• What is a routine eye exam?
• • A routine eye examination is much like a routine physical, but for the eyes. Typically, there is no specific problem with the eyes other than the need for lenses to correct your vision. The insurance companies consider the need for corrective lenses to be routine.
    
    A complete examination includes a glaucoma pressure check, a muscle evaluation, observation for external eye disease, examination of the retina and refraction..

• What's the difference between a routine and medical exam?
• • These two terms refer to the way an examination is billed out by the office. Both examinations are performed the same way by the doctor. The diagnosis, which is billed out by the office, depends on the chief complaint of the patient, as related to the doctor or technician.
    
    Scenario #1 The patient comes to the office with a history of diabetes. He/she is healthy and has no eye problems, but wants his/her eyes examined. This is considered a medical examination because the patient has a disease which can affect the eyes and the physician needs to evaluate the patient's eyes in light of this disease.
    
    Scenario #2 The patient comes to the office with a complaint of difficulty seeing the newspaper, but no problem with distance vision. This would be considered routine in nature because there are no medically related problems.
    
    Scenario #3 The patient comes to the office with pain in the eye and tearing. These complaints are considered medical symptoms and the eye examination would be billed as a medical exam.

• What should I bring with me for my appointment?
• • Please bring the following on the day of your visit to our office:
    • Photo ID
    • Current insurance cards
    • Current medication list
    • All recent glasses and contact lenses (both distance and near)
    • Co-payments
    • An insurance referral if your plan requires one

• Should I wear my contacts to the office  and bring my glasses too for my exam?
• • Yes, especially if you want the doctor to evaluate the fit and vision of the contact lenses in your eyes. You may be asked to take the contact lenses out of your eyes during the examination, so please bring all recent glasses (reading and distance) with you to your exam.

• How long does a thorough exam take?
• • Your stay for a complete eye examination generally takes from 45 minutes to an hour.

• If my eyes are dilated, how long will my eyes stay blurry after the exam?
• • After your eyes have been dilated, the blurriness may last from 2 - 4 hours, with vision improving every hour. This blurriness is for close-up vision, but you will be light sensitive for distance as well. Please bring your sunglasses with you to the office.
    
    You may want to consider bringing someone with you to drive you or help you navigate to where you want to go when you leave our office.

• Will my insurance cover my eye exam?
• • It is the responsibility of the patient to know his/her benefits. Most insurance plans will differentiate between a routine eye exam and a medical eye exam. You must decide if the reason you need an eye exam is because you have a specific complaint or just because you would like your eyes examined.
    
    Any examination that takes place as a result of a patient's complaint or symptoms (ie: dry eyes, headaches, eye infection, etc.) would be considered medical in nature and should be covered under your medical insurance. Any eye exam conducted at the patient's request without a specific complaint would be considered routine. This type of exam would only be covered if your insurance contact specifically states routine eye coverage is a benefit.

• Medical vs Vision Plans - What's the difference?
• • It is important that you understand that your Vision Plan covers ROUTINE eye care only (nearsightedness, farsightedness, and normal astigmatism). You will be receiving a comprehensive medical eye exam from one of our fine doctors who are committed to giving you the highest quality eye care. We will examine you for many conditions such as glaucoma, dry eyes, cataracts, retinal holes or tears, diabetic and hypertensive eye disease among many others. If your eye exam involves a medical condition related to your eye that requires specific counseling, documentation, follow-up care, regular monitoring or referral to a surgeon, then your visit is NOT COVERED by your Vision Plan. Unfortunately, the doctor cannot tell if medical eye conditions exist before you are thoroughly examined.
    
    The good news is that your Medical Insurance can be used with an eye-related medical problem, such as cataracts, dry eyes, complicated from diabetes or high blood pressure (among many others) if found during the course of the eye examination. You do not need a vision benefits rider on your medical insurance to be covered for a medical eye condition. In these cases, your Medical Insurance will be billed for the eye exam even though a Vision Plan may also be in effect. Your Medical Insurance co-pays and deductibles must be paid at the time of your exam.
    
    More good news! If we do file the exam with your medical insurance, you can still use your Vision Plan benefits towards the purchase of glasses or contact lenses based on your plan’s allowances. If you elect to have refractive services done to establish what prescription you need for glasses, please be aware this will NOT be covered by your medical insurance and a $40 fee will be due at the time of the visit.

• Is a school vision screening just as effective as a complete eye examination by a doctor?
• • Vision screenings at your pediatrician or school are useful to pick up gross problems, but they do not take the place of full eye exams. A study that was funded by the National Eye Institute and was published in the April 2004 issue of Ophthalmology found that 36-39% of preschool children with one of the targeted vision disorders was missed.
    
    The requirements for grade school vision screenings consist of testing the distance visual acuity. Even near vision, which is a critical component in learning, is sometimes not tested. Farsightedness can easily be missed. Many other important tests especially for the at-risk students are left out. Thus it is very important to have a full eye examination at least before kindergarten.

• How do you test an infant or toddler that cannot talk?
• • We have many tests that look at their prescription, eye alignment, basic visual acuity, eye health, focusing and tracking. One test for infants involves two cards. There are black and white stripes on one card and only a gray color on the other. Babies tend to look at the more interesting target (the stripes) and will do so if they can see them. The size of the stripe-pattern is varied to help determine how well they can see with each eye.
    
    Another example is a test for a two year old. We use the Lea chart, which has simple pictures of a house, heart, square and circle. When they are presented, the child points to a card that matches the shape they see.

• My child is struggling in school but his last eye doctor said his eyes are fine. Was something missed?
• • Unfortunately all examinations are not created equal. Most exams include eye clarity, eye health and gross eye alignment. Other tests that are equally important will look at fine eye alignment, depth perception, color vision, eye tracking and focusing.
    
    These additional tests can help determine if vision is a component in a child’s learning struggles. If these tests are not performed, visual problems can be overlooked leading to frustration for the child and the teacher.

• My child can see airplanes and street signs that I can't see. Does he still need an examination?
• • Yes! This shows that the child can see well at a distance out of at least one eye. The other eye may be very blurred and the child will not complain because they are unaware. Children can have double or blurred vision with reading and not complain because it has always been that way. They believe that everyone sees the way they do and that their vision is normal, even when it is not.