Gem State Eyecare

High quality eye care professionals helped me through all stages of my treatment. From the initial eye exam through careful and thorough retinal exams, I have been cared for and treated well. I appreciate the length the staff goes for my comfort and treatment.

I established care with them in 2024, the clinic and team were fine with no issues on my first visit. I scheduled my annual eye exam again with the office. The day of, I got a text saying that they were unable to see me, because over half of the office was out sick. Which I totally understand and respect. They communicated with me via text to schedule two weeks later, and confirmed my appointment date and time. When I showed up to the clinic 10 minutes early to my appointment time, I was told they didn't have me on their schedule. The front desk receptionist apologized for the error but told me it was unsure if I could be seen and asked me to take a seat. She whispered around the corner to someone else. A few minutes later, she came out and said she was waiting for the Doctor to see if I could be seen today. I asked how much longer I would need to wait to find out, but she was unsure. 20 minutes later, I still had no idea whether I would be seen that day. As I left, I was polite but frustrated and I asked for someone to call me to address the issue. It is now over 24 hours later - no call - no response. I can understand mistakes can happen, but the lack of customer service and timely follow up for the offices error is awful. I hate leaving bad reviews, but it's clear that this clinic needs to adjust its priorities.

Dishonest. Unclear communication. They sent me a bill without my knowledge or without contacting me to explain it. I was charged $60 for a retinal scan because my insurance didn't end up covering it, but was never told this and was shipped a bill with no explanation. If this is the way they operate their business, what is to stop them from going back through every invoice and back charging their customers for every thing that they've ever missed? I spent nearly $1000 dollars between my wife and I on this visit and don't feel great having to pay another $60 that I didn't agree to because they couldn't/didn't want communicate that with me. So awesome - you'll get that $60 at the expense of another $1000 I would have spent again this year (I'll go back down the street to Boise Family Eye Center), the negative publicity of this 1 star review, and the bad word of mouth that I will spread so that others can avoid future bad service.

I've been to this office twice and that was enough for me. The first time I went, I was surprised by the foul language being used by the receptionists in front of patients, which I find incredibly unprofessional. The second time I went, my claim was processed out of network by our insurance UHC. I was told by UHC that it was a mismatch of address and Tax ID with the office. When I contacted the office I was told this was an issue that many of their UHC patients have had and their office had done everything they could to fix it, so I would need to appeal with UHC. I've worked in insurance for several years with a medical office and this is not an issue that can be fixed by a patient. I've been SUPER frustrated and disappointed by the lack of help or even willingness to help from this office to actually resolve the issue. If you have UHC, I wouldn't go to this office. I will NOT be going back.

I have been going to Gem State Eyecare for years. Dr Drean is very knowledgeable and helpful. She's also fun to talk to. The staff is very friendly as well. The office is clean and well kept. Occasionally they run behind schedule because of staffing shortages but they are very apologetic and understanding, which makes the wait less painful.

My visit to Gem State Eye Care was very pleasant. The team was thorough, knowledgeable, and upbeat when conducting the eye exam. Dr. Drean was great. I definitely recommend her. We will continue to go to this office for our eye care.

I wanted to edit my review because after I posted it, I received a call from the Doctor's office, they apologized for the confusion and refunded the cost of the retinal images. I DO appreciate them taking the time to call me and reimbursing me. I am adjusting my rating accordingly. The service in general was very good, the issue was just the lack of disclosure they were going to do the retinal images and give me a chance to chose if I wanted them (as they have a cost) but it has now been resolved. Thank you _______________________ I was charged for retinal images which I NEVER requested. I went with my daughters to get an eye exam and get new glasses. This is sad and disappointing as I feel it is an abusive practice as I never requested the retinal images and they were not open or they didn't tell me they were going to perform such procedure so I could give my consent. Even worst, one of my daughter is a minor so it feels they even took advantage of her age. I have reported this to EyeMed so hopefully they can do something and I can get a refund. In the end, this office and her doctor lose more than the $98 I paid for the images as I was going to spend more than $1,000 worth of frames and lenses. I'd say they need to re-think their business practices if they want to retain customers.

I have been going to Gem State for years, and was happy with the original owners and loved going there. When they sold and moved away I stayed on and even then I was unsure about how it was being ran and was promised it would still be great. Year after year I just have not felt right with Gem State. This last year with them, I definitely will not go back. Dr. Brown, she has been amazing, if she was somewhere else I would go to wherever she went to. But last time I was in I watched as people were showing up for the same appointment time being double booked for the same doctor at the same time, to I have had issues getting ahold of people and getting answers about things. Now I get a bill in the mail five months after my appointment. If the back office cannot get their stuff together and get things done right, let alone only being open for four days a week, I am definitely not going back.