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How to Select the Right Optometrist for You

Thursday, April 17, 2014 @ 07:04 AM
Author: Amit Mathur

Visiting an optometrist should be a vital part of your regular eye care routine. Unfortunately, a lot of people do not do this regularly. A lot of people do not have an eye care professional that they go to on a regular basis. The fact is, if you get comfortable with one doctor you won’t mind him or her poking around at your eyes as much. Going to a new doctor is never an easy experience. However, it can be a little easier if you know how to find the proper doctor for your unique needs.

Remember, everyone is going to have their own unique preferences. Things they would feel comfortable with if a doctor were to possess them (like patience). Don’t feel your ideal traits must coincide with a doctor you already know as that is not the case. This article is designed to help you select your doctor without having to do the trial-and-error thing.

I’ve Never Had an Eye Doctor Before, Where Do I start?

When you have never had an eye check-up it can be intimidating to try to guess where to start. Talking to friends and family members is a great day to ensure you are getting honest information from people you trust. It is possible to ask your doctor for a referral as they will have a list of the optometrists in the area and they will likely have a good sense of who is good and who to avoid. Asking a health care professional is especially helpful when you have young children as they are able to give you the name of a doctor that will be extra good with the kids.

There are multiple websites you can go to which have lists of the eye care professionals in your area. This is helpful as it allows you to sift through the list yourself. There is not really any way for you to tell much about the dentist. However, you can read reviews in order to get a better feel for how they manage their practice.

Questions You Should Consider Asking During Your First Appointment

If this is your first optometrists appointment, you are probably wondering what type of questions you should be asking, if any. Experience really does matter when it comes to eye care. A doctor with more experience may be able to diagnose any potential issues well in advance and much more easily than someone who has less experience. This is often because the doctor with more experience has seen more patients and is able to notice slight imperfections easier.

If you have coverage for your eye care, you should probably ensure the doctor you selected accepts your coverage plan. If it is possible, you should be asking this question before you actually go in to see the doctor as it would be a waste of your time to go all the way down there to find out that your insurance is not accepted at that specific location.

It is ideal for a person to take a look at their doctors credentials before stepping foot into the office. Do an online search to ensure the doctor has a license, take a look at where they went to school and ensure that they have the proper background to be working on your vision to begin with. It may help to look up online reviews as well. Online reviews will help you to get an understanding of how other peoples experiences with that particular doctor went.

Some eye care professionals have a speciality (they work mostly with children or with people dealing with a certain disease). It is essential to ask your potential doctor what they specialize in and ensure you pick the doctor that has the skills and the expertise to properly treat you.

Things to Consider After Your Appointment

Most people think that after your eye doctor appointment you have done everything necessary and there is nothing left to do. This is not the case. After your initial appointment, you should reflect on your experiences and ask yourself how you thought it went.

The wait time is definitely something you should consider when selecting a doctor. Some eye doctors will take you right away where others will not. If you have experienced a longer wait time than you would have liked, you should ask the receptionist about the length of the standard wait for an appointment and see if you feel like waiting that long for your appointments. Just because you had to wait longer one time does not mean it will happen every time, so make sure you ask and don’t jump to conclusions.

When the examination was complete, did you feel that it was thorough? When you go to these types of appointments it is important to ensure that you are not feeling as if you are being rushed. It is never a good sign when an eye care professional rushes you out the door before you’re ready for it.

Look over the list of questions or concerns you had before you went to the eye doctors. Ask yourself if the doctor did a good job answering your questions. If your doctor does not have good communication skills you are likely going to run into issues later on down the road.

Lastly, you should ask yourself if you felt comfortable with the doctor you saw. This is probably the most important of all the questions as you are far less likely to go to a doctor you do not like. If you like your doctor, you will go to appointments as required.

What to Do If You Do Not Like Your Eye Care Professional

There is no shame in admitting that you tried out a doctor and you did not like them for whatever reason. There are many reasons why you may not want to go back to a specific eye care professional, and that is okay. The most important thing is that you have realized this and you want to know what to do next. You will be pleased to know that there is a simple answer for this. You can just try a different doctor next time. Just ensure that you go through the mental checklist when you’re done to be entirely positive that you want to remain with a specific doctor.

Making the Best Decisions For You

Unfortunately there isn’t much anyone can do to tell you for sure who is a good doctor and who isn’t unless they have firsthand experience with the specific doctor. Do your homework before selecting just anyone. In our modern society, it’s quite easy to find out information on anyone (even doctors and regular people off the street) on the internet. It is easy for us to do some research to ensure we are putting ourselves in good hands.

If you research the list of potential eye care professionals and select the one you believe to be the best out of the bunch then you are able to eliminate a lot of guess work. If you ask family, friends, and read reviews online about that specific eye care professional you should get a pretty good feel for their qualifications without even having to call them on the phone.

At your initial appointment, you should attempt to remain diligent and observant. You want to ensure you are comfortable with this doctor as well as the other staff members before you decide to stay with one doctor. Never settle for a doctor that you are not comfortable with.

Once you find the eye care professional that does a good job and you feel comfortable with it is imperil that you attend regular appointments to ensure that any issues are diagnosed early. If you drive, you may want to ensure someone else drives you to your appointment and picks you up as you will likely not be able to drive after having eye drops put into your eyes.

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