How to Learn About LASIK Without Being Sold

LASIK is a medical procedure aimed to help you see clearly. With so much information on the internet, how do you find out about LASIK? Where do you go to research the procedure and how it works? How do you make yourself comfortable enough to finally contact a LASIK practice to being the process? ARSC, or the American Refractive Surgery Council, has a few pointers that may help you out.  EYE ON HEALTH Going Online To Learn About LASIK

(NAPSI)-Social networks and blogs have taken the information-rich resources of the Internet and made them a part of everyday conversation: According to a recent Pew Internet study, 80 percent of Internet users, or 59 percent of U.S. adults, look online for health information. Networks like Facebook, review sites such as HealthGrades and Yelp, and comments and questions posted online are extremely useful tools for researching personal health matters. Popular topics of inquiry include learning about procedures, specific medical conditions, understanding treatment options and finding a doctor. When considering an elective procedure, such as vision correction with LASIK, having access to online resources can make becoming an informed patient much easier. The American Refractive Surgery Council offers these tips on using the Internet and social networking to research whether LASIK is right for you. • Use Facebook and other social networks to ask friends and followers about their LASIK experiences. Were they happy? What surgeon would they recommend? • If you're curious about exactly how the surgery is performed, you can check out surgery videos on YouTube or Vimeo. These videos of actual procedures can be very instructive (though be warned, they are graphic). Also, many surgeons post procedure videos on their sites. • Use forums, message boards and other online discussions to hear from other people firsthand. Literally thousands of communities have formed around common areas of interest where LASIK can make a difference-from parents to outdoor enthusiasts. This is a great avenue for finding people who share your interests and hearing about their experiences with the procedure. • You can find out about prices online; just remember, getting a great deal should not be the deciding factor for any surgical procedure. A consultation with a refractive surgeon should be balanced, detailed and personalized to you and your vision. It should never feel like a sales process. • Use authoritative medical websites such as WebMD or the Mayo Clinic to learn about the procedure. Research the risks as well as the benefits and understand what the procedure can and can't do. For example, LASIK can free you from glasses and contact lenses-or reduce your dependence on them. But it has limitations. In particular, LASIK can't stop the aging process. Your eyes will continue to age and you may need glasses for reading at some point in the future. Finally, some common sense about using the Internet: Because anyone can put anything on the Web, the source matters. Make sure the information you are relying on to make a medical decision comes from a credible source and that you verify the information with your surgeon or personal physician. Learn more at www.americanrefractivesurgerycouncil.org. Information online and in social networks can help you make up your mind about LASIK.

Why Your Eye Surgeon Needs to be Local-Part 3

Corporate medicine has its benefits and its downfalls. In regards to the refractive surgery field, there are more downfalls to a corporate practice than there are benefits. Last week we discussed the availability of other vision correction procedures and why this is important. This week we will look at technology.

Technological Differences

LASIK has been around since the late 1990s, and since then, technology has been improved, advanced, and refined, all to increase the customer experience. There are many options today for LASIK technology, some still using a metal blade while others are 100% blade-free. While all of the technology is safe for your eyes, the benefits of the newest technology often reduces the risk of side-effects and may result in faster healing times.

If you want the optimal outcome for your eyes, selecting a doctor that uses the most advanced and latest equipment is the best option. However, not all doctors have access to this equipment. Take doctors that work at a corporate LASIK practice, for example. They don’t even get to choose which equipment they use to perform your procedure. They have to use the equipment provided to them by their board of directors. They may know the convenience and benefits of newer technology, but they have no say when it comes to what they get to use.

In contrast, a doctor who owns his/her own practice gets to choose the technology they use in their practice. They have 100% authority over what tools and technology goes into the practice. This makes them accountable to their patients and the patients’ outcomes. If they provide inadequate technology and the outcomes aren’t the best, they’ll lose out on new patients.

Not all doctors will provide the best technology. Some doctors don’t want to make the investment so they will continue to use outdated technology on their patients. When you visit a new LASIK practice, make sure to ask about the technology that the doctor will use. Understand your options and why that doctor chose the technology that they use at that practice. The technology and the doctor’s previous patient outcomes may mean the difference between an exceptional LASIK experience, and something else.

For more information check out our website at http://www.eyeclinic2020.com/ or call us at 512-427-1100.

Why Your Eye Surgeon Needs to be Local- Part 2

Corporate medicine has its benefits and its downfalls. In regards to the refractive surgery field, there are more downfalls to a corporate practice than there are benefits. Last week we discussed the difference between the doctors at each type of practice. This week, let’s look at the services offered.

The Right Procedure for Your Eyes

Another big difference between local and corporate owned practices are the services they offer. When a corporate practice is set up, it’s one of hundreds, maybe thousands of locations. In order to keep control over the brand name, these practices only offer a very small number of services, sometimes just LASIK and nothing else. Performing LASIK on patients that are not excellent candidates increases the likelihood of side-effects and less than optimal outcomes.

