508-717-0425Routine or Not?
- Posted on: Jul 29 2013
The debate over the scope of services ODs provide will perhaps, never end. One thing that does hold true is the misconception there is out there about the definition of an eye exam. Scott Jens, Revolution EHR CEO makes the case of eliminating the term routine exam from our optometric lexicon- and I do believe that he is right on!
Every OD who practices his craft is held to the high medical standard of eyecare. In that light, the term routine and eye examination is mutually exclusive. How ridiculous would be the notion that if an OD performed an examination and did detect a medical condition that he or she would simply ignore or subjugate the problem. After all it was a routine exam, no medical condition was to be detected!
Insurers, namely vision plan, are guilty of inventing this term to devalue the eye examination and turn it into a discount proposition. I urge my colleagues to avoid this term in our documentation and resist its use in discussions with billing clerks, insurers, and patients. All our evaluations are medical examinations of the visual system. Let’s stick to proper descriptive terms that bring value and honor to our daily craft.
Posted in: Blog
