704-365-0555
At Horizon Eye Care, we’re dedicated to providing our patients with the best possible care. The following FAQs will help provide answers to many our patients’ most common questions. If we haven’t answered your questions, you can ask using our contact form or by calling one of our seven Charlotte area office locations.
If you do not have insurance coverage for a routine eye exam, our fee is $160 which includes both the medical examination and the refraction (although they will be listed separately on your bill). The refraction is the portion of the exam where the doctor determines the prescription you need for glasses. The fee does not include the cost of a contact lens fitting or check.
Your eyes will normally be dilated for a routine eye exam. Dilating your eyes helps the doctor to see the back of your eye to detect serious eye diseases. Your eyes will typically remain dilated and light sensitive for a few hours but can vary depending on which type of dilation drops were administered. So remember to bring your sunglasses.
Our routine eye exam typically lasts between an hour and an hour and a half.
Horizon Eye Care is a kid-friendly practice specializing in the treatment of children of all ages, including newborns. Visit our pediatric ophthalmology page for more details about your child’s eye care.
It differs for every child. At Horizon Eye Care, our pediatric ophthalmologists work with our other ophthalmologists to determine when your child is ready to make the switch. We ensure your child’s smooth transition and a lifetime of the highest-quality eye care.
An ophthalmologist is a medical doctor who went on for additional training in residency and fellowships to specialize in the eye. Ophthalmologists perform routine eye care, but spend most of their clinical time working with patients who have a medical condition with their eye or need surgery.
An optometrist is a doctor who specializes in optometry and has earned a Doctor of Optometry degree. Optometry is the science that deals with assessing, diagnosing, treating, and managing the eye and related structures for visual difficulties (such as nearsightedness and farsightedness) and eye diseases. Horizon has four optometrists on staff and there are many community-based optometrists in Charlotte with whom we have mutual patients and referral relationships.
Both ophthalmologists and optometrists can prescribe medications and diagnose and treat eye diseases, but only ophthalmologists perform surgery.
LASIK stands for LaserAssisted In Situ Keratomileusis; it is a type of refractive surgery used to treat nearsightedness, astigmatism and farsightedness. The procedure involves minimal discomfort and requires only topical anesthesia (eye drops). Generally, it takes only a few minutes per eye. The LASIK procedure changes the way light is focused by the eye by altering the shape of the cornea. During the initial portion of the LASIK procedure, we creat a protective flap of cornea tissue. Under the protective flap, the excimer laser removes a small amount of corneal tissue. We then reposition the cap without sutures.
Of the many refractive laser procedures, LASIK has the shortest time to vision recovery and patients generally experience little to no postoperative pain. The protective corneal cap allows for overnight sealing of the corneal surface, which quickly alleviates post-operative scratchiness and irritation. Eye drops are often prescribed for the first week following surgery unless otherwise directed by your doctor.
LASIK has gained popularity among patients due to its short recovery time and limited postoperative pain. Patients heal rapidly reducing the need for prolonged medication and allowing both eyes to be treated at the same time. In addition, LASIK has proven to treat a wide ranges of prescriptions even for those who are extremely nearsighted or extremely astigmatic.
It’s important to remember that even minor, everyday corrective eye treatments carry some risk, including wearing contact lenses. In recent studies and our experience, most patients achieve excellent results without significant complications. Serious complications appear to be rare.
Some patients do require a second treatment in order to get the vision that they desire. If a second treatment is necessary, it is usually performed several weeks or months after the first procedure.
Infections after LASIK have been reported, but are rare. Occasionally, your surgeon may cancel your procedure if the flap created is not adequate. Your LASIK can be rescheduled for about three months later. Trauma to the eye shortly after the procedure, while the eye is still healing can cause complications. If a patient is hit in the eye after the procedure, the flap can be moved, making it necessary to surgically reposition the flap. Care should be taken to avoid having anything strike the eye and to avoid rubbing the eyes for several months after the procedure.
Occasionally, some epithelial (skin-like) cells on the surface of the eye can grow underneath the flap and cause problems. This can usually be resolved by lifting the flap, brushing away cells, and replacing the flap.
Most patients experience halos around lights and some starbursts or glare at night for several weeks to months after LASIK surgery. In general, these are noticeable but not debilitating, and usually are resolved within six months to a year after the procedure.
Yes. At Horizon Eye Care, we use only FDA-approved excimer lasers.
Laser vision correction of farsightedness has been approved by the FDA since 1998. Treating farsightedness has now become a routine procedure similar to treating nearsightedness. Farsighted (or hyperopic) patients under 40 can generally achieve both excellent distant and near vision after laser surgery.
For farsighted patients over 40, we are typically able to improve their sight with excellent distance vision and markedly improved reading vision, although they will still need reading glasses for some activities as they age. Monovision can help both farsighted and nearsighted patients over 40 who want to reduce their dependence on reading glasses.
