Coastal Bend Retina

Dr. Agarwal and his entire staff from receptionist, eye examiner, E-Ray technician, to the appointment lady are all professional, courteous, and are to be commended for their high quality work. I have been going to them for years and have yet to find anything negative to say about the entire operation. Dr. Agarwal is extremely careful and gentle when giving injections and I have a lot of respect for this hard working professional.

This office should be ashamed of how it treats elderly patients. I brought my elderly mother here after a referral, and from the moment we arrived, we were met with rudeness and hostility. The front desk staff was dismissive and unpleasant, but the worst part of this visit was the ophthalmic technician, Paula. Paula was openly rude, impatient, and disrespectful to my mother throughout the entire encounter. My mother is elderly and takes time to recall information. Instead of showing basic human decency, Paula repeatedly cut her off, snapping "next" as if my mother were an inconvenience rather than a patient. When my mother struggled to remember parts of her medical and surgical history, Paula showed zero compassion. I had to step in to help, and even then Paula continued to rush and belittle her. At one point, my mother plainly said she did not remember, and Paula responded with more attitude instead of understanding. When my mother provided her medication list, Paula aggressively questioned her for crossing off a medication she no longer takes -- as if interrogating her rather than providing care. I clearly informed Paula that my mother has onset dementia, yet her behavior did not improve in the slightest. To make matters worse, Paula was also rude to another technician in front of us, proving that this behavior is not an isolated incident but a pattern. No elderly patient should ever be treated this way, especially in a medical setting where patience and compassion are essential. If this is the standard of care at Coastal Bend Retina - Dr. Sanjay Agarwal, MD, then management is either unaware or simply does not care. This was demeaning, unprofessional, and unacceptable. I would strongly warn anyone with elderly family members or cognitive challenges to stay far away from this office. Update: Went back the next time and had much better experience. The practice manager is cool.

If I could give this place less than 1 star I would. As I waited for the store to open up after lunch a lady told me she had her appointment at 1040am and at 12 the staff put her outside since they were leaving for lunch and locking up. I understand businesses have set times for lunch but the lady was waiting on a senior care car to pick her up. It is SO hot outside why would you leave someone outside. On top of that the patient had her eyes dilated. What if that was your mom or grandma would you like it?

The Dr was great when I saw him last year. This year when ai can back. The office Staff is INCOMPETENT. I have dual insurance and they were Rude about when I arrived an hour early and presented both insurance cards and told them what was my primary insurance. They said I should have called my Insuance 1st. They then said I would need to reschedule since they can't bill my insurance. I stated that there was more than an hour until my appointment and it could be fixed by then. I proceeded to sit back in waiting area... on phone with my insurance and and I got called in to DOROTHY the OFFICE ADMINS office. Like I did something WRONG. Still on phone with Insurance, My Insurance said dto keep appointment and they DRs office Admin said NO. She rescheduled for today a week later. I proceeded to the parking lot aand called my other insurance. They set themselves as secondary insurance in the insurance system. ALL OF THIS COMPLETED BEFORE MY APPOINTMENT TIME. I then Proceeded to CALL the Office from the parking lot and asked to speak to DOROTHY, Only to be told she stepped away, So I asked for her voicemail, the person I spoke with stated that thwy Do Not have Voicemail, and She took a message. DOROTHY Never called me back. Fast forward to today, the Day of my Appointment. I called to Reschedule due to ICY road Conditions. 1st call at 530am. Hoping to leave a message so not to be charged for same day cancellation. only to learn Their AFTERHOURS MESSAGE is for EMERGENCY ONLY, to Page the DR. They stated that I would have to call bcl when the OFFICE Staff was in at 8am.... I called back at 805 am, still set to emergency messages only.. they told me to keep trying... FINALLY AT 819am The OFFICE MANAGER DOROTHY ANSWERED. I stated my name, and asked if this was the manager Dorothy and SHE stated Yes. I stated that I needed to reschedule, and inquired as to why she never called me back. She stated that SHE NEVER GOT THE MESSAGE. I recommended that the office GET VOICEMAIL. SHE TOLD ME I COULD GO SOMEWHERE ELSE IF I DIDN'T LIKE THEM! So I am. I WOULD GIVE THIS OFFICE STAFF A 0 STAR POSSIBLE.

I had been seeing Dr Karin for some yrs until he moved away then I started seeing the other doctor Dr argawal or what ever his name is he's rude acts as if he dislikes his job and the other day I called and tried to make a appointment but was told I couldn't be given one because I had a 24 dollar balance in which I agreed to pay when I went in I then was told I couldn't go in until I paid the balance I didn't have my debit card with me as I was at work I left it at home she then told me to call back when I got it I told her they would be closed as I didn't get out until after 5 was very I'm not going to say angry I would say just disappointed I have spent a fair amount of money with this Drs office just very disappointed....

Couldn't ask for a better team of specialist to take care of my retina issues

Office staff needs training. In March 2018 I was rushed to this business to get eye surgery. At the time I didn't know that my insurance covered my surgical treatment so I was overcharged. After the business received a check from my insurance covering what I have already paid, they failed both to inform me about the overcharge as well as to refund me, even though I went back multiple times for follow up visits up until the end of the year. In 2019, I went back for another sudden eye surgery. The employee in charge of billing and refunds, told me that I owed almost twice what I had paid in 2018. I requested a statement showing itemized charges but she couldn't provide it. I was in a lot of eye pain but she didn't seem to care. She was talking fast and what she said didn't make sense. I then asked for a print out of my billing history to go over it myself. She seemed hesitant and bothered by my request but she finally complied after I insisted. Only then, and with my husband's help, I discovered that this business owed me a refund since 2018. At last she confessed that she was aware of the overcharge. From there on she stopped talking to me, the patient, and conveyed further information to my husband. Very unprofessional. Additionally, I was refused a doctor's excuse over the phone unless I paid $25. Watch out for this business charges. The doctor does not charge for the excuse.

I was scheduled as self pay because my insurance was not excepted in South Texas. They ask if I had insureance and I said yes but I would pay out of pocket because I knew I would not be in Network. I was there for 45 minutes before they informed me that they could not see me because I had insureance. I said I would pay out of pocket and they refused. Such BS and a waste of my 1 hour drive and 45 minute wait. They did not even appolgize for the trouble do ro yourself a favor don't go here. Also, did notice that most of if not all their patients were elderly on probably with medicare. Some doctors have been know to overcharge insureance because a person has insurance, medicare. BTW the self pay visit would have been 200 dollars. Wonder what they planmed to charge my insurance that would not have been excepted.