If you’ve just booked your eye examination with us, congratulations! You’ve made the first step towards looking after your eye health and being proactive in maintaining your perfect vision. You may have never visited an optometrist to get your eyes checked and never had any issues with your vision. You haven’t accompanied your friends or family to an eye appointment. You may have recently been to another optometrist in Canberra and have referred you to us for specific needs. What do you need to bring to your appointment?
Understanding the Purpose of Your Optometry Appointment
You may have been recently diagnosed with diabetes, or your specialists have put you on a medication that may have ocular side effects. In which case, your GP or your health care provider may provide you with a referral letter. This letter may contain important details regarding your general health and the concerns of your treating health care provider. This information is relevant to discuss your needs and invaluable advice during your optometry consultation.
Your previous optometrist or optician may refer you to us for a specific product or services we offer. Along with providing unique dry eye treatment in Canberra and fitting custom contact lenses for corneal conditions such as keratoconus, and ongoing management for eye diseases like glaucoma, our customised product range means we can offer solutions to challenging glasses prescriptions.
Suppose you are coming from a previous optical provider. In that case, a summarised report, any scans or images of your eyes, your prior prescription will help us to determine what type of treatment of consultation you need. It also saves time (and your money) to avoid the need to repeat specific tests if it has already been done not too long ago. A referral written from your previous optometrist will attract a higher Medicare rebate for your appointment.
Your Personal Particulars
As with any medical appointment, you’ll need to bring some form of identity if you qualify under the Medicare programme. This includes your Medicare Card. With your Medicare card, relevant eligible consultation items for Medicare is instantly rebated back to your bank account, without having to visit your local Medicare office. To receive your Medicare rebate, you’ll need a bank card with a cheque or savings account. Your rebate cannot go back to your credit card, although you may pay with a credit card.
If you are looking to purchase optical appliances such as prescription glasses and contact lenses, part of the cost may be covered by your health fund. Therefore, if you bring your health fund card, we would be able to give you an indication of how much they are going to cover, and what you’ll be left out of pocket.
We have the facility for processing your health fund along with your Medicare claim for your consultation on the day. So ensure you bring along your bank card, Medicare Card and your health fund card.
Your Prescription Glasses and/or Contact Lenses
It is strongly recommended that you bring your current glasses and/or contact lenses to your appointment. This gives us an idea of what product you’ve been wearing and eliminate the need for numerous trial and error. With your current glasses and contact lenses, we can narrow down to the specifics regarding the issues you may be having, and what impact this has on your vision and well as discussing any changes with your previous prescription.
The Bottom Line
As with other medical appointments, your Medicare card and health fund card will assist us in processing your eligible claims on the spot. Any associated letters, referrals and reports will provide us with an understanding of what has been done and discussed. A list of medication is also helpful in determining their ocular side effects and allow us to take the necessary steps. Any additional important information will help us during your consultation and to ensure our advice and solutions are relevant to your issues that you’ve been experiencing.