I highly recommend Dr. Luthra. I found him through zoc doc about three years ago. I really lucked out! I have been seeing him for a corneal abrasion and general eye care since then. As long as he's in practice, he'll be my doc. I find him to be smart, honest, thorough, clear, kind, personable and funny. He tells me the truth but balances that with perspective and hope. Our eyes are precious and I sure don't want to trust them to just anyone. Glad I found someone who I can trust. read more

Amazing experience. My anxiety was 1000 when I visited as I was scared regarding the outcome of my visit. Dr. Luthra made me feel so comfortable, and all the anxiety disappeared. He was very caring and listened to all of my concerns. It was a great visit, and I will be following up. The check-in process was seamless, and the staff was very friendly. The office is in a great location and not a far walk from Foggy Bottom station. I was very pleased and happy to know there are still caring medical professionals without the feeling being rushed and taking their time . read more

My wife stopped going to him a bit ago and I don't know why I kept going back. He may know his stuff, but he doesn't give you the time of day for any concerns. Among other things, this last visit he told me he couldn't look at a stye on my eye because "we can't do six issues in one visit." To be clear, there were three issues - one issue with my glasses, one with my contacts, and the stye I had developed on my eye. This is not the first time he really didn't want to give me any more time or work with me on a solution to something - although he spends plenty of time telling you how experienced he is. read more

My husband stopped going to this practice after he was prescribed glasses that simply did not work for him, and I should have stopped when he did. Dr. Luthra didn't get my first prescription right either, but did return it to a scrip very close to the one I came in with after I complained. But I'm done now. His office has recently instituted new policies that charge extra for "emergency" appointments which the office staff tell me is defined as "same week" appointments. I didn't find that out until after I made an online appointment -- which their own phone system advised me to do as their phone lines were busy. I made that online appointment for the next day because according to the online site, he had two appointments available. Today, that appointment was cancelled less than two hours before the appointment without explanation. I had to call the office to find out why they had cancelled the appointment. If I had cancelled on Dr. Luthra less than two hours before the appointment, how well do you think that would have gone over? How much do you think I would have been charged? Doctor Luthra, you just told me that my time an effort mean nothing to you even after I've been a loyal patient for years. If you have appointments that are only available to emergency patients, they should be listed as such, or patients should be advised that the appointment costs more before making it, or that the appointment isn't confirmed until they hear from your office, or something to that effect. If your new system means I can't see you for a same week appointment without incurring extra charges, well, that system isn't for me. Goodbye. read more

Highly recommend to not go to this provider. They were unable to accurately provide the information I needed to make a decision between Lasik and ICL surgery; when I tried to get the information, I was told that they knew what an ACD measurement was. They did not. Moreover, they refused to provide my medical records without payment, in violation of federal law under HIPPA. The staff's and doctor's lack of understanding about the proper ocular measurements and their flagrant disregard for healthcare law was astounding. Recommend going anywhere else. read more

What a delightful office to visit. Dr. Luthra is always so delightful and patient and kept me informed of everything he was doing and seeing. The staff is courteous and professional. And the makover of the office building was a welcome change; one of the best bathrooms in DC! You will love Columbia Eye Associates! read more

Dr. Luthra is the most highly skilled doctor in addition to being kind, caring and compassionate. He is very thorough is always up to date on the latest research. Having been to many other doctors in the past, I wouldn't trust my eyes with anyone else. The office has all of the latest equipment and his staff are very skilled and accommodating. read more

Always a great experience....Dr. Luthra is always patient and informative, explaining everything about my eye health and answering my every question. Staff is very competent and friendly and laugh at all my jokes. I've been a patient at Columbia Eye since the 80's and would recommend it to everyone. read more

The doctor saw me on short notice and I was very grateful for the piece of mind as a result.

Very professional staffer. Space clear and comfortable with good clear seating chairs. Doc the absolute best smart and relatable ever on such serious matters of the eyes read more

We should expect high standards from our medical professionals, which is why I am more upset than if a thief had stolen my wallet. Dr. Luthra and his staff misled me into believing that my vision insurance would reimburse me for a contact fitting. They reassured me of this several times, never telling me, "Why don't you ask your vision insurance to see if you could file such a claim?" So I went, so I paid out-of-pocket, so I found out the hard way that my vision insurance would not reimburse me the $125 that I could have paid an optometrist to have the same thing done for free. I am even more disappointed after reaching out to Dr. Luthra's office. I spoke to the manager, who spoke to him, and then said, "There's nothing we can do." She also said she never hears of patients not getting reimbursed by their vision insurance, but clearly, this is my case. I believed Dr. Luthra because he is a medical professional, and now I'm out $125. The best I could do with my disappointment is to write this review. Here's hoping others won't make my mistake. read more

Best eye doctor on the planet. Times, helpful and always responsive. Thanks for everything.

