Bascom Palmer Eye Institute Palm Beach Gardens — Local services in Palm Beach Gardens

If I have my choice rate for their contact center, I will give a “0” !!! I had an appointment with them and prepaid over $500+ before I saw the doctor! After they claimed with my insurance, I actually overpaid double of the amount I supposed to pay!!! But come to the refund, it became a really problem!!! I have several issues with them: why they estimated my out of pocket cost that much after I provided them with my insurance information??? If the estimate is high and we have to prepay a little more , that was ok, as long as they can quick refund us the money there over charged, but hold there, things is not that simple, the nightmare is just beginning!!! After they claimed with my insurance and and I found out I have over paid more than double the amount, I called them and they said they will refund me, but almost 1 month later, they told me that they are still in reviewing. This is cotton and dry: I over paid and they should refund me the extra amount I paid, why after a few weeks later , it is still in reviewing???!!! Is this such a “big , famous “ institute that money thirst to hold our individual patient’s money for that long???( Technologically they hold my over paid amount for almost 3 months since my appointment)!!!

The worst nightmare is the billing department especially the lady named Alena (I might spelled it wrong) As my opinion she should be fired!!!

First time I called the billing department and the lady named Kimberly processed the request for my refund, she was not bad . Today I am following up with the billing department and the lady named Alena answered phone, she was horrible!!! She told me she can do nothing about it, just have to wait, I asked her why can she not write an email or send a note to push this process a little bit, she said please hold , then she never come back, (i don’t know what she was doing,, may be she was playing with her kids or do some house work while on the company time( there was some background kids noise), after I hold for like 25 mins , my call just went to the general call queue. Then I call back again, it is this Alena lady again, she knew it was me again , when I asked her why she put me that long on hold and never come back, at least she should let me know that wether she has done put notes in my account or email the other department, but she didn’t want to listen to my question and intentionally put me on hold again, and she never come back again, after 20 minutes+, my call went to the general queue again!!!😡😡😡 I will not give up and I will keep calling again until I speak to her manager! This kind of behavior is not acceptable!!! Shamed on her! She should not be working on customers service...

The one star is because Dr. Blessing did my surgery well. He is the star.

However, the admin team of this office is HORRIBLE. The majority of them do not know what they're doing and they will leave you sick and in the dark after surgery. I should have known from the first appointment i had with them when it took them 3 tries and an hour to get my BIRTHDAY right.

The evening of my surgery I was so sick and the doctor on call took 45 minutes to call me back from the "emergency" line. It was 8pm on a Thursday. I guess throwing up constantly after an eye surgery just wasn't urgent enough for him. When I finally got him, he told me to go to an ER and have them remove the pressure bandage that had JUST BEEN PUT ON, because i was "getting it off tomorrow"... which i was not.... That was literally the one thing my doctor had told me NOT to do.

Instead i reached out to my friends in the medical field and they called the Miami office of this place for some assistance. I got little helpful advice but I eventually passed out from exhaustion and pain.

It was after 2 days of vomiting that I finally received anti nausea meds and pain relievers because my Mother called the office again. Nothing had been prescribed to me before surgery. I immediately threw up the pain meds.

There was one follow up call to me the day after surgery that I missed. I called back and left a message that was not returned until 2 days later.

When I finally got a call back i told the woman who had helped me in surgery what had happened. She was upset but did not seem surprised. She let the doctor and another head admin know.

At my follow up with Doctor Blessing he said everything looked good. I was shocked, but again it seems he was the only one to do what he said he would. He also told me that the surgery notes said that the team had to give me extra anesthesia to "keep me comfortable". He also informed me that I had not been given any steroids (to combat nausea) because I am diabetic. No one had informed me of either of those things. Instead they just sent me home (I am in Orlando) to vomit for 4 days after I had an eye removed.

I also filled out a survey from them 2 days ago and have not received any follow up from them on that either. Take all that as you will but overall I do NOT suggest a visit to...

Unfortunately, the entire process—from pre-operative communication to post-operative care—left me feeling misled, uninformed, and neglected.

Lack of Communication and Transparency: Prior to surgery, the type of lens implant was changed without any direct communication from the doctor. A billing representative simply told me I would now pay less. This is not an acceptable way to make medical decisions that affect patient outcomes.

Minimal Involvement from Dr. Maharaj: I never saw Dr. Maharaj during either procedure. Only student doctors were present. Even after the first surgery, he did not meet with me. I believe patients should be told upfront if the primary physician will not perform the procedure or be actively involved in follow-up care.

Overpromising Outcomes and Withholding Information: Dr. Maharaj gave me the impression that the results would be excellent, yet no mention was made of potential complications like posterior capsular opacification (secondary cataracts), which later required laser treatment. Had I known this was a common possibility, it would have spared me considerable anxiety when my vision worsened after surgery.

Poor Follow-Up Communication: After laser treatment, I began experiencing floaters and flashes. Neither Dr. Maharaj nor his team offered any clear explanation. A different physician later told me the flashes were due to retinal traction and should subside. Why wasn’t this explained earlier?

Dismissive Final Interaction: At my final appointment, Dr. Maharaj told me, “I’m done with you,” and I was then referred to an optometrist who again failed to explain the floaters and flashes, simply stating “everything is okay.”

We chose Bascom Palmer in Palm Beach Gardens based on its reputation as the #1 eye care provider. Unfortunately, our experience has led us to question how that ranking is earned. It seems driven more by patient volume than by...