Melina I. Morkin's Online Review Report Card

I went to Dr. Morkin for cataract surgery consultation. Visit #1 cancelled, visit #2, unproductive - no one told me that I couldn't wear my contact lenses for two weeks prior. Yet, her surgical coordinator asked me to sign release forms, including signing off on more expensive lenses and additional laser surgery, even though I hadn't even spoken with Dr. Morkin about my case. Visit #3, machines were broken - 2 hours spent shuttled around with no explanation. Again, surgical coordinator wanted me to decide on expensive lenses and surgery dates. I followed up with her by phone the next day to say that I didn't have anyone to drive me to the first surgical appointment. Her advice - just get an Uber - not appropriate for someone having any type of anesthesia. Deferring to a later date would result in Dr. Morkin on maternity leave for at least 3 months, with no one taking her place. Her staff is disorganized and unprofessional. Adding to this, billing for these visits has been a nightmare.

All was well until last fall when I went for a routine eye exam as my prescription needed to be updated. The prescription I had was setup for mono vision. I was given a new prescription without being told it was for progressives. I only found this out by comparing the new prescription with the previous one and doing my own research. I called and left messages over the course of 3 weeks and she never returned my call. I decided to present myself at New England Eye in an effort to see her but she wasn't there that day. I was reluctantly given an adjusted prescription by a resident and after it was filled I found out that it was unbalanced and I had a pair of unusable glasses.

My opinion is don't go to Melina Morkin. The problem is not WHETHER she can practice medicine, but HOW she practices medicine. Her skills in patient interactions are extremely poor. She's condescending, and answered my questions with responses that steered me to do what she thought was best, instead of giving me information to make my own decisions. Every visit and each question I asked only produced filtered information, not full responses. This was a serious problem because she repeatedly instructed me to return for non-essential follow-up exams. Once I asked why I needed to come back and she said that SHE would feel better if did. Seriously. I understand that at times follow-ups are necessary, but Melina Morkin is a mechanical, overcautious robot and can't be trusted to give advice based on individual patient needs. There are plenty of cataract docs around Boston, so there's no good reason to choose Melina Morkin over more experienced and plainer-speaking docs.

I suffer from severe blepharitis and suffer with symptoms like burning eyes, painfully random inflamed eyelids, extreme dry eye and light sensitivity. This affects my daily quality of life including essential activities like driving. After I spend a good hour with Melina’s assistants dismissing me, she comes in for a good 3 minutes and puts more drops into my eyes (blinding me for the rest of the day and for some hours in the next day). She looks at my eyes and tells me “YOUR EYES ARE VERY DRY”. Then, speaks to her assistant and instructs them to give me some home remedies that I have already tried multiple times... for over a year. This is the second time she has done this. I come out of her appointments with my eye symptoms worsened and her assistants and her have no real solutions. Go to another ophthalmologist, one that actually cares. Thanks for nothing “dr. Morkin”.