Patient Information

Accepted Insurance

We accept most major medical & vision insurances including Medicare, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Blue Care Network, Priority Health, United Healthcare, Aetna, Cigna, Confinity, VSP, and Eyemed to name a few. Please call the office if your insurance is not listed. We accept more insurance options than what is listed here.

What to bring to your appointment

For your first appointment you should arrive early for history taking and testing. Please bring with you:

• Your current glasses or contact lenses, if applicable
• A list of any medications and nutritional supplements you take regularly
• Your driver’s license
• Your medical and vision insurance cards

What to expect during your eye exam

After a general medical history, your ophthalmologist will start with a visual acuity test, which measures how sharp you can see objects close up and far away.

If you are having difficulty seeing objects clearly, a retinoscope is often use to shine a light into your retina, allowing your doctor to estimate the power of corrective lenses needed.

Next, that estimate is placed into a phoropter, a machine full of corrective lenses. Your doctor will ask you to look through it, placing different lenses in front of your eye to determine which one helps you see best. This is the measurement used when ordering glasses or contact lenses.

In addition to sharp vision, your ophthalmologist wants to make sure your eyes are working properly together. The cover test can help determine if your eye muscles are equally strong in both eyes. A paddle is used to cover one eye at a time as you look at an object in the distance. Your doctor can see if the muscles are working together bywatching the movement of the eyes.

To check depth perception, your doctor may use 3D glasses and have you look at objects with varying degrees of stereopsis or depth. This helps to quantify how much depth perception you have. Another test common during an eye exam is a pupil test. Your ophthalmologist will shine a light into each pupil to be sure that they are responding quickly and in the same way.

Adults may also have an applanation test to check for signs of glaucoma by measuring the pressure of your eyeball with a probe that briefly touches the surface of the eye. Patients are given eye drops before this test to numb the eye so the probe is not felt.

The structures of the eye are examined under a slit lamp microscope. While seated in the exam chair, your head will be positioned in the microscope using a chin and forehead rest. Your ophthalmologist can then see in greater detail structures such as your sclera (the white of your eye), your cornea (the clear front of your eye), your iris (the colored part of your eye), and your lens (where cataracts may form).

Dilating the eyes allow your ophthalmologist to look for a variety of conditions in the back of your eye where your retina and optic nerve are located. Through a dilated exam, a more complete evaluation can be done to look for glaucoma, macular degeneration, retinal problems, and vascular disease. A dilating drop is put into each eye opening the pupil allowing your doctor to adequately evaluate the health of your eye.

Depending on the results of these examination techniques, additional testing may be recommended.