Alan C Westeren, MD

Terrible… same experience as the other reviews
Most horrible experience we’ve had with any eye doctor.

The main three things this doctor needs are:
1– Treatment for his OCD.
2-​Treatment for an inferiority complex apparently stemming from being an eye doctor.
3– Just treatment.
Oh! And one more thing: A decent office. Shared space with an acupuncturist that doesn’t let him use the reception counter. The office smells and has officially the most uncomfortable 4 chairs I have ever encountered. Ever. About 20 pages of paper work he insists you fill out, with every little detail about your life for the last 30 years. All the medical conditions that any member of your family has ever suffered. How many cigarets do you smoke a day, a week, a month? «I don’t smoke». Fill it out anyway. Every space. How many drinks do you have? A day, a month, a year? All things he really needs to know in order to give you a prescription for reading glasses.
I sat in his really dark exam room trying to read blurs he insisted I read, even though I kept telling him I couldn’t read them at all. Until I got up and walked out in the middle of the exam because I didn’t want to have anything else to do with this bad bad doctor.
How can he be allowed to practice???
As I walked out he told me he was not just a drive thru glasses doctor. «I needed an ophthalmologist, not a general medicine doctor» was my reply. I ran out of there as fast as I could. DO NOT go there. Keep looking. I wish I had read these reviews before going. I only wasted about and hour and some gas, but fortunately I walked out before it got worse. I sympathize with al the other reviewers that had awful experiences with him. Unbelievable…

I wouldn’t even give this Dr. 1 star. My experience was very similar to everyone else’s. I went in for a contact prescription and came out with «glaucoma». He ordered a laundry list of tests (which my insurance covered about half of). I got the first set of tests and then went to a general practitioner for a requested check up. That dr looked at the list and flat out told me that this Dr.‘s requests were excessive and ridiculous. After that, I did not go back to this dr. and also found out that I don’t have glaucoma nor am I symptomatic. So in the end I wasted time and money (about $ 500) because of this «Dr.» not to mention I never even got the contact prescription I went in for originally. His office would also call at odd hours (10pm on weekdays and at night on weekends to try to schedule additional visits!) I called back once to canel my final follow up visit and it was somebody’s cell phone?! Incredibly unproffesional and an overall horrible experience. I have reported him to the CA medical board and I encourage everyone else to do the same. He should not have a license.

I read the negative reviews only after I had visited this ophthalmologist to realize the big mistake I made by not checking out these reviews first. My visit confirms all those noted bad practices. The 20 pages long of paperwork that continued with more obnoxious questions during the exam. The noisy and hot facility. The 1 hour waiting while the doctor was actually away from the clinic. The misleading receptionist who said «the doctor is ready for you». The 2 hours long examination. The rude and impatient attitude from the physician throughout the examination. The doctor’s obsessive demands to keep guessing tiniest letters beyond the 20:20, which seriously strains the eyes. The incorrectly inflated prescription. The $ 59 additional out of the pocket charge for the eye vision exam with no advance notice. The heavily overdose of pupil dilating medicine that knocked me down for no less than 3.5 days with pain and blurry vision. What were you thinking doc., there is no reason to put 4 times the dose, go to hell you freak. I also experienced additional bad practices there. The old fashion tools that were repeatedly stuck into my eyes. The doctor’s nervous requests for personal info such as my social security number, which is not needed for billing my insurance. The hidden fees of 25 $ for getting the report. And so on. This guy is a horrible ophthalmologist and a crazy man. I cannot imagine that anyone would want to go to such a bad ophthalmologist whereas there are so many other excellent ophthalmologists in the San Diego area. I definitely won’t visit this ophthalmologist ever again. If you are in a need for an ophthalmologist and come across his name — save your money, time, and especially your health — and go to a better ophthalmologist!

I found this Dr. online via my insurance website and thought it had to be good since it was in the LJ Village — a nice part of town. I needed to renew my contacts Rx which was the primary reason for the exam. I indicated this to the gentleman on the phone when I scheduled my appointment. After I arrived Dr. Westeren walked me back to an exam room which had stuff alllll over the desk in there, blinds closed and virtually no air circulation. There were framed pictures sitting on the ground leaning against the wall. I thought for sure they just moved, had unpacked, but hadn’t had time to decorate. He proceeded to do a full eye exam. After I removed my contacts and was reading the lines of letters he continued to ask me to read letters that I couldn’t read (the tiniest letters). I was VERY irritated explaining to him there was no point in my telling him what letters they are because I can’t read them. He PERSISTED. I was seriously in this chair for over 2 hours with no air, sweating in my nice work clothes, irritated because he was asking me to read stuff repeatedly that I could not read, and in the end he refused to give me a script for my contacts. He put all these drops in my eyes and told me the drops would numb my eyes and would dilate my pupils but only for a short period of time. What he didn’t tell me was that I would not be able to see anything up close for over 24 hours — only in the distance. I tried to put my contacts back in and they did nothing. I couldn’t see anything. Everything was blurry. I could barely drive home. It was 6:30, sun was going down, it hurt my eyes to even look into the daylight. I couldn’t read an upcoming street sign. It was horrible. Thank god I didn’t have to drive on the freeway. He told me I needed to get other exams at Maricos Eye Center before I could receive a Rx from him for my contacts. I told him that was ridiculous and I was down to 2 weeks worth of contacts and could not wait for a script — and that was the whole purpose of my appointment. He would not budge. I also told him that next time a new patient comes in the person on the phone scheduling the appointment should inform the patient that 1^st time, new patient exams take over 2 hours. I did not sign up for this. Not to get a crap exam, spend $ 70 and over 2 hours in a chair to walk out without an Rx and virtually no ability to see. Oh, and I looked like a freak with dilated pupils for well over 24 hours. He deserves to be out of business ASAP. I would never recommend such an idiotic doctor to anyone else. This place was horrible. Ive tried to call back to discuss it with him countless times and try to get a script from him at the very least since I spent the money. I never received a returned call.

I went to see Dr. Westeren to discuss possible Lasik surgery. I was early for my appointment at his La Jolla office. The office was horrible. Tiny and dirty. I don’t think furniture had been dusted for 10 years. The floor was deplorable, tiles peeling off the floor and built-​up dirt in the corners of the floor. He apparently shares this office with an acupuncturist, but none the less… hire a cleaning crew.
I was handed a pile of paperwork to complete, it was unbelievable. The same questions were repeated multiple times on every piece of paper. Does he not know that computers exist and the rest of the world has electronic health records now?
At this point, it was now 30 minutes past my appointment time. When I inquired how much longer it was going to be, his receptionist answers that he is running 45 minutes to 1 hour behind. I asked her at what point was she going to share that with me. She said that he always runs late and has a good amount of walk outs. She then said if I left, I’d be his 3^rd walk-​out that day. I told her that I couldn’t wait an hour to see him. She asked if I wanted to re-​schedule, I said that I had no intention of returning… ever. She then said that she didn’t blame me.
Don’t waste your time or money on this guy. There are great doctors all over San Diego who respect your time and value you as a patient.

Do not use this optometrist. I found him via my insurance website and sent my husband to his La Jolla office — which is shared with an acupuncturist. He charged for services without notifying before, did not give the correct prescription, and used so many dilation drops that it took 4 day for the eyes to return to normal. Absolutely horrible.