Optometrist

An optometrist is professionally trained and licensed to examine the eyes for visual defects, diagnose problems or impairments, and prescribe corrective lenses or provide other types of treatment. The optometrist is licensed to conduct eye exams, prescribe corrective contact lenses and glasses, and diagnose and treat eye disease. He or she will work through various vision therapies to treat abnormalities, and can prescribe drugs for the eyes.

If surgery is required, the patient is sent to an ophthalmologist (M.D.). specializes in the kind of care required for routine eye exams and noninvasive therapies and treatments for eye disease. An ophthalmologist will normally have higher fees than an optometrist, and might hand off much of the routine exam to an in-house optometrist anyway. If a problem arises that can be treated with surgery or alternate therapies, the ophthalmologist might be more likely to suggest surgery, while the optometrist will likely exhaust other potential treatments first. Unless a problem exists that requires an ophthalmologist, an optometrist will likely be a more cost-effective choice for routine eye care.

Education/Licensing: An optometrist is a doctor of optometry (O.D.), rather than a medical doctor. a person that has completed at least three years of higher education at an accredited university or college is eligible to attend an accredited four-year school in optometry. This is followed by state board examinations, both written and clinical. The optometrist may then choose to complete an additional one-year residency to specialize in any number of areas including family practice, ocular disease, pediatric optometry and vision therapy.

Optometrists deal with prescribing glasses or contact lenses for vision problems, but cannot use surgery to correct vision problems, as an ophthalmologist (fully licensed medical doctor specializing in eyes) can. Opticians can only fill a prescription for lenses/glasses.