I went to the desk and asked if this was normal, and they said yes. I sat back down, and waited. And waited. And waited. After an hour I told myself I was leaving if they didn't see me after 90 minutes. 90 minutes arrived. I really wanted to leave, but knew if I did I would just miss being called. Well 5-10 minutes after that I was called in. I was irate as hell at that point. The doctor was looking at my eyes and pretty much scolded me for not mentioning I had Lasik because it was near impossible to tell - but I DID tell the person earlier. Do I need to repeat everything to everyone? If you don't respect yourself, feel free to go to this clinic. But if you care about your time and want people to respect you, go somewhere else. read more

Dr Patalano appears to be very knowledgeable, but the office is so overbooked with patients and everything runs so far behind that you wait 1.5 to 2 hours at a minimum to see Dr. Patalano and when you do get time with him, it is severely rushed. Given how rushed everything is, I also fear that I'm not receiving the best treatment. I would suggest trying to find another office in the area. If anyone knows of a good alternative please let me know. read more

While waiting for an exorbitant amount of time for Dr. Steven Patalano to see me, a tired Latina woman laid down on the benches outside of the office. When Dr. Patalano opened the door he scolded her like a child and said, "sit up, this is a waiting room not your living room." That was the beginning of the worst doctor's appointment I have ever had. Dr. P put a ton of medical eye drops in my eye to remove a bump on my eyelid but the nurse I saw prior to him had already put a lot of the same drops in my eye. He had overdosed me on the drops and I had to be rushed to the emergency room. I couldn't feel my body, or breath, and it was a very very very scary experience. DR. STEVEN PATALANO is mean and irresponsible. The entire time I was in agony he was typing on his computer. I was screaming, "help me, help me" and he kept typing. Unbelievable. read more

First of all, the receptionist was cold/unhelpful @ best (didn't take any insurance info or co-pay @ all), the place was horribly crowded (& somewhat of a dump). It took about 2&1/2 hours for me to get my eyes examined (ROUTINE EXAM!!!) by these guys. I think they doubled up on my pupil dialator (I was f'ed up for about 10 hours after). Finally, Dr. V gave me a script which I didn't even need/want (antibiotic ointment) after talking to me for 4 seconds - which I thought was nice - but then when I got my bill, it meant the script he took 2 seconds to write - he was able to charge my insurance another $300. (I'm not sure if it's a coincidence, but it this was not pre-approved by my PCP - so you do the math!). Very disappointing experience & I do not plan on returning here. read more

They say to plan for 1.5 hours for your visit. It's actually 1.5 to more than 2 hours before you are even seen. No information, no updates. It is unacceptable that they treat their patients this way. Want to have confidence in the surgeon working on my eyes, that they take my surgery seriously and respect me as a patient. Going elsewhere for treatment. read more

More than once, its been suggested to me that I should get Lasik... but you know what? I'm not a candidate. You'd think that the OPTOMETRIST would be the first to tell me I'm not. That should have been at least one reason to be distrustful. Another would be recommending and giving me an Rx for a substandard contact lens which resulted in my eyes growing blood vessels where they didn't belong. Maybe one more reason not to go here would be the unbelievably long waiting periods I've spent in the waiting room WITH AN APPOINTMENT. For over an hour on multiple occasions, I've missed work to sit, and wait, and wait, and wait. Oh, what about the rude service from the receptionists. Lets not forget about that. But, who knows? I haven't been back (and won't return) for a few years so maybe they've gotten their act together now. But from the reviews I see, I'm guessing not. read more

Similar to another user's experience, I came in with my medical and vision insurance cards, was not told about associated fees or coverage issues, only to be struck with a $360 refraction service bill a month later. read more

I went here for a contact lens fitting, as they take MassHealth (not for the contact fitting, but the eye exam). The assistant was very thorough in making sure I got a pair of contacts that fit me and my mild astigmatism. She was helpful in teaching me how to put them in and take them out, as I am new to contacts. The doctor her self was nice in going over things again, and when she mentioned the price was 120 I had said that I thought the clerk on the phone had said 95 dollars. She immediately said that she would charge 95, as that is what the clerk said, but it is normally 120 for astigmatism fittings. I left with a trial pair of lenses, solution, a case, and an appointment in 3 weeks to see how the lenses are working out for me. This is all included in the initial fee! Def't a good place to check out if you need to get contact lenses. read more

The worst place to be in. Long, long, long waiting. To be seeing for 5 minutes only. I wish somebody would do something about it.

