Manrique Custom Vision Center — Local services in San Antonio

Free consultation not misleading but not exactly accurate either .. Went in to get a lasik consult because i am tired of having to fit my glasses inside my motorcycle helmet. I arrived early and was taken to have a very basic eye exam, no dilation, no MD looking into my eyes ( Was not seen by an MD up to that point only the eye technician that performed the exams on my eyes). Afterwards i was taken to the eye consultant who gave me a quick run down of all the risk and possible side effects and then told me that i was a great candidate for the lasik procedure and that if i wanted to continue the procedure was going to cost $4500 and he could obtain financing right then and there. He also stated that if i went ahead and agreed to the procedure and for some reason canceled that i would be charged $1000.00 for whatever was done up to that point ( They say that it's for the equipment they order for your procedure). Financing was obtained, date for the procedure set and i thought i was good to go well not so fast. He then said okay we are going to take you to the back and have some more test done on you, I thought that was a bit strange but said ok and went back to another exam room and had the eye technician run a few more test and then dilate my eyes. I was then told to wait 15 minutes and that the eye DR was going to evaluate my eyes, once the eye DR did her evaluation and her exams i asked her what she thought and she said that my eyes were really healthy and kind of gave me that feeling of this isn't the procedure for me. I asked her if i was not a good candidate for lasik and she said well its not for me to decide, it's for the surgeon to decide. After the DR. i was taken back to the front and was told that they were not quite sure if i was a good candidate since i wasn't going to have that "wow" factor since my vision is really not that bad and they were going to have to get in contact with the surgeon ( Dr. Manrique) to see if he would even do the procedure on me. Well 2 weeks went by without any communication and now 2 days before the procedure i receive a phone call calling to confirm my surgery. I called back to ask why i have not received any phone call with confirmation that i was approved by the surgeon to have this procedure and i get transferred from the scheduler to the consultant to the general manager who apologized and stated that i was good to go and that they only question was weather or not i was going to have one or both eyes done. I informed him that i was never told any of what he had just told me and that this experience has turned out to be not so pleasant and that i don't think this procedure is going to be for me to which he took full blame for. He then told me that i have the same prescription that Danny Green ( I'm guessing because i listed him as the referral source for where i heard about Dr. Manrique) does and that i am good to go and for me to come on in and have the procedure done. I told him that i would have to call him back and he told me to speak with the lasik consultant when i returned my call. I called and the consultant was not available so i left a voicemail and he returned my call several hours later, he apologized and gave a bunch of excuses as to why he took so long but said that i had the same prescription as Danny Green and that i was good to go for the surgery. I told him that it was not for me and that i did not want to have this procedure done after going through all of this, he then said okay we are going to charge you the $1000.00 for ordering the equipment for your procedure, thank you and have a nice day. So now stuck with a $1000.00 eye exam that is normally covered in full by...

I had lasik done in 2018 by Dr.Manrique. I heard all the ads and figured he was reputable. It has been less than ten years and I already have some pretty bad far sidedness. I paid thousands and supposedly had a 20yr guarantee but they want charge a whole new surgery. No accountability. In addition to these poor results years down the line, the experience before the procedure was horrible. The supervisor acted like a real bully stating patient information out in the open. There was a young man there with very bad vision and he just kept making fun of him, thinking he was lightening the mood. Completely disregarding HIPAA rules and regulations. Please consider the fact that lasik done here runs the risk of resulting in a need for a new procedure less than 8yrs down the line. At the price of a complete new procedure. Read the positive reviews and see if they sound genuine and are speaking from experience years down the line as I am. Please consider other lasik centers. Good luck.

Update: Thank you for the quick response from the clinics’ social media rep. Nothing new to report and no new information needed. I understand that this is a business and I hope I was clear during our conversation. I will refute your claim that HIPAA was not broken as I am speaking from a medical background myself. I have ten years of experience in the medical field and know EXACTLY what crosses that legal line. A quick phone call to my HIPAA compliance officer at my current employment facility verified that. Once again potential patients, please do your research and ensure you are getting what you are being sold on. I’m sure my paperwork shows no real guarantees or follow through. Consider my perspective, from years after my procedure.

UPDATE: I got a rather condescending and patronizing reply from one of their staff. I will continue to intentionally leave names out, even if they self-identified in their response. I hope all take the time to read the unprofessional response and realize that it is quite telling of the nature of this individuals personality. Stark contrast to the polite and professional call from their social media rep.

To the responder, I suppose I will take some time to refute and educate this individual. If the responder cared to do a quick google search, they would realize the difference between slander and libel. Both of which, according to my attorney, are not an issue in this review.

Second, a patients prescription is indeed covered by HIPAA. That poor young man’s prescription was part of the poorly executed “joke”. Please educate yourself for the sake of your patients. Why you think you would know more about HIPAA than a hospitals’ HIPAA compliance officer is beyond me. It is their literal area of expertise.

Thirdly, you are dangerously close to disclosing identifiable medical information of my own. Please respect my privacy.

Lastly, please relax. Your emotional and unprofessional response is not helpful to you, your staff, and most importantly, your patients. There is nothing to be gained from such a response. I wish you and your staff peace and truly hope there is not a toxic work environment there.

I do not have the proclivity of yielding to intimidation. Even when thinly veiled behind “helpful warnings”. I am speaking to my experience through this process, and this unnecessary back and forth only speaks to my point.

I am happy to leave it here, but if you choose to make the situation worse with another condescending response, I will be just as happy to respond.

Good luck...

I referred my husband to Dr. Manrique after asking other heath professionals and colleagues in the area. My husband had a rather complex case that he thought just affected reading. He was constantly searching for and/or losing his reading glasses. Without them he couldn't read anything at all and it was affecting his work and personal life. He had the surgery and now has perfect vision in both distance and reading. He didn't even realize that his distance was bad until he saw how improved it had become after Dr. Manrique's Lasik! I was quite impressed...and jealous!

A few months later my husband ended up gifting me the procedure and I had my eyes done with blended vision, which I had tried previously with contacts. While I did not have problems reading without glasses, once I corrected for distance with glasses or contacts I suddenly couldn't see close up! That was solved with the Lasik. It has now been two months and I see perfectly...both distance and computer work.

At my consult I had received detailed explanation of cataracts and other conditions, a well as options available if they should occur so that I could make an informed choice. I was impressed by the thoroughness. I don't understand the complaints others have posted. In both my husband and my cases we received incredibly thorough and comprehensive care. Everything was explained in great detail by professionals. I have worked in the health industry for over 35 years as a practice manager and would be proud to have staff who are so professional, caring and efficient in their work. I met with the coordinator and with Richard and found them to be engaging, friendly, informative and personal. I wonder if those complaining were not as engaged themselves or perhaps had unrealistic expectations? While at the offices I observed Dr. Manrique's staff deal with other patients of all ethnicities and income levels. All seemed to receive the same friendly service. When I had my initial exam others came in behind me. All received detailed explanations of the exams being performed, the costs, etc. I did not see any deception or misleading. All visits I have had or accompanied others to were incredibly professional. It does not bother me at all that you do not have the opportunity to meet Dr. Manrique until the day of the procedure. His staff is competent in preparing patients for him and that is a well run office!

I would not hesitate to recommend others, and I have. I will continue to recommend them. I am thrilled with my results. One of the best things I have done for myself was to say "yes" when my husband shared the incredible gift of sight. A huge "Thanks" to everyone at Dr. Manrique's Custom...