I called Dr. Poulin's office one morning when an inflamed eye had become almost unbearable. His staff fit me in that same morning, unlike others who wanted me to wait 10 or 12 days to get in. I spent at most 15 minutes in the nice lobby area before being called to the exam room. He spent quite a lot of time diagnosing the problem with my eye and then efficiently removed something that was blocking a tear duct, and gave me some prescription eye drops for the underlying problem, with instructions to call back next morning to check the progress. By the next morning, my eye was much, much better! read more

Great eye doctor. I need glasses every year and he is always helpful. Often I'm in between prescriptions so he spends a little extra time to see which lenses are less straining on my eyes. This was the first year it was recommended I need bifocals at 43. I was shocked! He explained with my reliance on my iPad and smart phone my regular prescription would be too strong for reading and that's why such weak prescription on the bottom. Considering I can't make out the letter E on the top of the chart and then attempting to read on the top of my glasses he was right. From experience other doctors miss nuances like this. It's where an average doctor moves up a star for having reviewed my chart well enough to know I now do my magazine and newspaper subscriptions reading on my iPad Mini. Several years ago he did my sister's post-op care and noticed an infection before she was even aware of it yet. That gave him the fifth star as I was in that visit. read more

Office manager was difficult to deal with and rude. Dr Poulin is nice enough but after his exam I was given several different contact lenses, that did not work, I got a second opinion. I was told I needed cataract surgery and that the contact lenses were never going to work. The cataract surgery was scheduled asap, with the other doctor and went very well. I can see great! I just received a bill from Poulin after I told the office manager I had to get a second opinion due to the unsatisfactory service!? read more

Oh, this place, is just awesome. Back in 2010, I had a corneal abrasion and was treated right. The only complaint I had was that the medicinal drops gave me a headache, but then I just don't like taking medicine so that's not their fault (give me a placebo and I might get a headache). Dr Poulin knew what he was doing and I followed his every word. Corneal abrasions aint anything to be messed with, when my cornea healed I got a regular eye exam from Dr Poulin and glasses from Andy. In the years since, I've kept going to see this doctor for regular eye exams, ocular migraines (I'm okay, really), burst blood vessel (that was scary, but it was fine). He has a reasonably flexible schedule. They don't usually keep me waiting long, except for this one time, but the receptionist explained to me that they had a number of emergencies they had to squeeze in, she said he was "on call" for the city that day, like they can help that. It's only happened once, where with other doctors you have to wait for a long time every single time you have an appointment. This place is full of win. read more

Dr. Poulin has been my opthalmologist for many years now and he has been great. I have never had any problem with his prescriptions and he always takes the time to explain to me how my eyes are changing and why. He also gives me options for different vision correction approaches and advice on eye care. Andy at the Optical Shop is also a pleasure to work with and very helpful in setting up new glasses. He offers advice based on his expertise which I really appreciate and take advantage of. read more

Dr. Poulin is an excellent eye doctor, who is thorough. He is approachable, gentle and explains things in a way that the patient can understand. He does not "rush" through the appointment, either! read more

What a superb eye surgeon! Several years ago, I began losing my sight to fast-growing cataracts, which is a scary thing to face. Dr. Poulin thoroughly examined my eyes, even taking careful internal measurements of the eye itself, and selected a suitable implantable lens for my individual needs and preferences. I was still very concerned about this surgery, and in the month before the operation, I saw him several more times, because I researched the lens in question and had lots (oh, a metric ton!) of questions. He is a quiet man, a little reserved, but he patiently answered every one. During the actual surgery, for which I was awake, he was kind and reassuring, telling me at each step what he was doing. The result: Perfect eyesight-- no glasses needed anymore. I was so pleased that I had the same procedure in the other eye the following month, with the same excellent result. I would unhesitatingly suggest this doctor to anyone looking for a thoughtful and capable eye doctor. read more

I've seen Dr Poulin for several years for both normal glasses exams and for eye health concerns. I've been very happy with both him & the office staff. On this last visit, I got a new pair of glasses and Andy was very helpful while searching for the best style. I'm very happy with my new glasses! read more

I first saw Dr. Poulin when he was the doctor on call after for my regular eye doctor who was out of town. My own eye doctor had performed cataract surgery on my left eye about a week before I called Dr. Poulin. I had a feeling of sand in my eye and Dr. Poulin worked me right into his schedule that day. It turns out I had a detached retina and had to have emergency surgery the next day! I am afraid of surgery so when it came time to perform cataract surgery on the other eye I was terrified. Dr. Poulin was one of the most compassionate, understanding and patient physicians I've ever seen. He's #1 in my book! read more

My Dad has the Alzheimers, Dr. Poulin hurried through his initial exam, said he was fine, no new eyeglass prescription, not a candidate for Cataract surgery. 6 months later I took my Dad to a specialist,hoping to have the surgery, as Dad couldn't see. This Dr. diagnosed him with UNTREATED GLACOMA, which resulted in complete deterioration of his left optic near and 50% deterioration of his right. This Dr changed Dad's eye glass prescription. At Dads visit with Dr. Poulin, he could read just the first two lines of the chart. The one that is an E, after 2 months treatment with glaucoma drops and new eyeglass prescription, he could read down about 12 lines, a 25% improvement in the pressure in his eyes! Don't let Dr Poulin treat your family, he may help you in going blind! read more

I had to tap a star to start the review otherwise I would have given him 0 stars. On the first appointment I was told it would take ten minutes for eye drops to take affect and that Dr. Poulin would be back then. Over an hour later I had to go looking for him. When he finally came back, he informed me that it didn't matter if cataracts were sooner or later. I should have changed doctors right then. I did my due diligence prior to that first exam. All information available said the sooner the better, easier to remove and faster healing time. Stuck it out not wanting to have to start the referal process all over. After having to wait two weeks for a five minute (if that)computerized measurement of my lens(performed by an assistant (who wasn't busy after my first visit, why couldn't she do it then?), I was told they would contact me when the got approval from insurance. After a week and a half, I called back and was told "not yet". A week later told "not yet" once again. I contacted Cen Cal, and was told it was approved over a week prior. I made note of the approval code and contacted the assistant once again. She told me I'd have to wait until they received the fax from Cen Cal, and that the approval code didn't do any good. That was when I Contacted Cen-Cal and got an alternative surgeon. Fast forward to the next week, I was finally contacted(2 weeks after it was approved). Told them found alternate. read more

This guy is a slime, went to him for an eye problem, wouldn't let me out of there without an eye exam for $80 cash aside from what insurance paid for consult. As I didn't need glasses at the time of the exam, it took me 15 months to fill the script. It was not written correctly, one lens is impossible to see out of at all, they will not look into the problem without my paying an additional $80 for another exam. There are so many better eye doctors around, don't get sucked in. read more

A really nice doctor, I've gone to him for years. Nice manner, not too rushed. You can also get glasses from his office, which I've found to be reasonably enough priced. read more

Great experience with my first cataract surgery. Dr. Poulin has been monitoring my cataract development for about two years. He had a conservative approach to deciding when to do this invasive surgery. After he felt it could me done, he allowed me to decide when I was ready. He answered all my questions, provided information that I hadn't thought to ask and was friendly and professional throughout the process. The procedure is now behind me, healing is almost complete and my vision is very good. There was no pain during or after the surgery. Today I had an unanticipated desire to see him and he fit me in his busy schedule for a quick visit. I am very happy with this experience and highly recommend D. Poulin for his professional services. His office staff and everyone at the Santa Barbara Surgery Center also provided excellent service during this process. read more