I've been going to Columbia Eye for more than 30 years. I trust them with my eyesight. So that is an extremely high rating.

I began wearing thick glasses for high myopia in elementary school. When I was in my early 60's, I started seeing Dr. Luthra (2013). He kept me in the same brand of specialized contacts that I had been using, because they worked well for me. No problems through the years with contacts or glasses prescriptions . Over time I developed glaucoma (like my father) and cataracts (ditto). Dr. Luthra took care in selecting a medication for my glaucoma, and a few years ago did a simple laser procedure to improve my intraocular fluid drainage. He's open to the fact that I also do acupuncture for my eye pressure. He monitors my pressure regularly, and it is very stable. On to the cataracts. He explained how they develop slowly and kept up with the progression over time. He left to me the decision when to have them removed. I opted for the replacement lenses with the fullest correction, including for my slight astigmatism. He operated on one eye at a time. The results have been amazing - truly life changing. My vision improved from 20/100 to 20/30 in one eye and 20/100 to 20/50 in the other. (One eye is corrected for more reading, the other for distance.) While I now wear glasses occasionally, I am no longer dependent on them just to walk around. Through the years Dr. Luthra has been a very good partner for my eye care. read more

I've been going to Dr. Luthra for several years. Last October I wanted to try contacts. When it can time to reorder I called the office to refill. . When I put the new Rx in it was apparent that either my eyes had changed or the The wrong Rx was delivered. I scheduled an appointment to determine what happened. When I arrived I discovered my had been scheduled appointment was with the wrong Doctor and then discovered the wrong prescription had been ordered. Also, since the package had been opened, I could not get a refund -- but they were going to give me a 50% discount to order the correct Rx - which is the same as paying 150% for the refill. The office is getting careless -- it's time to find a new Dr. read more

I initially consulted with Rajiv Luthra for minor but annoying symptoms that he diagnosed (and a subsequent ophthalmologist confirmed) as blepharitis. He prescribed a combination of antibiotics and steroids that would later raise eyebrows with a doctor I switched to and told me to return in about a week. By the time of my second visit, I had developed a case of conjunctivitis in the other eye. I have never had conjunctivitis in my life and wasn't around anyone who had it during the intervening period. This leads me to believe that I contracted it at Columbia Eye Associates. Beyond the new and more severe condition I'd returned with, the follow-up appointment was worse in terms of patient care because I asked questions about how long I should be treated with the antibiotic and steroid combo, knowing that there were certain risks, and Luthra grew defensive and condescending, saying that if he question his cardiologist in the same way, they would tell him to seek treatment elsewhere. I should be able to ask questions and being involved in my treatment as a patient without feeling threatened. Luthra told me simply to use the antibiotic and steroid drops and ointment in the eye with conjunctivitis as well and then also wrote a script for ciprofloxacin, airily telling me that if the conditions didn't improve over a period of time that he would be away from the office, I should add that into my regimen. After the lack of concern he showed for my questions, what seemed to me heavy-handed prescribing, and a lack of durable improvement, I consulted another eye doctor who had me immediately stop the antibiotic and steroid regimen and expressed concern that it had been prescribed for the conditions she was then seeing. She could not understand why a script for cipro had been written on top of it. After what appeared to have been viral conjunctivitis ran its course, the blepharitis symptoms remained, and to add to it, floaters appeared suddenly. The floaters, months later, have not gone away. I don't pretend to be able to demonstrate from a physician's perspective the link between the permanent floaters and the conditions or the treatment, but I personally feel confident that I would not have had the conjunctivitis or this new chronic condition that causes tremendous anxiety had I not visited Rajiv Luthra's practice. read more

I've been coming to Columbia Eye for a long time. They are always efficient, courteous and on time! Dr. Luthra is kind and gentle but also direct. read more

Doctor Luthra is the best. I look forward to my appointments with him. He is thorough, explains everything, and is very skilled and experienced. read more

Considering the amount of eye doctors available, you would think this doctor would at least be average. They would not accept my insurance and had assured me they would not charge me, on several ocassions. I ended up receiving a bill 5 month later. I was charged $250.00 and that was only for a check up. Don't go here unless you are into having a bad experience and being charged for everything related to eyesight. read more

It is run like a factory with no communication between departments. Despite having called, texted, and emailed them that I am no longer one of their patients and have switched to another opthamologist, I am still receiving reminders of an upcoming appointmen. Bruce C read more

wonderful office and professional medical staff. Dr Luthra is very skilled in his practice. I highly recommend this group.

