Joshua Herz, OD

I really don’t write too many reviews under three stars. Of course, I try to avoid below average places. Unilocal is helpful in this regard, so I don’t have a ton of negative experiences to report.
Anyway, I feel that two stars is pretty generous for this eye clinic doctor. I required a visual field examination and a ENH doctor sent me to this practice. When I called, I said I also wanted to speak with someone about tear duct plugs, and the man on the phone gave me Dr. Herz. I scheduled the appointment.
I showed up, filled out paperwork, and saw the medical assistant. Basic eye doctor stuff. The assistant seemed nice. She dilated my eyes. All normal eye exam procedures.
Then I am called in to see Dr. Herz. He states, and right away, in a voice which made me think he knew that I was not previously informed, that he is going to do part of the exam now, and then, «You’ll have to come back in like a month because that is how far we are scheduling out».
I am thinking, «What?» Basically, no one told me this when I made the appointment, at which time I could’ve scheduled both appointments closer together, or when I arrived, or when I was given the vision test. This struck me as strange.
«That’s the way we do it here» Dr. Herz said.
I told him I had been here before and they did the whole exam in one visit. I also mentioned that I am going back to Canada soon, where I am spending half the winter, so I don’t know if I will be able to come back in a month.
He claimed my prior experience of a single exam was «very unusual». Then he claimed, the «two visit rule» was ONLY for first time patients. When I mentioned my prior visit and he said, «Yeah, but, that was like, a million years ago». (Or, in actual Earth time, two and a half years ago.)
I stammered, «If anyone had told me…».
Now, conveniently, he says, since they already dilated my eyes, he can’t do the whole exam now anyway. So I stand up and say I am leaving. He says, «You don’t want me to do the exam?» I said I would find someone else. He said «But your eyes are already dilated!» I started to walk out of the room. «OK, sorry, sorry.», he said as I left.
He gave me no explanation of why this was medically necessary. I think he just may not want to have a short time in the schedule between people, because he would have to wait while I saw the assistant and had my eyes dilated. This is because the part of the exam must be done before your eyes are dilated and the other part afterward. (I wished I had remembered that earlier, but it was not an issue on my first visit). That is OK, but then he should NOT be giving these exams at all then, in my opinion. Maybe there was another reason, but it’s just weird that the two visits wouldn’t be scheduled, or even mentioned, when I called to make the appointment. It really did seem very unprofessional NOT to INFORM the me that I needed to return for a second visit BEFORE dilating my eyes.
I called someone else, my dad’s eye doctor, and he routinely does this exam in one appointment. So I can’t come in until Easter week, but that would be when I could come back to Northshore anyway. At least I with this doctor (whom I’ve seen before for for other issues) I won’t feel disrespected. If you do not need surgery, and I certainly hope this doctor is a great surgeon, I would suggest finding another place to get your eye exam.

I have had nothing but great experiences with dr hertz. He did my Lasek 7 years ago and I’ve consulted with him since and he was honest and talked me out of further Lasek adjustments which I thought was a good call and i appreciated his honesty
Ps: I suspect not a whole lot of people take the time to write positive reviews of their doctors on Unilocal.I did not find him arrogant or aloof at all.

We haven’t even had an operation yet and have already lost confidence and have gotten a poor impression of Dr. Hertz after a consultation for cataract surgery. He had no patience with us and made us feel uncomfortable — we felt like we didn’t belong there. After looking at the reviews, we’ve decided to go elsewhere.

I just had cataract surgery done in both eyes by Dr. Herz. The entire experience was fantastic. I got the Restor implants & can now see perfectly at all distances without glasses. There was no pain & the whole surgery took only 10 minutes. His bedside manner was excellent & I never have to wait long to see the doctor. The offices are completely updated with new equipment too. I would trust my eyes to no one else except Dr. Herz. My whole family sees him now & are extremely pleased with his care.

Dr. Herz makes it feel like I am wasting his time. From day one I’ve explained to him the glare I have been experiencing which was the reason for the visit. He seems very quick to dismiss my concerns and I can tell by his body language that he can’t wait to get out of the room. No compassion whatsoever. I thought he was just having a bad day, but it’s the same every time. He tries to hide it, but you can still feel the arrogance exuding. He gave me a few bottles of eye drops and sent me on my way diagnosing the problem as dry eyes. I know this is not the case since I’ve been using the eye drops, but who am I to contradict the doctor? I am not surprised to see the negative reviews about him from other patients. I only wish I did my research before selecting him as my ophthalmologist. I am definitely not returning to see him. The receptionist is loud and rude.

I saw Joshua Herz for the first time last year for an annual eye exam.
He diagnosed me with a condition unfamiliar to me, briefly explaining that it would result in cataract complications and inevitable eyesight deterioration for which little could be done. He gave me the worst case scenario, without any other options, stating my developing cataracts «were the least of my problems». I left his office quite concerned. I have since gotten opinions from two respected and experienced ophthalmologists who said they saw many patients with this condition.
It is common for my age and very treatable. They were both very reassuring and I am no longer concerned and worried about this.
I don’t know why Dr. Herz takes such an alarmist attitude. He lacks people skills. Arrogant youthfulness comes to mind.

I recently got my first flare-​up with an autoimmune disease in April 2010. Part of the flare-​up involved the blood vessels in my eye, so I was referred to Dr. Herz as my opthamologist. When I first saw him I was very sick and barely remember it. I do remember trusting him right away and feeling like I was in capable hands.
Since then I’ve had some other problems with my eyes in the form of staph infections. I’ve had to visit Dr. Herz multiple times in the past few months to get everything cleared up. Each time he’s been gentle and patient, explained everything to me, and answered all my questions without making me feel like I was wasting his time or feeling rushed.
I would recommend Dr. Herz for anyone who has chronic eye problems. He’s fantastic, and I’m so glad that he’s a part of my team of doctors that I’ve got now that I’ve been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.