Finding an Eye Care Professional

You may wish to consider the following ways of finding a professional to provide your eye care.

• Ask family members and friends about eye care professionals they use.
  
  
• Ask your family doctor for the name of a local eye care specialist.
  
  
• Call the department of ophthalmology or optometry at a nearby hospital, university medical center or medical school.
  
  
• Contact a state or county association of ophthalmologists or optometrists. These groups, usually called academies or societies, may have lists of eye care professionals with specific information on specialty and experience.
  
  
• The American Academy of Ophthalmology coordinates FIND AN OPHTHALMOLOGIST an on-line listing of member ophthalmologists practicing in the United States and abroad. This service is designed to help the general public locate ophthalmologists within a specific region. Website: http://www.eyenet.org/
  
  
• At a bookstore or library, check on available journals and books about choosing a physician and medical treatment. Here are some examples:

• Most large libraries have the reference set The ABMS Compendium of Certified Medical Professionals, which lists board-certified ophthalmologists, each with a small amount of biographical information. A library reference specialist can also help you identify other books on finding health care professionals or help you seek additional information about local eye physicians using the Internet.
  
  
• A Patient's Guide to Surgery, by Edward L. Bradley, M.D., Consumer Reports Books, October 1994, contains a chapter about choosing a surgeon and a hospital.
  
  
• Each year usually in August the magazine U.S. News and World Report features an article that rates hospitals in the United States.

• Contact your insurance company or health plan to learn whether it has a list of eye care professionals that are covered under your plan.