prepare for your visit

what to expect during your visit?

Ophthalmology appointments typically take longer than a regular doctor’s visit. Your child’s appointment could last over two hours.

During the appointment, your child will receive a comprehensive eye exam, and will most likely have his or her eyes dilated with eye drops. Older children should be told that they may be given eye drops to help them prepare for the visit. These might sting a little and make their vision blurry for a while. The drops may be given one or more times and take about 30 to 45 minutes to work.

These same eye drops also cause a temporary weakness of the eyes’ focusing muscles. This allows the ophthalmologist to determine if your child has a focusing or refractive error that requires glasses. Refractive errors include:

• Nearsightedness (myopia)
• Farsightedness (hyperopia)
• Distorted vision (astigmatism)

We do require you to stay with your child through the entire examination. Although we strongly recommend that parents accompany their children to all appointments, we understand that there are times when this is not possible. If your child is accompanied by an adult other than a parent or guardian, please provide us with written permission. 

Your child’s ophthalmologist / optometrist will use age-appropriate strategies to examine each eye. For example, a younger child may be asked to follow lights or toys with their eyes. Children who talk but cannot read or count may be asked to identify pictures of common objects. Cooperative and verbal older children will have their vision tested using a computerized eye chart.

We can examine infants and small children while they sit on a parent's lap. Older children are encouraged to sit in the exam chair by themselves.

what to bring

At the first visit, the ophthalmologist will need to know about your child's overall health. Be sure to tell the doctor or the clinical staff about your child's history:

• Medical issues/diagnosis
• Previous surgical procedures
• Any allergies

If your child currently has glasses or contact lenses, please bring them to the appointment. Also, bring:

• List of medications that your child is taking
• Insurance card(s)
• Previous eye exam history
• Any questions you may have for your child's eye care provider

insurance & billing

Our eye exams are complete medical evaluations of the eye. We will bill your child’s examination to your medical insurance.

We participate in most major health plans including Anthem, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna, Aetna and Medical Mutual of Ohio as well as Medicaid, CareSource and Molina. If you have specific questions about participation, please contact your insurance company.

Please remember to bring the following to your appointment:

• Your medical insurance card(s)
• Copay or coinsurance