I was very impressed with my visit to CHA Eye Center. The staff is pleasant and friendly. I was a bit anxious and the staff knew I needed some TLC. They were great! Dr. Patalano was amazing. He took the time to explain everything to me. Now that I have found a good eye center, I have already scheduled my annual exam for next year. Also my husband has an appointment. I am so glad I went and took my friend's advice to go here. Everyone should take care of their eyes! read more

Dr.Steven Patalano did my cataract surgery and it changed my life. The whole experience was wonderful.The office staff and technicians are very pleasant and professional. The operating room staff was caring and understanding. Dr. Patalano made a very frightening surgery easy. He was very reassuring and in charge. He made me feel relaxed and in good hands. I never felt any pain at all. I can now drive at night again after a few years of not being able to see. I have had a wonderful experience at Dr. Patalano's office and will never go anywhere else. read more

Dr Patalano has terrible bedside manner, does not look at you when speaking nor listen to you, interrupts you, and makes you wait, books too many patients. My dad has cataract surgery with him and would not use him again. My dad needs medication for parkinsons every three hours, and I struggled to get his meds and the timing of the surgery. It was delayed 4 hours! And he never spoke to us after surgery nor apologized for the delay. Never never again. read more

I had Dr. Patalano as my eye doc for 3 years. Maybe not his fault but I had progressively worse office visits over the past 3 years. This week I had a 2:30 pm appointment on a Monday. By 4pm he still hadn't seen me. No one came out to tell me he was running late, or running way beyond late. Unacceptable. I walked out. You can do better. read more

I've seen Dr. Patalano and Dr. Idrizovic, and they were both friendly, professional, and knowledgeable. I typically have no problem getting an appointment and haven't had to wait too long when I get there. Sometimes the waiting room is crowded, and you might not get in right away, but it's no worse than any other doctor's office. read more

If you have vision insurance, be sure to verify that this place is in network before visiting. I was told on the phone by a receptionist that they're in network for VSP, and later I got stuck with a close to $200 bill for an eye exam because they're actually out of network. It's my fault for not double checking, but they shouldn't advertise insurance benefits incorrectly. That being said, I rated this 2 star instead of 1 because the doctor I saw was fantastic (Dr. Zheng). I didn't have a long wait time going in on a Saturday afternoon, although I had to wait 2 months to get the appointment. This is the first time I've had glasses, and I'm very happy with the prescription I received. I had no idea my vision was so bad until I got these glasses. read more

I've had to go here every week or every other week for about two months now, for checkups for an eye inflammation -- I have had to wait over an hour to be seen pretty much EVERY time, no matter what time of day my appointment, or how many other people were there. I understand that doctor's offices often run behind, but to have such an immensely long wait (for what's literally a two minute appointment) *every single time* is unbelievably infuriating, ESPECIALLY since they (or the doctor I was seeing, Steven Patalano) don't offer early morning or late afternoon appointments, so this has meant being out of work for about three hours in the middle of the day for every appointment. I'm normally a patient person, but having this happen so consistently has me super pissed off. And the only time I was ever late (because of another dr's appointment), the doctor had left for the day, even though it was the middle of the day. Also I had a lot of trouble getting them to refill an eyedrop prescription they hadn't refilled in time (despite multiple calls from me), and then they were snippy and refused to rush it, even though it was their mistake and I was out of medicine. Anyway! Argh! EDITED TO ADD: at the beginning of December they charged my credit card for a visit at the beginning of September and one in early October. Great bookkeeping, guys. read more

Dr Patalano is a great doctor and very knowledgeable and he works with charities outside USA but he is always very late. I took the first appointment at 8:00am and arrived at 7:45. It is 9:00 am and he hasn't see me yet. There is one patient before me that arrived even earlier and also still waiting for him. This is not acceptable. CHA needs to work on this. read more

