Just as you may have a team of doctors managing a heart or diabetic condition, so too can you have a team of eye care professionals managing your eye care.  Co-management is the process of eye care professionals working as a team to provide a patient’s care. In most cases, this occurs when an optometrist such as the doctors at Bissell Eye Care provide the initial evaluation and care after the surgery with an ophthalmologist performing the surgical procedure. Often the optometrist has been the patient’s trusted eye care provider for years. This is especially valuable to patients as they have established a doctor patient relationship with our office over the years.

Co-managed care provides an additional check and balance between the patient and surgeon, with an optometrist assisting the patient’s questions and concerns.

LASIK/Cataracts Co-Management

In LASIK, “co-management” is the term commonly used to describe a situation when an optometrist provides pre-op and post-op care with an ophthalmologist providing surgery. For example, an optometrist will provide the initial LASIK, All-Laser Lasik, PRK, LASEK or any other refractive surgery evaluation, and then care for the patient after the surgery.

Some factors Bissell Eye Care will take into account to determine which surgery may be right for you:

• An overall health assessment will be conducted to determine if any systemic diseases are present that may impair your ability to heal such as autoimmune or immunodeficiency diseases.
• Corneal health including dry eye disease, thin corneas, irregular corneas, or corneal diseases such as keratoconus are considered.
• Stability is determined by your eyeglass prescription.
• Analysis of your retinal health ensures there is no other ocular disease present that would prevent you from achieving 20/20 vision after laser vision correction.
• Candidacy for some refractive surgeries may be limited due to lifestyle and occupation.

Patient Benefits for co-managed care:

• Familiarity with your optometrist and the convenience of pre- and post-operative follow-up.
• A central hub of patient care coordination.
• Often less costly depending on copays and insurance deductibles.

Bissell Eye Care has working arrangements with eye surgeons and specialized eye care doctors to provide many of the surgical services such as cataract surgery, laser surgery, refractive surgery, retinal detachments, retinal tears and hemorrhages. You can be assured that your eyes will be comprehensively managed by the best eye care professionals.

About the author: John D. Bissell, owner of Bissell Eye Care and Tri-State Low Vision Services, offers comprehensive eye examinations for the entire family, ocular disease detection and treatment, eye glasses, sun glasses, active wear, contact lenses, and low vision examinations for those with significant vision loss. He has undergone specialized training for treatment of low vision by the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists utilizing customized telescopic eyeglasses, prisms and telescopic implants for patients who qualify. The practice accepts most types of vision and health insurance plans.