I went in for a routine eye exam. My doctor (Claypool) was extremely knowledgeable. Told me I had a condition that my last Doctor (from another very busy eye surgery place in Spokane) had missed. Answered all of my questions and corrected my prescription. I left there feeling like I finally found a good eye doctor. My wait was 45 minutes past my appointed time, but they had quite a few severely disabled folks being seen and that made them run behind. Seems to be the norm for the larger doctor's offices anyway, so it wasn't a big deal to me. You do have to have patience in these places. I got to watch TV while I waited so that helped pass the time. The facility was exceptionally clean and well maintained. Staff at the front desk were very friendly and helpful. They have a high call volume and the lobby was quite full, so that told me they're quite busy which means: very good doctors! read more

Reacted to the pediatric dose of ketamine. Blood pressure above 180 , dangerous to the point of a possible stroke. EMTs called, reduced blood pressure and transported to Valley Hospital. Separate transport by ambulance to Deaconess Cath Lab for evening angiogram and then check in for overnight stay. Not a fun visit, though same procedure 1 week earlier completed flawlessly. read more

It was a nightmare. Carina of the billing department was terrific; spent a lot of time getting us signed up and making sure the procedure would be covered by insurance. BUT the "glaucoma eval" was 45 mins. late and was a joke -- basically just an unneeded vision check. Then the consult was 2 hours late and the surgeon decided he didn't want to the procedure we were there for that day. We ended up staying in a hotel overnight after he tried to talk us into something else entirely. The procedure worked, as our primary eye doctor was sure it would, but we were completely underwhelmed by the surgeon's "info" and recommendations and the prescription for the follow-up eye drops was never even sent to the pharmacy! All told, this office cost us 4 hours of waste time, $150 for a hotel, and a lot of confidence. We will NEVER go there again. read more

was on the schedule for cateract removal when I arrived they put me through the exams again. they didn't have me on the schedule for the day. and this was after the reminder email. That's bad enough but then they tried to tell me my eyes had problems that I needed to think about! none of these problems were brought to my attention during or after the first consult. one or two different doctors lied to me, sold me drops, and charged Medicare for nothing. I scheduled time off work, drove two hrs one way twice and lol for nothing. I'll take my business elsewhere. read more

Had issues when I came in with front end staff for scheduling 2 years ago. I decided I would give them another chance and called for apt only to find out they are sending all scheduling to call centers to people who speak horrible English. I asked to speak to someone else and she continued to not say anything so I hung up. I received a call back from Jeremy stating he was from Empire eye clinic he was not concerned with my concerns only concerned that I was nice to one of his employees. Call them for yourself see how difficult it is to schedule an appointment or do yourself a favor and schedule somewhere else. It was bad 2 years ago and there solution is what seams like the same reps who work for Comcast at sane call center. read more

great staff. professional doctors and amazing outcome. so happy that i got lipoflow. my eyes do not get watery. Thank u dr. Claypool. definitely recommend read more

My surgery went great. I am very happy with that. What I have a problem with is being LIED to about cost. I was told that my surgery would cost a certain amount of money. I dished out everything I had in my savings to play for my surgery. I was told by the staff member of Dr. Kontos who broke down the costs for us and scheduled the surgery, that IF there were extra costs that it would be only a FEW DOLLARS. I just got a bill for almost $600.00!!!! that is NOT a few dollars. We have already spent our savings on my cataract surgery. We don't have $600.00 more. I am very upset about being lied to. I have a 3 month follow up appt. I will not go to. I don't like being lied to. I have no idea how I'm going to pay this bill. I have the original paperwork stating our costs. Which have all been paid. I'm beyond mad. read more

I could not be more pleased with my experience at Empire Eye Physicians. I am grateful that Tyler referred me to his workplace, the staff is knowledgeable and helpful, my appointments were always timely before my refractive eye surgery and the nurses were by my side answering questions and being insightful 100% of the time. There are too many staff to name and thank but all of them deserve praise. My surgeon was prior military and it showed, being a veteran myself I could see that he was well trained, thorough and professional. My eyesight is better now than it was when I had glasses and I never dreamed that was possible. I've been in four times and each time I'm greeted with top notch service and staff. Kudos to them for excellent customer service when it's hard to get that anywhere these days! read more

I had cataract surgery done on both eyes. So wonderful to see the real world again. I recommend Empire Eye Physicians. Excellent care all around. read more

The staff and physicians at Empire Eye are excellent. My low rating is due to their inability to schedule their day without overbooking. I've been in the office a dozen times and only one of those visits would I consider my wait time to be satisfactory. My time is just as valuable as theirs but they schedule believing the opposite is true. Unless you have a condition that demands these physcians I do not recommend Empire Eye. read more

The front office and Dr. Claypool deserve 5 stars. The very low rating is referring to our experience with the surgical technician, Dr. Kontos, and the office manager. The disorganization and poor bedside manner was overwhelming. I placed 9 calls over 4 days to try to talk to the tech. Dr. Kontos didn't introduce himself or even look at the parents of the patient as I watched him walk into my sons surgery. The tech passed us in the hallway the day after and did not even make eye contact. Discussions with the manager went nowhere. I even asked for a follow up call from her. If the front office and Claypool were the only people we needed to work with, it would have been great. Thanks to Claypool! Amazing with my son! read more

The entire staff is very competent, friendly and caring. The cataract removal was a raging success; my vision has improved overnight.

