-Medical Insurance Card
-Vision Insurance Card or Information
-Medication List

We will need your insurance card and vision insurance information. Unfortunately, some vision insurance does not provide cards. If this is the case for you, please come prepared by knowing the name of the vision insurance company, the primary member's name, date of birth, and social security number, and your policy number if applicable. Please note that vision insurance is often provided or administered by a different company, even if it is included or billed with your medical coverage.

To aid us in providing comprehensive thorough eye care, please bring an updated list of medications and be prepared to answer questions about your health history. Many medications and conditions can affect your ocular health.

-Health History Questions

-Prescription Evaluation

-Comprehensive Eye Health Exam

First, our doctors' assistants, or pretesters, will take your medical history and update any changes. They will also take notes for the doctor on any issues you're having or questions we need to answer. Additionally, the pretest team will perform preliminary testing for the doctor including a pressure check, eye muscle movement tests, peripheral or side vision screening, and visual acuity.

Each of these tests help us assess your overall eye health. The pressure check could catch early signs of glaucoma. Many disorders correspond to eye muscles that don't move together or don't work properly. Loss in peripheral vision could indicate more serious issues that require treatment. Visual acuity evaluates how clearly each eye is seeing.

The doctor will use a wide variety or microscopes, lenses, and digital technology to assess the health of all the structures of the eye and the surrounding tissues. If you are a new patient or due for dilation, we will put drops in your eyes. These drops affect the muscles in the eyes, causing the pupils to open wider or dilate. This dilation allows the doctor to see into your eye to check its overall health.

For most people, the dilation wears off in 2-3 hours, though sensitivity varies from person to person. Those with light eyes and/or dry eyes are typically most sensitive to the dilation drops. The dilation drops cause temporary light sensitivity and may blur your near vision or reading. We will give you special sunglasses to help with the light. Most people feel safe to drive, as your distance vision is not affected.

The doctor will also do a refraction, which is the process of determining your prescription. Refraction determines the lens power needed to compensate for any refractive error (nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism). Using an instrument called a phoropter, the doctor places a series of lenses in front of your eyes to see how each lens affects your vision. Contact lens wearers will need a contact lens fitting annually. During this fitting, the doctor will determine a correct prescription and ensure that your eyes are healthy enough to continue wear. By law, all contact lenses are considered medical devices and require a current prescription. Most insurances do not cover the cost of a contact lens fitting as they consider wearing contacts elective.

Additional testing may be needed based on the results of your exam to confirm or rule out possible problems, to clarify uncertain findings, or to provide a more in-depth assessment.