Electronic Medical Records

At the heart of a modern eye care office and examinations is the backbone of a good Electronic Medical Record software. Our office uses OfficeMate Software which is by far the largest and best eye care software package available. Your medical record is secure and detailed. In today's technologically advanced society there is no reason for an eye care office to not be using electronic medical records. In fact, Congress has passed legislation to make this mandatory in a few years. All of our instruments integrate with OfficeMate and the data from our machines imports directly into the software which make our exams extremely efficient and eliminates transcription error (i.e. writing mistakes). For most exams we never even touch a pen or pencil. No more illegible doctor writing!

Refraction

Refraction is a fancy name for determining what your eyeglass and/ or contact lens prescription is. Our office installed the new state of the art Marco TRS refraction systems in each of our two exam rooms. To the best of our knowledge our office is the only one in the area that uses this state of the art technology. We are able to use a small touch screen computer to do an entire refraction with the touch of a button. The unit is linked to the eye chart so even the letters on the eye chart are controlled by this unit.

If you have ever had your eyes examined before using the old phoropter the doctor would flip lenses and ask you "which is better- 1 or 2" repeatedly and confusingly. The Marco TRS utilizes the new breakthrough in refraction called "split prism" technology. It splits the image, or line of letters, into two and you just decide which side is clearer- very simple and quick.

The Marco TRS can refract people with very high which old phoropters could not due to their limited power range. It makes determining a prescription for someone with an extremely high and unusual Rx as easy as someone with the mildest of prescriptions.

Once you had a refraction with the Marco TRS by one of our optometrists you will never want to go back to the old antiquated way!

Pre-Testing

Pre-testing is the term we use to describe the testing done by our technicians before entering the exam room and see the optometrist. Probably one of the most amazing pieces of equipment we have is our Marco M3 machine. The M3 is the worlds first and only pre-testing machine to incorporate three machines in one; hence then name M3. The M3 has a built in auto-refractor which a computer that uses infrared beams to determine what your prescription is; it has a built in auto-keratometer which measures the curvature of your cornea which is important in fitting contact lenses, cataract and laser surgery; and has a built in tonometer which is the puff of air test that measures the pressure of fluid inside your eye. Glaucoma is a disease where the eye pressure gets too high and may cause blindness. The good news for those who have had the air puff test before is that the M3 has a new softer puff. The M3 gives our doctors many other readings too and even automatically gives a patient pupil distance between the eyes which is needed when ordering glasses. Our office loves this machine and the space it saves having 3 machines in one.

Lensmeter

If you bring your glasses to the exam will we read them on a machine called a lensmeter. This will tell us what prescription you have been wearing so our doctors can compare it to your new prescription and how much change there has been and if you need new glasses. Unlike many eye care practitioners, it is important to note that our doctors are completely separate and make no profit whatsoever from the sale of glasses. Therefore, there is no incentive for our doctors to recommend you get new glasses when you really do not need to! Our office uses the Marco LM-1000 lensmeter which "talks" directly to our M3 and all this data imports directly into your medical record without error.

Digital Retinal Photography

Digital photography has revolutionized the camera industry and it has also revolutionized healthcare. Geist Optometry was one of the first optometry offices, and still only one of the few, to incorporate digital photography into our eye examinations. Our top of the line Kowa Non-Myd (Non-Myd means not needing dilation) retinal camera allows our optometrists to see the inside of your eye in crystal clear resolution.

Using digital photography provides immediate photos of your retina to see if there are any abnormalities or disorders in your eye. This also allows our eye doctors to show your photos and educate you about the inside of your eye. It is truly a unique experience seeing the inside of your eye for the first time at your eye exam.

In most cases we are able to get a detailed view of your retina and for routine eyeglass exams this eliminates the need to dilate your eyes. Most of our patients are extremely happy if we are able to view the inside of their eye without the need to be dilated. There are some patients whose pupils are too small (usually smaller than 3-4mm) to get good retinal photos and may need to be dilated in order to view the inside of the eye and get good retinal photos.

GDx- State of the art Glaucoma Testing

Glaucoma is a disease of the eye where the fluid pressure inside the eye gets too high for the eye too handle. One can think of it along the lines of high blood pressure. If the pressure inside the eye gets too high it can damage the optic nerve inside the eye leading first to loss of side, or peripheral, vision and can lead to blindness.

Glaucoma treatment have changed dramatically over the past few years and one of the breakthrough machines in the early detection of glaucoma is a machine called the GDx by Carl Zeiss. The GDx used a laser to take precise measurements of the optic nerve to detect even the most subtle damages from high fluid pressure inside the eye.

Most optometry offices in the area need to refer patients out for advanced glaucoma testing such as the GDx but if our optometrists see any signs of glaucoma a full battery of tests, including the GDx, can be performed right in our office saving you time and money by not needing to refer you for these tests. Also, the results are immediate in our office and can usually be done the same day our optometrist request them.

Humphrey Matrix- State of the art Peripheral Vision Testing

One of the mainstay instruments of an eye doctor has been a machine to test peripheral, or side vision. Our office has invested in the state of the art visual field machine called the Humphrey Matrix by Carl Zeiss which utilizes the latest breakthrough technology in peripheral vision testing. This machine is used to test a peripheral vision and testing in eye diseases such as glaucoma and neurological disorders including tumors.

Pachymeter- State of the art Corneal Thickness Measurement

With the advances in LASIK and laser vision surgery and glaucoma testing the need to measure a patients corneal thickness has become more important. If fact, pachymetry (measuring corneal thickness) is mandatory for all patients who are getting LASIK surgery. If corrective laser vision surgery is something you are considering our optometrists can perform an evaluation, including pachymetry, to see if you are a good candidate.

Tono-Pen- State of the art Pressure Readings

Most people are familiar with the "puff test" for glaucoma to measure the pressure inside the eye. However, some patients are unable to get into the "puff" machine to get their pressures tested. With our Tono-Pen we are able measure eye pressures on almost any patients including those confined to wheelchairs and for those who cannot utilize the traditional machines. Our office if proud to offer our hand-held Tono-Pen and Pachymeter so our disabled patients can enjoy as thorough eye exams as other patients.

Handicap Accessible

Our office, pre-testing room and exam room are handicap accessible. For those not able to get out of their wheelchair it is no problem. Our equipment is designed for you to stay in your wheelchair so we can easily guide you into place and still utilize our equipment.

Our office provides many eye examinations every week to handicap and wheelchair bound patients so you can be confident that our office is as comfortable, thorough and streamlined as with any other patient.