Michael Hee, M.D., Ph.D.

Had an appointment with Dr. Hee.
The doctor is fine. He listens, gave his professional opinion, and go through the necessary steps… whatever is needed. That was what was expected, and I’m totally fine with that. From early impression, he’s actually a pretty good doctor, so far.
The waiting room was crowded. It wasn’t even 9:00 am yet, and there were already 15+ patients in the waiting room, not all for Dr. Hee. But that is still a lot of patients!!! So expect a long wait when going to this location!
The only really super negative here is the ONE front desk lady. She was a disaster and was extremely unprofessional, and talked in a condescending way.
Example:
Patient: «Am I the first patient here?»
Front desk lady: «HA!!! no… you’re not…» (shaking her head like he was a moron).
For real!!!
I understand our healthcare system is broken and the doctors are working as hard as they can. There isn’t much talent out there, but with a front desk staff like that… I am at a loss for words.

BEST OPTHAMOLOGIST IN THE PENINSULA. Not only is Dr. Hee extremely knowledgable, but he’s also the friendliest eye doctor you’ll ever meet. He always greets you with a smile and asks you how you’re doing which is extremely rare these days. Most MDs can’t wait to get you out of their office after seeing you for only 5 min! In all the years I’ve seen Dr. Hee, I have never felt like he tried to rush any of my appointments. He is also responsible for my Lasik procedure and it couldn’t have gone any smoother. What impressed me the most was that Dr. Hee was willingly to follow-​up with me however many times it took to ensure that he was comfortable with my results. He even saw me on the weekend to accommodate my busy work schedule! If that doesn’t show you how much he cares about your well-​being then I don’t know what does.

I have to back track on earlier notes I made on other reviewers feedback where I agreed with the terrible wait times.
This time I was called in exactly at my appointment time and seen in a very thorough and professional manner. I don’t know if they had added staff or I just got lucky but I was definitely impressed by how quickly I was in and out of the office.
Dr. Hee is extemely well qualified and is supported by a top notch staff who do the bulk of the actual exam and issues new RX.
Overall I highly recommend them to anyone on the Peninsula who needs eye exam.

Dr. Hee is a very knowledgeable doctor. He was always willing to spend enough time explaining my eye situation. Thanks Dr. Hee for mitigating the risk for getting glaucoma. I strongly recommended him.

My father went to the eye doctor and found that he might have glaucoma. So he booked an appointment with Dr. Hee.
The appointment was scheduled at 10:30 and the doctor didn’t see my father till 12:15. They kept telling him that the doctor was in another appointment. I don’t understand why they would keep waiting patients waiting for so long. It might have been understandable if they re-​scheduled an appointment if there was a reason for it, but to make people wait for more than an hour for an appointment. That was just rude.

Last year I went to Pearl Vision at Hillsdale Mall. Optometrist administered the «puff» test which checks for glaucoma. For some reason, he couldn’t get an accurate reading and did it FIFTEEN TIMES! After suffering through that he told me the reading indicates I have glaucoma. He said that I would eventually become BLIND. I WAS IN TEARS. He just blurted that out, gave me a brochure and told me to go see a doctor.
I went home, pulled myself together, and decided to not only see a doctor, but the best ophthalmologist around.
I FOUND HIM: Dr. Michael Hee
Stanford University grad, M.D. from Harvard Med School and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from MIT. While earning a Ph.D. at MIT, Dr. Hee was involved in the development of optical coherence tomography, which is a new technology used to obtain high-​resolution images of the retina and optic nerve. As medical director of iScience Surgical Corporation, a company that specializes in creating new tactics for minimally invasive, image-​guided microsurgery, Dr. Hee stays on the cutting edge of ophthalmic diagnostic and therapeutic instrumentation.
WOW — what a resume!!!
This was the guy. After researching glaucoma, I found that it’s very rare for someone my age, but more importantly it’s treatable. If I had it, I’d want Dr. Hee to perform the surgery considering his indepth knowledge of the area.
Made an appt. Saw Dr. Hee. He administered a battery of tests (much more accurate than «puff test») to check for glaucoma. They all came back negative. He showed me all of the results and explained the graphs, answered my questions, and compassionately eased my concerns. Dr. Hee requested that I see him every few months to redo the tests. I’m happy to report that all of my results have been negative.
Dr. Hee is a great and well-​versed doctor. The waiting room is always filled, but it’s for a good reason. I believe he has offices in SF too. Check the website.
Lesson learned: Don’t choose your health practitioners for convenience, it’s more important to find the best you can afford or your insurance can offer. I went through a lot of stress and sad days thinking I had glaucoma, when I really didn’t.