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Have you ever found yourself in a position where you were asking if the level of service you received was on par with industry standards?
It’s likely that this has happened at least once in the last year to most of you when dealing with someone. I may not have the answers for what the industry standard is for all standards, but I will provide you with some insight into what a quality eye exam is based on industry standards.
An eye exam starts with efficient and accurate pre-testing. This can include an assortment of machines, but as a basic foundation includes auto-refraction, tonometry, lensometry, and fundus photos. Auto-refraction gets a rough reading of your prescription to guide the Doctor. This is often done by looking at a picture going in and out of focus inside a machine. Tonometry is a measurement of the pressure in the eye. This is the infamous puff of air. Lensometry is the reading of the glasses you brought to your eye exam.
This is often done with an automatic machine to expedite the process. Fundus photos are photos taken of the back surface (fundus) of the eye. This is done at a machine that is basically an advanced camera and presents as a bright flash. Some eye clinics now are also including Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) as a part of standard eye exams. Such locations are going above and beyond the minimal standard to try and provide patients with the best possible care. This test helps the Doctor visualize and assess the layers in the back of the eye for diseases.
The next part of an eye exam generally takes place in the Doctor’s room and is one-on-one with the Doctor.
It should begin with a proper patient history and discussion to understand what has brought you in that day. The history is important to identify any risks that you may hold for certain conditions based on medications, genetics, or other factors. Next, the Doctor should assess the current vision you have, your eye alignment, pupil function, and eye tracking ability.
These are great to ensure your eyes are performing to their best ability. A subjective refraction will likely be the next step. This is the fun part where you get to give your input on what lens looks better, 1 or 2! After collecting the data from that, the Doctor will look at the current glasses (if any), the auto-refraction and the subjective refraction results to conclude a final prescription for you. This is why it is so important to bring your glasses to your eye exam. It helps the Doctor ensure your next pair of glasses will feel comfortable and have great vision.
The eye exam will generally shift to assess the health of everything from the front to the back of the eye next.
A machine called a slit lamp is used for this. It is practically a microscope designed for eye Doctors. This means it has the correct magnifications, better light controls, and a few extra filters in them to help gather information more accurately.
Naturally, at the end of the exam you should receive your prescription for glasses and a summary of all the findings. Guidance in regards to glasses or contact lenses will likely be mentioned as well. The Doctor will mention if any follow ups are necessary and they will tell you how often your regular visit should be. Please keep in mind that there can be variations between Doctor to Doctor, and different tests can be used to collect the same information. Thus, don’t hesitate to ask them questions if you are curious! Knowledge equals power.
