What Is Rhode Island Eye Institute?

Updated

Rhode Island Eye Institute (rieyeinstitute.com) is a multi-location eye care practice in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. It combines fellowship-trained ophthalmologists and optometrists, offering everything from routine eye exams and glasses to cataract, LASIK, retina, glaucoma, and pediatric eye care. It is a good fit if you want a single practice that can handle both everyday vision needs and advanced surgical or medical eye conditions.

Who provides the care

The practice staffs two types of providers, and the distinction matters when you are choosing whom to see:

  • Ophthalmologists (MDs) are medical doctors who can diagnose and treat eye disease and perform surgery. The site lists providers including Palmer Feibelman, MD; Christopher Newton, MD; Elliot Perlman, MD; R. Jeffrey Hofmann, MD; Sarah Anis, MD; Pranjal Thakuria, MD; Durga Larkin, MD; Gaurav Gupta, MD; Jane Cook, MD; and Thomas Lang, MD.
  • Optometrists (ODs) handle routine eye exams, contact lens fitting, and much of the day-to-day vision care. Listed providers include Paul Zerbinopoulos, OD; Lori Boivin, OD; Tess Deresienski, OD; Earle Scharff, OD; Saad Ahmed, OD; and April Mishley, OD.

The site describes the ophthalmologists as fellowship-trained, which generally signals additional subspecialty training beyond residency. If your reason for visiting is a specific condition (for example, cataract surgery or retina care), ask when scheduling which provider type typically handles it.

Services offered

The service list is broad and organized by category:

Category What it covers
Primary eye care Eye exams, optical, contact lenses, diabetic eye care, glaucoma, eye emergencies
Children's vision Pediatric eye care, kids' eye exams, myopia management, Ortho-K, strabismus, amblyopia
Dry eye Dry eye disease and treatment, meibomian gland dysfunction, blepharitis, a dry eye self-quiz
Specialty contacts Scleral lenses, keratoconus, custom soft lenses, medically necessary contacts for dry eye
Cataracts Cataract surgery, recovery timeline, premium IOLs including PanOptix trifocal IOL, a lifestyle finder tool
Surgical & medical Glaucoma surgery, retina care, macular degeneration, corneal transplant, oculoplastics, aesthetic treatments

Two things stand out for planning purposes. First, the cataract section includes a "Lifestyle Finder" and information on premium IOLs such as PanOptix—useful if you are weighing lens options before a consultation. Second, the dry eye quiz is a low-commitment way to gauge whether a dry eye evaluation is worth booking.

Locations and hours

The practice operates four offices. The site's location section names Providence and East Providence in detail, and the contact list adds Fall River and South Kingstown.

Location Address Phone Rating (as listed)
Providence 150 E Manning St, Providence, RI 02906 (401) 249-0991 4.6 (1,139)
East Providence (Riverside) 1525 Wampanoag Trl, Unit 105, Riverside, RI 02915 (401) 552-4703 4.8 (332)
Fall River, MA — (508) 916-6115 —
South Kingstown, RI — (401) 249-2021 4.5 (570)

Providence and East Providence list office hours of Monday–Friday, 8 am–5 pm, closed Saturday and Sunday. Hours for Fall River and South Kingstown are not shown in the available page content, so call the location directly if weekend or evening timing matters to you.

How to get started

  1. Pick your location. Choose the office closest to you, or the one whose providers match your need—for example, a retina or glaucoma specialist for a known condition.
  2. Call the office number for that location, or use the "Request an Appointment" option on the site.
  3. Say what you need. Mention whether it is a routine exam, a contact lens fitting, a dry eye evaluation, or a surgical consultation, so staff can route you to the right provider and allow enough time.
  4. Bring your insurance and vision plan details to the visit. The site links to a patient portal and an online bill-pay page, but plan coverage and costs are not published there—confirm with the office before your appointment.

Practical points to keep in mind

  • Ratings are patient-reported and vary by office (4.5 to 4.8 in the listings shown); they are a rough signal, not a measure of clinical outcomes for your specific condition.
  • Not every service is at every office. The site does not publish a per-location service matrix, so confirm that your procedure is performed at the office you choose.
  • Emergency eye care is listed as a service, but the site does not describe after-hours coverage. For a sudden vision change or eye injury, call the office first or seek urgent care rather than assuming walk-in availability.
  • Pricing is not disclosed on the pages reviewed. Premium IOLs and aesthetic treatments in particular are worth discussing cost and coverage for during a consultation.

If you are deciding between this practice and another, compare on the same points: provider type for your condition, whether the specific service is offered at your preferred office, appointment availability, and how your insurance applies.