ophthalmologist: new practice

[cellio]

My ophthalmologist left her old practice and set out on her own. This morning was my first visit in the new digs. Hey, new gadgetry!

An assistant read the prescription from my current glasses and then crafted a new one. (I hadn't asked for a refraction, but I wasn't charged for it so that's fine.) She now has a gadget similar to the one at NeoVision; I stared into the thing at an image (this one was a house in a field) and watched its focus change as the machine auto-adjusted to my eye. I love that thing; it's much less frustrating (and I imagine more accurate) than 15 minutes of "which is better, A or B?" (while they change lenses too quickly for me to focus and evaluate). They still do that to refine the prescription, but I had to evaluate no more than half a dozen configurations (so I could feasibly get them to slow down).

All that said, my ophthalmologist said "I'm not an optician; if you have one you like you should go there". I don't have one I like, but I'll keep looking. But now I know that I'm likely to get a good prescription from her if I need to -- one at least as good as what NeoVision did, anyway.

The eye chart has also been updated. Who thought there was much they could do there? But the lighting was more uniform and I think the resolution was better. (It was a display, not a projected image.) The remote control suggested to me that it could be infinitely programmable (though I didn't ask), which is refreshing. (I fear memorization giving false positives.) For the first time that I can remember, the post-slash number for my weaker eye was a two-digit number (20/80). The stronger eye also produced a better reading than usual. I know there's a great deal of variation in how those numbers are generated and interpreted (20/20 is not the universal standard you would imagine), but I have to assume that the improvement is due to the tools and not to a change in my vision. (It could be the new glasses; I didn't think to bring the old ones along for comparison.)

A small thing, but she was also able to give me printed, rather than hand-written, prescriptions. I'll bet pharmacists wish more doctors would do that. :-) The down-side of the same underlying cause: there was no physical chart for me to browse while waiting for the doctor after the preliminaries. (Hey, it's data about me and funded by me (or at least on my behalf); I should be able to look at it, right?)

I have no idea what she charges my insurance company. (My deductible, of course, has not changed.) My out-of-pocket cost actually went down; while she's farther away (= more gas), I no longer have to pay $5 for parking (and it was nowhere near $5' worth of gas). So, a win on everything except time, and the time hit isn't that bad (Fox Chapel).

Comments

[sekhmets-song.livejournal.com]

I am so happy to hear that they have improved the "this or...this" bit. Even just cutting it down to a few options is a huge deal for those of us who start second guessing our choices after the third or fourth lens.
I sooooo need to get new glasses. My eyes haven't changed that much since I got this pair. But let's just say that I have had these frames so long that they have come back in style.
Uck.

[tidesong.livejournal.com]

Wow, I wonder if I could find an ophth with one of those types of machines. I don't think I've ever had an accurate prescription....

[estherchaya.livejournal.com]

I loathe the A or B, B or C scenarios... I can't adjust that quickly.

OT: We's In Yer Citty Ridin Ye Coasterz

[starmalachite.livejournal.com]

(Sorry, but I don't have your email addy on this machine.)

Just wanted to let you know that stevemb & I are in P-burgh for Confluence. Today will be devoted to Kennywood. Hope to see you at the con!

Re: OT: We's In Yer Citty Ridin Ye Coasterz

[cellio]

Hi! Alas, no Confluence for me this year. Have fun!

[thatcrazycajun.livejournal.com]

Never could figure out the diff between an opthalmologist and an optometrist (or optician), despite most of a lifetime spent bespectacled -- aside from that one can actually sell you glasses and the other can prescribe you medication. And I think I may need to soon; my vision seems to have shifted again as I grow into middle age, and the current glasses no longer work for reading without frequent repositioning or removal.

[cellio]

Opthamologists are MDs, so can prescribe medicine and are more appropriate if you have real problems like glaucoma, retina problems, etc. Both opthamologists and optometrists can write you a prescription for glasses; I'm guessing that the latter are better at it on average because that's the main reason people go to them (whereas my opthamologist can do it as a side effect, but it's not why I go to her).

I don't know what the difference is between optometrists and opticians. (Maybe a matter of credentials?)