Passion for Primary Care

We believe the optometrist is the hero of primary eye care, safeguarding their patient’s ability to experience his or her best vision. For many people, an optometrist is the first point of contact into the healthcare system. The eyes offer a window into overall health, and thus this first touch point can be critical for patients getting the care they need for serious conditions.

Optometrists practicing in offices inside our locations are primary eye care specialists. They often catch systemic issues, in addition to providing prescriptions for clearer vision. That’s why National Vision and the independent practices empower ODs to provide comprehensive eye exams that meet or exceed the standards set forth by the American Optometric Association and individual states.

What Does Primary Care Look Like?

Primary care is so much more than prescribing contacts and eyeglasses. Optometrists practicing inside our locations report seeing a high amount of anterior and posterior segment pathology in their practices. They manage ocular disease to their comfort level, including but not limited to:

  • Treating corneal ulcers and uveitis
  • Red eye
  • Diagnosing diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma
  • Removal of foreign bodies
  • Diagnosing macular disease, retinal holes and retinal detachments

Optometrists Say It Best

“We catch so many things, as many patients we see have an undiagnosed systemic or ocular disease. A number of health issues don’t have symptoms, so it’s great that we can provide care to these patients who didn’t even realize anything was going on. In primary care, we have the ability to help patients in ways they were not expecting and to enhance their lives through a comprehensive eye exam.”

- Neha Feipel, O.D., Doctor's Exchange of Indiana, P.C.

Safeguarding Patients’ Health

Many of the people visiting offices inside our stores are living without health insurance and may not have seen any kind of doctor in years. For these individuals, an optometrist may be the first to detect a larger and sometimes life-threatening condition. Hundreds of health conditions and diseases can be detected by an eye exam. The optometrists practicing within our locations see a wide variety of pathology in patients and can often help achieve vision-saving and even lifesaving results.

Conditions that can be detected during eye exams:

  • Diabetes
  • Hypertension
  • Sarcoidosis
  • Graves Disease (Thyroid)
  • Lupus
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Atherosclerosis
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Sickle Cell Disease
  • AIDS
  • Certain Cancers