By providing only one service, the headquarters can ensure that each practice is exactly the same, offering the same service, providing the same website, and the same marketing and advertising collateral. They also don’t have to worry too much about training doctors who don’t know anything other than LASIK. This brings the cost of operation down for them and allows the board of directors to earn more money.

All of this is quite the opposite for a local doctor and local practice. The doctor (or a small group of local doctors) decides to open up a practice in order to improve the eye health of the community. The doctor will spend his/her own money because they know they can provide excellent eyesight to their patients. They are vested in their community because they know the people and they care about them.

These doctors will offer different types of services because they know that the best care that can be provided isn’t through one single solution. LASIK isn’t the best procedure for someone with very thin corneas. A patient with this issue may be better suited for PRK. Some patients may not be suited for laser vision correction at all. If this is the case, there are other options but usually only provided by a local ophthalmologist.

A local ophthalmologist can decide which procedures to offer his/her patients. They will be the one responsible for your treatment and follow-up care and they wouldn’t provide anything less just to earn a dollar. They are held accountable by their patients, not a board of directors looking to make a profit.

This all points to a new consideration on your quest for excellent vision:

Would you rather have vision correction performed on you that may not be right, but it’s all the practice offers? Or would you want to be fully examined by the surgeon performing your procedure who can offer other proven procedures that may actually be better for the health of your eyes?

Check back in next week when we continue this topic and discuss Technology

Why Your Eye Surgeon Needs to be Local

Corporate medicine has its benefits and its downfalls. In regards to the refractive surgery field, there are more downfalls to a corporate practice than there are benefits. But first, let’s take a look at what the difference is between a local ophthalmology practice and a corporate one.

Local Ophthalmology Practice

A local ophthalmology practice is one that has one or just a few locations, all found within the same state, the same geographical region. The doctors and staff are all from the area as well.

Local practices are usually owned by the doctor or surgeon, or a small group of doctors or surgeons. They are responsible for all of the decisions regarding staffing, technology, services offered, and everything else that is included with their particular practice.

Corporate-Owned Ophthalmology Practice

A corporate-owned ophthalmology practice is one that has multiple locations, usually nationwide. These practices are run through a company, which is run by a board of directors. They often only offer one or two services, usually just LASIK, and maybe PRK. They employ thousands of doctors and traditionally these doctors work at multiple locations. They travel to different locations, perform surgery and then travel to another location. Some doctors even travel to different states just to perform surgeries.

All decisions are made by a board of directors, not the staff or doctors working in each particular location.

The Difference

So what’s the difference? Why should you choose one location over the other?

Doctor Availability

Perhaps the biggest factor in why you should really know the difference between the two types of ophthalmology practices is doctor availability. In a locally owned practice, the doctor lives in or near town. S/he works at the practice full-time and performs consultations, the planning of treatment, the surgery, and the post-operative follow-up exams on each patient that comes through the door. They have a relationship with their patients, and they are most likely there for anything the patient may need.

In a corporate practice, the doctor sees patients at multiple locations. S/he will fly in, review the chart and work-up of the patient without even meeting or personally examining the patient, perform the surgery, and then fly off. This means that the surgeon that performs your particular surgery is not available for pre-surgery exams, follow-up, or even during emergency-related issues that may have resulted from your surgery. They usually have an optometrist perform these tasks. An optometrist, while a perfectly capable doctor, is not trained in the actual performance of the surgery. If a complication arises that the optometrist is not qualified to respond to, where are you going to go? Who’s going to help?

Sometimes an optometrist refers a patient for LASIK. When this happens, the LASIK surgeon will perform the surgery and then refer you back to your optometrist for follow-up exams. This works well when you are referred to a local practice, so that your surgeon will still be available for any emergency issues that may arise.

So which would you prefer – a surgeon operating on your eyes, someone you’ve never met, who’s never actually seen your eyes and who won’t be around if you have an emergency? Or would you rather have someone who is local, available throughout the week, and who takes it as a personal responsibility to care for you and your eyesight?

Check back in next week when we continue this topic and discuss The Right Procedure for Your Eyes.

Contact Lens Update

A Word from Dr. Melanie Prosise

The Eye Clinic of Austin is now happy to offer 1-Day Acuvue Moist for Astigmatism lenses.  These unique lenses offer the benefits of daily replacement lenses with the superior vision that an accurate prescription for astigmatism provides.  Studies show that patients who replace their contact lenses daily are less likely to experience contact lens related infections and less likely to have contact lens related dry eye.  Additionally, single use lenses are very convenient and excellent for travel.  If you are a contact lens patient currently wearing a soft lens that requires nightly cleaning  or have always wanted to try contact lenses but were concerned about the hassle of cleaning, come discover single use lenses for yourself.  Please ask at your next contact lens appointment for a daily replacement lens trial so that you can discover if this option fits your lifestyle.