Peter Schwartz, MD

I love when I walk into their office and it seems like a small family orientated staff. My family and I switched from another eye doctor in the area and what a difference it is. Everyone is very nice and helpful. In fact my entire family has started coming to see Dr. Schwartz. He has done cataract surgery on my grandparents and my in-​laws. He even did an eyelid procedure on my mother who was having difficulty with her eyelids being too droopy.
Both of my Grandparents also see Dr. Lindell for their glaucoma care and they are extremely happy. Pretty much my whole family comes to this office and couldn’t be happier with the doctors and the staff!

Dr. Schwartz appears to be the only ophthalmologist who takes our insurance, so my son has been in his care for the last couple of years. If you are articulate and very patient, he will answer your questions. He may even give you a very good explanation. I have had no problems with the explanations he has given me. However, he can be rather impatient with children, especially if they are disabled. The last three times I was there he glanced at us and walked by without saying a word. Weird. I’ve also had problems with a lack of staff friendliness, never anything blatent just passive-​aggressive responses like «Sure we can do that,» in the nastiest tone possible then a hang up without a good bye. I am very polite! Recently, I asked a receptionist to change the «Race» category for my sons from White to Latino. These are political categories to be sure, but they are important to us and to the government that uses these statistics to determine services! I explained that and I also explained that we do not want to erase the Afro-​Caribbean side of the family. Dr. Lindell is very good, Dr Schwartz is efficient but not very patient, most of the staff is rude (with only 2 exceptions), so overall I can not recommend this office.

Very clean, bright office with caring, kind staff (both nurses and front office managers). I have seen both Dr. Lindell and Dr. Schwartz; both are professional, kind and clear. I feel like I am getting highly competent, knowledgeable care here (which I was seeking when I switched from two previous Ithaca practitioners). If I were to need surgery I would certainly seek it from this office.

I needed new contacts about a year and a half ago, so I made an appointment and was seen by Dr. Boscia a few days later. The experience was great, from the fun and efficient office staff to the skilled professional service I got from the doctor. Even though my insurance only paid for a portion of lenses and services, I was happy going to a «real» doctor’s office instead of to one in the mall, even though it meant paying more. At that time, they’d have had 4.5 stars
Fast forward to now and I lost a contact lens while camping recently (camping, I know! what was I thinking?). Wearing my glasses to see the digits on the phone, I called the office hoping to find out if I could just order a lens or if I needed to make an appointment for another eye exam and fitting. I called three times over the course of 5 business days, each time passing from the Receptionist to Denise’s (the Lens Technician) voice mail, simply trying to find out «Can you just order or do I make an appointment?.» Meanwhile, the clock is ticking and my glasses aren’t exactly adequate for use day in and day out and I was uncomfortable wearing them. I explained this in the last two messages I left. I was pleasant! I was clear! I left my number each time and spelled my name! I probably gave my dob a couple of times, too! Finally, the contact lens specialist called and left me a message to the tune of «Yes, we can order you a new lens. Just call back to confirm that you want me to order it.»
I have a few questions about this.
What took so long for her to tell me this? Why didn’t ‘Reception’, sensing my growing frustration, run some interference for me? Could the Lens Tech not have, oh, semi apologized for the delay in her message, or offer some kind of reason for the several days it took for a callback? Instead it felt like some kind of dope slap response, as in, «Duh, of COURSE we can order you a lens. Do you WANT me to order you a lens?». So, I left a fourth and final message for her saying essentially, «YES, order the damn lens!» and haven’t gotten a call back to confirm it’s done. Will it show up? (If you normally wear lenses but are forced to wear glasses you know just what a cruel purgatory I’m living in right now.)
Next time, if all I need is a replacement lens, I’ll definitely go elsewhere, or make my own for all the time I wasted. It’s a shame because the rest of the organization is what my grandpa would’ve called «a class act».

Never had a problem waiting for an apointment. Never had a problem with insurance at all.
Front office is great!
As for Dr. Schwartz he came highly recommended. He performed perfect eye surgry on my 2 year old and we have had follow up care for the past year or so.

Dr. Peter Schwartz’s office is the kind of place I wish I had back home.
The office is small, but surprisingly spacious, clean, and bright. When you walk in, there is a nice waiting room, from which you can see the front desk and the room for glasses displays. The administrative assistants are all very friendly, patient, and helpful. They do their best to squeeze you in and to work around your schedule (partially, I think, it’s because there is slightly less traffic here in Ithaca than in a bigger city). But, speaking of which, there are always, ALWAYS patients in the waiting room. I think the consistency of business is another good indicator of the quality of care and service that the office offers.
While I am not a specialist, I am comparing their office to three other ophthalmologist offices I’ve been to back home in California. Although Dr. Schwartz’s office is in Ithaca, where you might expect a smaller office to skimp on equipment or whatever, this doesn’t seem to be the case. They run through all these tests that I don’t get at home. While I regularly check eye-​pressure, have the light shone in my eye, do the peripheral vision exam, etc at other places… I ALSO got my lens-​thickness checked manually, they used different kinds of lights to check my corneas, and did different kinds of exercises to check my vision. Moreover, they are very clean (constantly wiping down the surfaces and instruments), which is something I look for in any health-​related-​facility.
I haven’t seen Dr. Schwartz myself, but I’ve been in five times now, and I’ve been seen by Dr. Amy Boscia, OD each time. She is wonderful, kind, and great with explanations. She is great at remembering her patient’s exact conditions; even before reading the chart, she remembered my family history and the current treatments she put me on three weeks prior. She is also very thorough in finding out what a patient needs. I went in to get new contacts, and she found that my old ones were scratching my corneas. She’s run through all sorts of tests to alleviate the scratching and the dryness, and she’s been very good about follow-​ups. Sometimes, in bigger offices, I feel as though it is my job to follow-​up with my issues. Sometimes they won’t call to confirm an appointment, or they’ll call far in advance so you might forget.
Here, they seek you out to make sure everything is okay and they call around 10:30 am the day before your appointment, every time. I really appreciate the quality and meticulousness of her care, as well as the personal attention.
Finally, the pricing here is expensive (all eye-​care places are), but I think they are also fair. It is $ 100 (without insurance, because insurance doesn’t cover contact lenses) for all contact-​lens-​related fittings, check-​ups, refitting, etc. They order a pair of your latest prescription, fit them, have you come in for a follow-​up, and if they don’t work out, they re-​order a different pair, etc. It’s all covered by the one fee.
Overall, if you want a personable, small-​office feel without sacrificing quality, professionalism, or punctuality, this is the place to go.