What a professional and pleasant office. Dr. Luthra is a charm, he very knowledgeable, caring, and practical. I would definitely recommend him read more

Dr Luthra is a Very good doctor. Amazing and caring. Quick diagnosis. Highly recommend him.

Unfortunately, regardless of the quality of the doctors, as multiple reviews indicate, the billing department here is either incompetent or, worse, corrupt: I suspect they intentionally screw up claims to an insurance company that will only pay $50 so that they can then charge a full $310 or more to the "uninsured" patient. They screwed up the submission to my insurance company, admitted to me it was their fault that the insurance company won't pay them because they submitted the wrong info to the insurance company and made a proper claim too late, and now are trying to bill me for the overinflated price rather than my $10 copay or even just the $50 that the insurance company would have paid them. I switched to the best eye doctor in town, had complicated laser surgery, and had insurance coverage and extra options explained every step of the way with nary a billing problem. What this office is doing is fraud and I don't have this problem with any of the other doctors or hospitals I've seen in my life. They have the gall not only to attempt fraudulent billing but to threaten me with a collection action. It will be unfortunate if I have to hire an attorney to countersue: judging by the comments here, this is a regular business practice of theirs that a class action attorney could make some money suing over. In the meantime BEWARE of these scammers. read more

Dr. Luthra and his staff are always so welcoming and organized. Dr. Luthra provides excellent care time and time again.

Dr. Luthra is a very friendly and capable guy and helped fix my optical prescriptions when I was getting eyestrain and headaches. He also suggested a different kind of contacts that worked better with my eyes. I was very impressed by him. HOWEVER, at the end of my appointment, I was given a contacts prescription that was impossible to fill - the prescribed BC and diameter were not available in the prescribed brand. When I pointed this out to his staff over the phone, they sent me an amended prescription for a different brand from the one I requested. I complained by email and they sent me a prescription for the brand I wanted, but with numbers that again didn't match the brand! I can't believe that they are unable to get such basic stuff right and imagine it must simply be an issue with poorly trained, or simply careless staff. Updated to add: After getting 3 different prescriptions from office staff, I still couldn't get a working contacts prescription, so I gave up and ordered contacts from a UK company that didn't require a copy of the prescription. To add insult to injury, I got a bill in the mail for $200 due to the way in which they decided to bill my insurance, AND got a demand letter a couple of weeks after I paid the bill. I'm definitely not going back to this place, or recommending it to anyone, even though the doctor is a nice guy. read more

If I could give this place zero stars, I would. I'll make it sweet and simple for everyone, stay away. Unless you want to waste your time, money, and energy, I highly recommend not going to Columbia Eye Associates. Unprofessional doctor and establishment. Please do not be misled by the "good reviews." Disappointing experience. read more

This is a wonderful practice. Dr. Luthra inspires nothing but confidence in his expertise. His staff are friendly and knowledgeable. If you want an ophthalmologist for life, this is the place for you. read more

Dr. Rajiv Luthra is very rude! I had to seek another medical opinion and found out that he exaggerated my symptoms and he would only do that because he specializes in the cornea and he would push his lasik surgery! He also rushed my second follow-up visit and he wouldn't let me read the whole thing!! Not recommended. read more

Drs. Luthra and Stopak are both amazing doctors, and because of them I went from a frustrating contact situation to better-than-perfect vision! My eyes had begun rejecting contacts about a year before I found Dr. Luthra, and no ophthalmologists seemed to know what to do for me; they just kept prescribing me a different kind of contacts with the same problem. I ended up switching myself to glasses and essentially giving up. Another ophthalmologist recommended me to Dr. Luthra, and I came to tell him about my problem. He took one look at my eyelids and said I had chronic conjunctivitis - something NOBODY ELSE had noticed. He immediately prescribed drops to reduce my irritation from contacts and rid my eyes of infection, and then we began the process of trying to find a contacts-and-drops regimen that could get me back out of glasses. Long story short, my eyes were not cooperating very well, but Dr. Luthra is the first person I've met who had any good idea what to do about it! After a number of treatment options, my eyes were a bit better, but wearing contacts was still just not worth it. So I said I wanted to talk about LASIK. We did a consultation and I felt very comfortable with the upcoming surgery. He explained the procedure, the benefits and risks, financing, and why this was a good point in my life to do it. When it came to my LASIK date, Dr. Luthra had something urgent come up, but he had Dr. Stopak fill in, with my permission. Dr. Stopak's surgery went as smoothly as could be - as soon as I sat up I could already see better than before (albeit somewhat blurrily, of course!). By the next day I was at 20/20, and within a few weeks I was very nearly 20/15. I have been pretty blind since age 14 or so, and this is truly life changing for me. I have had great post-surgical care, and Dr. Stopak has been very careful about dryness and other conditions, even giving me more follow up appointments than were included in my package for no additional charge. These are both very professional doctors who know how to work with patients. I could not be happier with my experience there throughout 2013. read more

