What happens during a comprehensive exam?
We check front to back eye health ensuring that if there are any health problems we will find them. We also do a full vision check to verify current prescriptions in a patient’s glasses for both distance and near. A comprehensive examination allows us to make sure that ocular health is optimal and all the visual needs of a patient are being met. We perform thorough examinations using the most current technology available.
Arriving
When a patient arrives they are checked in and asked to fill out a few documents regarding their contact information and insurance information. If there is no insurance being used then that is no problem at all! They would just leave those sections blank. In the event of a patient not having insurance everything discussed below, including the retinal photos, is included in their “cash price”. A questionnaire is also given to allow us an idea of what symptoms patients may be dealing with. Any of our patients may help themselves to a cold drink while waiting or filling out the forms.
Pre-testing
With the forms filled out the patient is then taken into pre-testing. “Pre-testing” allows us to perform quick tests and procedures to get an idea of a starting point for our examination. We measure any current glasses a patient may have and ask certain questions to get a better understanding of the reasons for why the patient is presenting for examination. In many cases we use retinal photography that grants us views of the health inside of the eye and in many cases permits us the same data we would achieve with dilation. The retinal photos also allow us to keep a detailed picture of the inside of the eye to be kept as a reference for future years.
The Exam
After pre-testing the patient is then escorted to the exam room where one of our highly trained and educated doctors will go through the rest of the examination. We will start off getting to know our patients and gaining a better understanding of their visual needs. If a patient is returning we catch up on how the year has gone, how work, school and their families are doing. We then move into discussing what we are hoping to accomplish with the exam for the day. After getting a detailed case history we check the vision the patient is working with currently and then move into adjusting for a more current prescription to see if visual acuity could be improved even more. We pay attention to the little details that would allow our patients to go beyond the acuities of 20/20 whenever possible. Once we know we have discovered the most accurate prescription possible we shift focus to the health of the eye. We generally start off using a slit lamp, which is a combination of magnifying lenses and lights that allow us to see a detailed, magnified view of the front structures of the eye. This is where we can identify corneal issues, dry eye disease and cataracts among many other ocular issues. Once the health of the anterior segment has been verified we move on to the back of the eye. Here we review the photographs that were previously taken or we perform a dilated fundus exam. Details of the exam and findings are explained every step of the way, we strive for our patients to gain an in-depth understanding of their eyes and ocular health.
Post Exam
At the end of the exam a patient is escorted back to the front of the office where they will be met by the optician who helped them with pre-testing. If glasses are needed a staff member will happily help the patient select glasses to match the patient’s lifestyle, fashion preferences and visual needs. Any Necessary follow-ups will be scheduled during check out before the patient leaves.