Dr Richard Nahas Shares Step by Step Instructions for Choosing the Right Eye Doctor

Introduction

According to Dr Richard Nahas, Canada is expected to have around 6,000 optometrists working across the country very soon. That means you have a larger pool of qualified eye doctors to choose from. Let’s check out step-by-step instructions for choosing the right eye doctor. 

The Instructions

1. All eye doctors aren’t the same – All eye doctors aren’t the same. There are two major distinctions – Optometrists and Ophthalmologists. The former is a medical professional who examines and tests your eyes and prescribes lenses or glasses to correct or solve problems with your eyesight. On the other hand, ophthalmologists treat eye diseases and conditions. They aren’t the same. Make sure you know which support you need before searching for an eye doctor.

2. Seek recommendations and scan through reviews – If you want to see an optometrist, the best way to find a reliable one is to seek direct referrals from friends, family, neighbours, colleagues and other people you can trust. Some of them may have had the same problems as you and may be able to direct you to the perfect eye doctor.

Apart from that, you also need to look for reviews while deciding on eye doctors. If you have recommendations and the clinic of the eye doctor is listed on Google, you can check out the ratings and reviews easily. Apart from that, there are websites like RateMDs where patients rate and review thousands of doctors across the country and their honest opinion may direct you in the right direction. 

3. Check the price – The public healthcare system in this country covers almost everything that’s deemed “medically necessary”. However, it doesn’t cover dental or vision care. The same holds for provincial healthcare as well, except the Northwest Territories provincial healthcare plan. Slime provinces cover vision care if you’re under 18 or over 65.

However, if you don’t fall into any of those categories and don’t have private health insurance that covers eye care, you need to be careful about the price. Even if you’re covered by private health insurance, you need to make sure that the eye clinic and doctor are part of the insurer’s network. You don’t want to end up with a steep bill after visiting the eye doctor.

4. Credentials and experience – By now, you must have a list of eye doctors you’re interested in. Before choosing one of them, make sure that you check their credentials and experience. Optometrists are accredited by the Accreditation Council of Optometric Education with a Doctor of Optometry (OD).

On the other hand, ophthalmologists need to go through the MCCQE and NAC exams and specialize in ophthalmology during their residency. Choose a doctor that has a lot of experience with similar cases as yours.     

Conclusion

Dr Richard Nahas suggests that you follow the above-mentioned steps to choose the right eye doctor for you. Make sure the doctor is qualified and has a lot of experience. You also need to make sure that the price is right so that you don’t get buried by an expensive invoice at the end.