I rarely write any reviews but I'm so angry at this place that I had to. I haven't been here since prob 2011 but decided to give it a try given it has been so many years. I scheduled my appointment for 9am. I was bounced around numerous times from exam room to exam room to finally be seen by Dr Patalano for maybe 15-20 min. It took them 3 hours for a routine yearly eye exam!!! How is that possible. I have gone numerous other places and have waited a normal and acceptable amount of time. Unless you want to spend your whole day here don't schedule an appointment. read more

I had been looking forward to getting my problem fixed and now all I have is dilated eyes and a really bad taste in my mouth. Dr. Patalano was absolutely rude to the 4 people in line in front of me who didn't speak english as a 1st language. He actually came out and said "oh great another one who doesn't speak english" right in front of the patient. Then they did the exam and when I described what my symptoms were they told me "the numbers say that's not happening". So they believe that their little machine knows what I'm feeling better than I do. Then after approximately 2 minutes of speaking to the doctor he tells me that the reason I my eyes hurt and I have headaches at the end of the day is that I have dry eyes and don't blink enough when I look at the computer screen. Doesn't matter that I told him I have trouble focusing on the letters on the screen and that a optomitrist I see told me I have trouble with focusing. Pretty much going here was not only a waste of time but pretty painful because they dropped my eyes three times. read more

I concur with the sentiments of everyone else here. They book you for a 15 min appointment and then you end up spending 1-2 hours here RIDICULOUS. Further, you get seen by an assistant first and then go to a diff waiting room to wait for the Dr, but every single time I've been here they do not go in order of who was in the waiting room first. Every time people that got there after me were seen before me because the assistants just toss the folder in the slot without giving any caution to the order of the patients. Total time spent at office: 1 hour and 45 minutes. Total time spent with the doctor: 6 minutes and 20 seconds. read more

Always have to wait long time to be called. All the desk says is we are very busy today. Doctor is great though.

I don't normally post negative reviews, since negative interactions can be so one-off, but my experiences at CHA Eye Center have been really poor consistently and across a variety of categories, including: Extremely long wait times Poor quality of care Deceptive billing More details on each: -Extremely long wait times. I was able to shorten them by booking 8 or 8:30 AM appointments, but the wait times can be extremely long unless you're willing to go early -Poor quality of care. When doing the "better or worse?" checks for contacts/glasses prescriptions, they tend to be hurried, and at times seemed to gloss over my concerns that things were still a little blurry after we'd settled on the "right" prescription. As a result, I'm not sure my contacts have been as clear as they could have been. -Deceptive billing. One year, when I went in for a checkup, I paid the co-pay and then received a bill later. I was a bit careless, so I just paid it (it was just for $30, so I I was lazy). The next year, however, I made sure to ask when I paid my co-pay at the visit if I would be billed again, and I was told I wouldn't be. Of course, I did receive a bill. When I called them, they said they had no record of my payment, so I faxed them the info (I'd paid by credit card). After about a week, they got in touch and told me that the bill was for contacts I'd bought from them, even though I'd never bought any from them. It turns out that this was probably (they're still not sure) a charge for the one pair contacts they'd given me during the appointment to make sure the prescription we'd settled on was right (they in no way suggested that I was buying them at the time, and had they told me it would cost $50 to try them on, I would have said no). As far as I can tell, none of these stories is an isolated incident. The long waits and hurried eye checkups have happened multiple times (and I see them in other reviews), and the deceptive billing most likely happened two years in a row (I just hadn't looked into it the first time). Get those eyes checked elsewhere! read more

I had been going to these guys for 3 years with a few appointments each year. I kick myself for staying so long. Each appointment took a minimum of just under 2 hours and up it went from there. The time you actually spend with Dr. Patalano right at the end of the time slot is about 15 minutes if you're lucky. He seems to know his business but the clinic is run as a money maker as far as I can see. There always was an excuse why the wait was so long but seems to me the practice operates as a factory. Looked like over booked appointments to me. I have seen parents with kids languishing in the waiting room for hours. There is little to entertain the kids, books, toys, etc. There are quite a lot of non English speakers, often older folk who come with an English interpreter. The final straw for me was watching an elderly Haitian woman wait the same length of time as me. It was passing the two hour mark. She sat there looking frail and tired. She turned to her interpreter and said something in French and then they both got up to leave. About 2 minutes later, they called her name so I ran to get her. I imagined it would be such an effort for her to have to go through all that another time. There are a lot of more disadvantaged folk going to this clinic. I guess they may think they don't have political clout and I imagine that's understood by the clinic. Middle class Cambridge wouldn't stand for it. It's time to make another appointment. It won't be with this eye center. As an aside, I thought the receptionists were fine. read more