This business tried to scam me. At some point after my LASIC procedure, my doctor retired. I was not notified of my final follow up until after the 1 year mark. I was told I would have to pay for the final visit when it was covered by my up front 1 time payment in full. I will not recommend them to any one! read more

I would not recommend this business. I have nothing to say about the doctor, but the reception staff is beyond rude and ignorant. My first time attending this office I showed up for an appointment I had scheduled months prior, and had taken off work (I'm a teacher) for. I was rudely told when I got there that my insurance wasn't accepted (they acted as if I should have known this already, yet nobody contacted me beforehand?). I went ahead with the appointment and months later received a call that my insurance HAD been accepted and they owed me ~$200. I appreciated them following up and whoever helped me with that was very kind and helpful. I figured that when I was in DC this week with an emergency (I forgot my contacts and glasses at home, I no longer live here, and I can't see basically anything without them) that they'd be willing to help me out by allowing me to PAY for some sample contacts to last me the two days (and the drive home). I obviously thought wrong. Their website says they're open, but they are not. After calling, leaving a message, and then showing up at their office, I called again and was told "the doctor is in surgery and we don't do walk ins"- this was after I politely told the receptionist that their website says their open. I told the receptionist that this was an emergency situation and I wasn't looking for a walk in appointment, I just wanted to be able to see- especially when I DRIVE home. I asked for a suggestion of where else I could go, she told me Warby Parker (a great business by the way- get your glasses here!!) and then as I said "okay thank you" she hung up the phone. I've never felt so hopeless and disrespected. Do not give this place your business. read more

I did not have a good experience with Dr. Luthra. At a routine eye exam, he quickly said I was a perfect candidate for lasik in one eye to correct up farsighted vision and sent me to TLC for a pre-op exam. He also said that I had dry eye (based on asking if I thought I had it) and prescribed Restasis, at $550/month. He offered to do a touch-up in my other eye, where I'd had lasik 15 years ago for distance vision. He quickly scheduled the surgery for a few weeks out and made pre-op and follow-up appointments. Frankly, I'm surprised he didn't ask for payment. The TLC center did an evaluation and said that I was not a candidate for lasik in either eye (the distance vision is still almost perfect and the close-up vision is not bad enough to warrant correction) and they would not do it, adding that perhaps another surgeon would. They also said I did not appear to have dry eye. Interestingly, TLC will do an enhancement on the lasik they did 15 years ago for free! Dr. Luthra never asked where I'd had it done or suggested it might be free, even though he does all his surgeries at a TLC center. When I told Dr. Luthra all of this at my pre-op appointment that I kept so I could talk to him in person, he became quite animated and agitated and basically shouted at me that he knows more, he teaches at Hopkins and if I don't want to do it, don't do it. "It's elective, you know. It isn't like you're having a heart attack." Helpful. I won't be returning. read more

I had a great experience with Dr. Edell last year. I went to her with a mystery cornea problem after trying two other ophthalmologists who couldn't figure out what it was. She admitted that she didn't know what it was, which I appreciated, and over several months did tons of research in textbooks and consulted with other cornea-expert friends. She eventually treated the problem, and it hasn't come back. Maybe it's because I'm a researcher myself, but I liked that she saw my problem as a puzzle to be solved. read more

Today was my first time seeing Dr. Stopak. I had a bit of a wait, but being a new patient, I assume this isn't the norm there. Dr. Stopak was fantastic. He spent plenty of time talking me through my options for changing a prescription and gave me his thoughts as well, but I greatly appreciated how he let me hear all of the options. He's a fantastic communicator, very friendly, and welcoming. The office staff is also very polite and professional. I will absolutely be sticking with this office and Dr. Stopak. read more

