Wellness

[casuallady]

Last fall I went to my Opthamologist for my bi-annual eye examine. I am 69 and have a cataract but not ready to remove. Other then that my eyes did not change much. When I was paying I asked for my prescription, and the clerk said they didn't give me one since my eyes haven't changed much. She said if I needed one to come in, well today I decided to get one for new prescription sun classes. We are going to the Masters and would like to have them for the beginning of April. When I called the Opth. Office the receptionist said they couldn't give me one and it would be fraud to give me one from 2011??? What, I didn't want one from 2011, I wanted the end of 2013. She said I would need to schedule a fracturing appt. and that would be April 4th. We are leaving for the open on the 6th.

My next option was Pearl Vision, since I had a $30.00 coupon. I went there this afternoon, and picked out frames, the Optometrist fit me in and my classes will be her in 7-10days.

Is this legal to do an eye examine, then not give a prescription? She did not say I would need to come back in for another examine.

[violann]

I see a very fine ophthalmologist, after going to the same ophthalmologist for about 50 years! I have recently become aware of my own responsibility in getting the very best results for my vision. I learned that it is not necessary to wait for a cataract to "ripen" or "mature" before removal. If you are diagnosed with cataracts, it is just as good to have them removed early as it is to wait. The other thing I learned is that the patient needs to develop a very specific, accurate description of how they are effected by vision issues. Even my husband wasn't aware that I had double vision until I described it to him just before my surgery. If your vision isn't allowing you to do what you want/need to do, be sure to let your physician know, and keep trying until the physician understands what you are talking about.

[colliegirls]

Did Pearl Vision give you an exam? I am a little confused. I always get the new prescription, since no one will accept a prescription more than 1 year old, when I leave the exam unless I am getting my glasses from their optical store. I always get my contact lens prescription also, in case I am on vacation and need new contacts for any reason. If they refuse to give you your new prescription, I would change doctors.

[gonnab]

If your vision did not change, why would you expect the doc to give you a new prescription?

[fthunt]

I hope Pearl's frames have improved since my experience. I had a doctor do the exam and then took the prescription to Pearls because they offered a second glasses/frames for free. I had a terrible time - the lenses kept falling out! On vacation - everywhere I had to carry a set of those tiny screwdrivers - and then attempt to get the (glass) back in the groove (all sides) and then tighten the screws. Sometimes 2 people had to help make it work - two hands not enough to hold everything - lens, frame and screwdriver!

I now willingly pay the higher price and buy all my glasses from my doctor. No more problems!

Good Luck

[Logica]

Here's an explanation drawn from personal experience and it may help. You may not need a new pair of glasses because they cannot correct your vision any more than it has already been corrected and a new pair of glasses will not do any more for you than an old pair of glasses except maybe change the frame. It seems your ophthalmologist is putting your welfare first and clearly wants to save you an unneeded cost. It's possible PV's exam will result in a new pair of glasses but it will not improve your vision if the prescription is about the same or tweaked just a tad. This happened to me and I eventually had both cataracts removed and now see 20/20 with glasses. As far as vision correction I was at the end of the line and you do not want to pay for a new pair twice.

[conlt]

I go to the Opthomologist every year. In order to get a new glasses prescription, I ask them to do a refraction. I pay for that myself since the insurance does not pay for it. It is not expensive at all.

[apple1964]

What are sun classes?

[VaBelle35]

I go to an MD/Opthomologist every year and even though my eyes do not change at all or do not change much (I have mild astigmatism), they always give me a fresh prescription and she will also make the minor adjustment in it in the event I want to get new lenses. I never have to ask, she just writes out the prescription for me to do with what I choose.

The prescription is based on the refraction procedure plus the manual eye chart exam. If they had not done both of these at your last appointment, I can see why they would not give you the prescription because they didn't have one to give you. Saying that giving you your 2011 prescription is fraud I think is an odd choice of words for them to use and perhaps she meant something else, closer to "not practicing good medicine."

If they did do both of those procedures at your last exam, then there is no reason whey they can't give you the prescription without having to come in.

Perhaps you need to call them back and confirm whether these were done or not. Although at this point since you went to another place, it serves no purpose only to get you all worked up again.

[rambocat]

If you're on Medicare, they cover Ophthalmologist's visits. They have specific rules about the timeline of certain tests. It could be that unless the Dr suspected a problem they won't won't pay for an exam to change your prescription so soon.

An example is mammograms are covered every 366 days, unless there is a problem and the test is need sooner.

Did PV give you an exam or just copy your current prescription?