I love this place. What an amazing experience. I walked in the door and was given attention immediately. Every person was friendly, professional and informative. I would highly recommend this business for anyone who needs eye car, esp contact lenses. read more

I've seen Dr. Patalano and Dr. Idrizovic, and they were both friendly, professional, and knowledgeable. I typically have no problem getting an appointment and haven't had to wait too long when I get there. Sometimes the waiting room is crowded, but no different from any other md office. read more

Would you rather eat in a restaurant that was usually busy, or in one that was always empty whenever you checked. Would you trust an ophthalmologist who has nothing but free time every day, or one who treats eye conditions just like yours constantly, day in and day out. When I went to the CHA Eye Center in Somerville last week, I had suffered an injury to my eye, and I was scared that I had permanently affected my vision. Front desk staff were very professional and courteous, both at check-in and afterwards to schedule a follow-up visit. The clinical staff who helped me to the exam room and began my assessment were also cheerful and accommodating. I was further assessed and treated by Dr. Madeline Barott, and was very satisfied with the care I received. Dr. Barott was personable, knowledgeable and able to completely erase my anxiety about my eye injury and possible effects on my vision. One of the measurements that was taken related to my eye was considered 'borderline', Dr. Barott took the time to remeasure using a tool with greater accuracy. I believe this kind of attention to detail is very important, as it demonstrated to me actual concern for my well-being, rather than a simple compulsion to 'check all the boxes' related to a patient visit. This type of 'above and beyond' service will guarantee that I continue to receive all care for my eyes from Dr. Barott at CHA Eye Clinic. read more

The staff were nice enough, and the man who tested my prescription (not the doctor) was very kind and friendly. But being there was an absolute nightmare. It's dark, loud, and echo-y (very echo-y) and the wait was forever. An hour after my appointment time I was still fourth in line to see the actual doctor. The main waiting room was unpleasant enough, but after a tech or assistant takes your prescription and dilates your eyes, you're led into a tiny, crowded, miserable waiting room to wait for the doctor, with your eyes already dilated, under nasty fluorescent lights. You sit there and wait. And wait. And wait. And wait some more. Also, there seemed to be 20 people working there, but only one doctor actually seeing patients. When I finally got to see the doctor, and hour and a half after my appointment time, he spent less than 2.5 minutes with me (I timed it on my phone), and when I commented on the wait time his reply was rude and defensive. And he never even answered the questions I had asked the tech to note, that were in my chart. but I was so desperate to get out of there, I forgot to ask. The whole experience was awful. I will not be going back. The only reason I didn't leave in the middle was that I'd had to wait four months for the appointment. And all this only for a routine exam and a new prescription! For the love of god, if you have a choice, please go somewhere else. Anywhere else. If you don't have a choice and you have to go there, I'm so sorry. read more

I now have to follow up with CHA for them to correct an incorrect billing submitted by CHA eye center/Dr. Patalano's office to bill my insurance company for my visit as a "routine" instead of diagnostic visit even my optometrist has provided a referral letter that the eye scan was needed to determine if I had Keratoconus. My Optometrist also never received an eye scan report from Dr. Patalano's office. What a nightmare!! read more

I have seen Dr. Patalano here twice, and he was fine, but I had to wait 1.5 hours the first time just to see him for 10 minutes. The follow-up visit involved a 1-hour wait. I've also seen Dr. Idrizovic for contacts; the wait for her is not as long, but still at least 30 minutes. I ordered contact lenses through them at the appointment because the dr. told me there was a $50 rebate, which was the best deal around. But never got a call to say the contacts had come in. I called a few weeks later and was told they would check and call me back. They didn't. Finally, after more phone calls and talking to the actual doctor, I got my contacts about 2 months after my appointment. When I picked them up, there was no receipt and no rebate. Two weeks later, they mailed me a receipt but still no rebate. I'm going to find another eye doctor. read more