My experience with Columbia Eye Associates was really, really great. I was referred here by QualSight LASIK, which was able to help me schedule my initial consulting appointment and ultimately save me hundreds of dollars on my LASIK surgery. Dr. Stopak is an extremely friendly guy and you can tell that he really enjoys what he does. He has performed thousands of LASIK surgeries, has won several awards, and received recognition as a top ophthalmologist in the DC area. Their office has always been very clean, it's in a great location, and everyone from the receptionist to Dr. Stopak has always been really helpful in answering any questions I've had. Most importantly, though, I have perfect vision now and no longer have any need for contacts or glasses. In all of my follow-up appointments, Dr. Stopak was very clear on what steps I needed to be taking to make sure that my eyes were recovering from the surgery properly. I was really intimidated by the idea of LASIK initially but I can't think of a way that my experience could have been improved. I'd highly recommend QualSight LASIK and Columbia Eye Associates to anyone interested in improving their vision. read more

The staff are very nice and doctors and technician very good. But they have problems with their billing system and they do an optician's exam as part of their exam as ophthalmologists. The optician's exam is the kind of exam you would get at an optician's to get new glasses or contacts. They don't tell you it is extra and they do a hurried version of it, too. And then they charge you $60 without telling you beforehand that it is extra. Since I've never had this done before in the last 18 years I've been going for an annual exam with an ophthalmologist, I'm sure this is a revenue booster that this office has decided on. But even if you have vision insurance to submit the $60 optician's exam charge to, you can only use that once a year, and there you are, with an optician's exam in your ophthalmologist's office that you may not have needed then, and then when you go to your optician, maybe a half year later, they want to redo the exam, of course. So basically you're paying this office your coverage for that. Again, I think it's pretty transparent that it is a revenue booster that they've devised. And again, their system can't bill a major health insurance such as Aetna Open Access HMO. That's a deal-breaker not just because of having to submit a claim via snail mail, but because with an HMO, the provider accepts the HMO's fee rate. I had to pay the whole going rate up front. I'll only get back from the HMO the rate that the provider would have billed. I think in the end I'm probably out maybe $150 on this routine exam, including the $60 for the unwanted optician's exam. I will be moving on myself. I did get a good exam and some advice about some of my risks, but the rest spoiled it entirely. Too bad! read more

Dr. Rajiv Luthra is a consummate professional in every sense of the word. He and his staff at Columbia Eye Associates are extremely competent, compassionate, and dedicated to providing the highest level of health care. I recently had cataract surgery and could not be more pleased with the outcome. In postoperative follow-up visits with Dr. Luthera my vision has tested 20/20, a much better outcome than normally expected. Dr. Luthera is also very personable and has a great sense of humor. I recommend his practice without reservation. read more

Horrible doctor of any kind I've ever had! I decided to go to him after doing some research and found only so many good reviews about him. He couldn't even see that I had given mydriatics by his assistant already, and when I couldn't see anything because my pupils were dilated, he yelled at me for not being able to see anything. He insulted me by saying that if I couldn't see anything, my eyes have problems. He didn't stop there, he kept on going about what kind of patients he has been seeing during his 25+ years of practice: PhD students, lawyers, etc. What does that anything to do with me? I should have walked away. Absolutely a horrible doctor. He does not want to listen to you, but goes on with his talk. I will never recommend this doctor to anyone. read more

This is only for the customer service/lack of insurance knowledge!** The service here in terms of seeing the provider was great, however I ended up paying for my entire bill due to an insurance snafu similar to the other reviewer. And herein lies the problem: I am a smart person with a lot of business savvy. However, I am not an insurance expert. I also do not expect that most people are. So in that sense, I feel like it should be the responsibility of the front desk staff to ensure those patients who are coming in are knowledgeable in rehards to their insurance. I just got off the phone with the UHC rep, and we talked this over for about 13 minutes. It is super complicated. However, I finally understand the ins and outs and benefits/drawbacks to using either my UHC plan (health) or my vision-particular plan of Eyemed. Seeing how long that took to figure out, I would hope that my interaction when calling the first time would go better than this: "What type of insurance do you have?" "I have Eyemed my coworker just told me" "We dont take Eyemed. What is your health insurance?" "It's UHC." "Great, we take UHC." The problem here is that there is WAY MORE that goes into this than just a "do you have health? uhc? good, we take that". What needs to be asked of me (since i am not an expert and your person should be) is "you should check with UHC to make sure that your vision is fully covered. Since it sounds like you have Eyemed too you might want to look into your benefits and make sure if we are in network, if you should use Eyemed for example instead of UHC". That's all. It's kind of like going into a financial representative's office and them asking you "How much do yuo have to invest?" and you say "$50,000" and without looking nay further into your risk tolerance, current obligations, etc saying "Great! We have the product for you". Or maybe that does happen :) read more