The term “farsighted” is confusing because its affect on vision depends on the age of the person and how much farsightedness is present.
Presbyopia is the term for natural aging of the eye which makes reading glasses necessary after the age of “forty something.”
For this natural aging change, excimer laser treatment cannot eliminate the need for reading glasses unless one eye is made nearsighted to improve its reading ability. This treatment, which we call monovision, involves blurring the distance vision in that eye.
There is no evidence that LASIK causes cataracts or glaucoma. If someone who has had LASIK eventually develops cataracts, cataract surgery can still be successfully performed. Glaucoma is a disease involving pressure inside the eye that damages the optic nerve. If a patient develops glaucoma after LASIK, they may still be successfully treated for glaucoma at that time.
Any patient who has had LASIK should inform their eye doctor, so that the information is known when performing routine glaucoma testing over a lifetime. Also, patients who are quite nearsighted always have a higher risk of developing a retinal detachment in their lifetime. LASIK may dramatically improve their vision, but these patients will still continue to have a higher risk of retinal detachment. All patients will need to continue to be treated by an eye doctor and to have regular eye examinations.
Our eyes and vision are very precious, so it’s perfectly natural to be nervous about having the procedure. Much of this comes from fear of the unknown. To help alleviate your concerns, our staff will spend time with you answering any questions you may have and describing exactly what’s involved in the procedure, including what sounds and sights you’ll experience. We guide you through the process, step-by-step, to allay any fears have and help you feel as comfortable as possible. We also prescribe a mild sedative prior to the procedure.
Talking with patients who have had the procedure and asking questions about what to expect can help make you more comfortable about the decision to have LASIK surgery. Many of our patients have volunteered to talk about their laser correction experiences with anyone considering having the procedure. Let us know if you’d like us to put you in contact with one of our LASIK patients of if you would like to be part of this group after your procedure.
For the majority of our patients, we perform LASIK on both eyes on the same day. There are pros and cons to this approach, but most people choose it to minimize any postoperative discomfort and time off from work. If after the procedure one eye is quite nearsighted and the other eye is corrected, this can be somewhat disorienting. In general, many of the potential problems that can occur in LASIK will be noticed at the time of the procedure. If LASIK of the first eye goes perfectly, we feel confident performing the second eye on the same day. If the first eye proceeds less than perfectly, we generally wait until that eye heals and then treat the second eye on another day. Please don’t hesitate to approach us with any concerns or question you have about treatments of one or both eyes.
Most people experience about 12 hours of mild irritation after their LASIK similar to the feeling of dirty contact lenses. One dose of Tylenol is typically all most people need.
Most people do not need glasses or contact lenses to see distance clearly after laser vision correction. If a patient does, or if they want to wear contact lenses to improve their close-up vision after LASIK, they generally can wear contact lenses.
Horizon Eye Care participates in most medical insurance plans offered in Charlotte and North Carolina. These plans typically cover the evaluation and treatment of medical conditions involving the eye. It is always best to call your plan or check your plan website to verify in-network providers.
While some insurance companies provide routine eye care benefits as part of the basic plan and allow you to see any participating eye doctor, many employers choose a separate product for routine eye care. Routine eye care is defined as the benefit that allows you to get a routine eye exam along with a prescription for glasses. If you do have a separate insurance company for your vision benefits, you will typically select from a network of eye doctors. Not all vision plans provide you with an insurance card, so be sure to call your medical insurance carrier and ask if your routine vision benefits are administered by your medical plan or by another company.
Horizon Eye Care is considered out-of-network for some routine eye care plans, but most of our physicians accept Vision Service Plan (VSP), most Eyemed Plans, Community Eye Care and the participating BCBS discount plans. Keep in mind that if you have a medical condition with your eye we can file the claim to your medical insurance company in which case you will get in-network benefits. Additionally, if your insurance company administers the routine eye benefit then we can likely see you and you will have in-network benefits.
Some of these routine eye care programs have out-of-network benefits that can reduce the cost of your visit. Horizon Eye Care offers competitive fees for routine eye exams.
Most insurance companies do not cover contact lens exams and we collect this fee at the time of service. If you believe your insurance company will cover contact lens exams, you can file for reimbursement from your insurance company.
Our mission at Horizon Eye Care is to enhance, restore, and preserve vision. In order to provide quality eye care we must receive prompt payment for our services. Our policy is outlined in our Patient Consent and Agreement Form which all patients must sign.
When you check in at our office, we receive an instant report from your insurance company that tells us about your benefits and financial responsibility. When we find that you have not met your deductible or have co-insurance, we require payment at the time of service. It is Horizon Eye Care’s policy to collect all copays at the time of service.
