Why should you get an eye exam?
Treatment Plans After Your Eye Exam
Treatment plans following your eye exam can include a prescription for glasses or contact lenses to correct refractive errors, vision therapy or strabismus surgery for binocular vision problems, medical treatment for eye disease or simply a recommendation that you have your eyes examined again within a specific time frame.
Your eye doctor also may recommend that you take eye vitamins or vision supplements to maintain good eye health or to help alleviate specific problems like dry eyes.
No matter who you are, regular eye exams are important for seeing more clearly, learning more easily and preserving your vision for life.
An Eye Exam Can Save You Money — and Your Life
Money Saved When Eye Doctors Detect Systemic Diseases Early, Says Study
A recent study found that eye doctors frequently are the first health care providers to detect signs of chronic systemic conditions. For high cholesterol, this occurred 65 percent of the time. For diabetes, it was 20 percent of the time, and for hypertension, it was 30 percent of the time.
Eye doctors have an unobstructed view of the eyes’ blood vessels, which is where they can see signs of these chronic conditions.
VSP Vision Care, a vision benefits company, commissioned the study, which was applied to its 56 million members to determine the cost savings due to early treatment because of their eye exam.
- 65 percent of the 2.2 million members with high cholesterol (1.5 million) received early treatment, for a two-year savings of $1.7 billion.
- 20 percent of 1.5 million members with diabetes (296,800) received early treatment, for a two-year savings of $827 million.
- 30 percent of 2.2 million members with hypertension (667,800) received early treatment, for a two-year savings of $2 billion.
Human Capital Management Services Group conducted the study for VSP Vision Care, who reported the results in April 2011.