Each and every time I have had an appointment with this clinic (5 times)I have had to wait over an hour to be seen. Clearly patients are not respected here. I lose an hour of pay because they can't organize themselves. read more

Great frnt office and staff, Dr Sturbaum did a great job, I can see again. I would highly recommend them

I would rate 10 stars if possible. The staff are al helpful, caring, concerned and efficient. Dr. Claypool is a joy to work with and took the time to explain my eye condition to me in terms that I could understand. I will never go anywhere else. read more

No one wants to hear that they have cataracts. It can be so scary. Empire Eye Physicians took the fear out of my situation. As soon as I was referred to them I was treated with caring professional courtesy. They got me in very quickly. Every staff member starting with reception then testing, off to meet Dr Sturbaum. Every step was explained to me as to what was going on and how they could help me. I decided to have the surgeries as both eyes were so bad at that point I could barely see and the fog/Mist was closing in fast. So over to the Surgery Coodanator ( I think that's her title) Libby Noordam. She clearly explained all of the costs, set up my two surgery appointments with follow-up appointments, Set up my prescriptions and dealt with both the pharmacy and insurance to make sure I had what I needed. Surgery day arrives and I was a bit nervous. No need for that! The staff got me in right on time (okay actually a few minutes early) They explained everything that was going to happen. They worked with my physical disabilities to make sure I was comfortable Surgery was quick. I was able to see much better almost immediately. Second surgery was just as good. I know this is long but I can't say enough good things about Empire Eye Physicians. Thank you so much for taking such good care of me! I am thrilled at being able to see again. read more

I had LASIK by Dr.Sturbaum at Empire Eye in October and it is the best thing I could have done. My free screening with Dr. Sturbaum , Dr. Claypool and staff was very informative and made me less nervous about the whole procedure. On the day of surgery it went incredibly smooth, during the procedure Dr. Sturbaum talked me though the whole process and made me feel very comfortable. The procedure was done before I knew it and my vision was spectacular! Waking up the next morning and not reaching for glasses was the best feeling in the world! Thank you Dr. Sturbaum, you and your team are the BEST! read more

I got lasik eye surgery with empire eye last week, and I couldn't have had a better experience. The staff was warm and welcoming and my surgery was so quick! My surgeon Dr. Sturbaum was wonderful to work with as well as all the staff. I had no pain at all after my surgery, even though I expected there to be some, and I am already seeing so clearly, I couldn't be happier! read more

First off, I already had a local optometrist I was seeing for glasses, contact lenses, and general check ups. But I had a few years of severely fluctuating vision that no glasses were seeming to work for me, and I was growing distrustful of the limited skill set/training an optometrist has. I specifically sought out an ophthalmologist. I researched and found Empire Eye Physicians--who advertise and are listed extensively and in my insurance directory as 'ophthalmologists.' So I call and make an appointment. I get there and I am seen by what I thought was a medical doctor who begins treating me for severe dry eye. I am immediately much worse, in fact, debilitated. I am scheduled for another follow up. The practitioner also ordered autoimmune blood tests for me saying they can only be read by one special lab in the country. I decided to cancel my follow up appt because now I couldn't endure my dry eye well enough to drive to the Spokane office. I later saw my local general practitioner about other blood tests for a systemic disease. I meanwhile discovered by doing more on-line research that the 'doctor' who treated me at Empire Eye Physicians was an optometrist. I never saw any ophthalmologist at Empire Eye. The blood test was ordered by the optometrist. The test appears to be 'sold' by the only existing lab in a manner than certainly calls into question its supposed usefulness in actual accepted standards of medical diagnostics. It is my firm belief that I am a victim of bait and switch. I didn't get what I thought I was paying for (an ophthalmologist, a qualified medical practitioner.) "As a medical doctor who has completed college and at least eight years of additional medical training, an ophthalmologist is licensed to practice medicine and surgery. An ophthalmologist diagnoses and treats all eye diseases, performs eye surgery and prescribes and fits eyeglasses and contact lenses to correct vision problems. Many ophthalmologists are also involved in scientific research on the causes and cures for eye diseases and vision disorders. Optometrists are healthcare professionals who provide primary vision care ranging from sight testing and correction to the diagnosis, treatment, and management of vision changes. An optometrist is not a medical doctor. An optometrist receives a doctor of optometry (OD) degree after completing four years of optometry school, preceded by three years or more years of college. They are licensed to practice optometry, which primarily involves performing eye exams and vision tests, prescribing and dispensing corrective lenses, detecting certain eye abnormalities, and prescribing medications for certain eye diseases." ALSO: 'Physicians' (as in "Empire Eye Physicians") by definition means 'medical doctor.' An Optometrist is NOT a medical doctor and no one in the practice ever told me the provider they scheduled me to see was NOT a physician, NOT an ophthalmologist. read more