Many insurance companies deem either part or all of your routine eye exams as a “non-covered” service. The most common of these is the refraction. You are encouraged to call your plan and ask if they cover refraction services represented by procedure code 92015. When the insurance company deems a service as non-covered it means that you are responsible for the bill. To help our customers with this expense, we offer a prompt pay discount on refraction services.
By collecting these various charges at the time of service we eliminate the need to send you an invoice, which enables our practice to be more cost efficient for our patients. Should you overpay during your visit, we will promptly process a refund check.
Yes! Visit our Online Patient Resources page to create an account. You can register, request an appointment, and pay your bill all online.
If you don’t want to register online, but you do want to fill out your forms before you get to the office, just print and complete the forms, and bring them with you to your appointment. Our front desk staff will register you when you arrive.
Yes, our Cotswold office, including the optical department, is open on Saturday from 8:00-12:00. If you would like a Saturday appointment, call (704) 365-0555, select option 2 for appointments, and let our staff member know your preference for a Saturday appointment.
Offices at our six locations are open 8:00-5:00 Monday through Friday. For the convenience of our patients, our Cotswold location is also open on Saturdays from 8:00-12:00.
We set aside appointments every day especially for patients experiencing eye care emergencies who need to be seen the same day.
Yes! We offer both an optical and contact lens department at all of our office locations. Horizon is known for its large selection of high-quality, brand name products and the outstanding service of our highly-trained opticians and contact lens technicians. We are always stocked with the latest styles and products to best serve your needs.
We do! Our sub-specialists treat all types of medical conditions of the eye. Visit our services page for a list of some of our patients’ most commonly requested medical specialties and the Horizon Eye Care doctors who are experts in each specialty. If you do not see your condition listed, visit the Online Patient Resources page.
For the convenience of our patients, we have six office locations in the Greater Charlotte area: Arboretum, Cotswold, Huntersville, Mooresville, University and Pineville.
Our surgeons operate in several locations throughout the Charlotte area. Most of our hospital-based surgery is performed at either Presbyterian Outpatient Surgery Center. We also operate at Presbyterian Huntersville, CMC Main, CMC University, Iredell Memorial and Charlotte Surgery Center. While all of our cataract surgery is performed at one of these facilities, we provide some surgical and cosmetic procedures such as eyelid surgery in the comfort of our offices.
We require a 24-hour notice of appointment cancellation.
Simply complete our medical records release form. After you complete this form, fax it to (704) 405-4093. We’ll process your request as soon as possible. There is a charge for this service unless the records are being released to maintain continuity of care with another treating doctor.
If you do not have insurance coverage for a routine eye exam, our fee is $160. This is a discounted rate available only when paid in full at the time of service. This fee includes the medical examination of your eyes and refraction. The refraction is the portion of the exam where the doctor determines the prescription you need for glasses. There will be an additional charge for contact lens fittings and checks.
If you do have insurance coverage for routine eye care and Horizon is a participating provider, there is a contracted reimbursement rate that we receive from your insurance company. We will bill your insurance company our standard charge and you will receive an explanation of benefits from your insurance company. Please note that if you have a deductible or co-insurance, your responsibility is a portion of our contracted rate due to your insurance company and not the $160 price described above. It is important to note that insurance companies frequently deny the refraction portion of your eye exam as a non-covered benefit. When this happens the patient becomes responsible for this charge.
Our fees for a contact lens exam generally range between $30 and $100 and are not included in the fee for a routine eye exam. If you currently wear contact lenses and do not expect to change the type of contact lens you wear, the charge is usually $30. If you currently wear contact lenses but want to change the type of contact lens you wear, the charge is usually $65. If you are going to be a new contact lens wearer the charge is normally $100. There are instances where we charge more than $100 for a contact lens exam, however, these charges are typically reserved for a high level of service involving a patient with a condition such as keratoconus.
Contact lens exams are critical to ensure that the lenses fit your eyes correctly. Poorly fitting contact lenses can lead to serious eye problems.
Since most insurance companies do not cover this service, we collect the fee at the time of the exam. If you have a medical condition such as keratoconus for which you may be covered, you can file this fee to your insurance company for reimbursement.
No. Our policy is to collect copays, prior balances, non-covered charges (such as refractions) and unmet deductibles at the time of service.
A refraction is the procedure performed by an eye doctor to determine the prescription needed for eyeglasses. We use a phoropter, fitted with various lenses, or our Epic machine to perform the refraction. This is the part of the exam where the doctor or technician asks questions such as “which is better, one or two?”
As dictated by the federal government, the refraction is a non-covered service that must be billed separately from the exam. Because Medicare has determined that this service is non-covered, some medical insurance carriers have mandated the same policy. Medicare and most insurance companies require that patients pay for the refraction separately from the exam. To find out if your plan covers refractions, call the customer service number on your insurance card and ask if refraction services represented by procedure code 92015 are covered.
Copyright © 2013 Horizon Eye Care. All rights reserved.
