Routine Check-Ups

What can I expect during an eye exam?

This is what you can expect in the process of making your eye exam appointment and visiting our office. Appointments can be made either by someone in my office or by Houston Eye Associates’ main scheduling department. If you speak to the scheduling department, let the scheduler know that you need to set up an appointment with Dr. Vital and specify your preferred date, weekday, or time.

You can access and download patient registration forms from this website to fill out prior to your visit. Please bring as many of the following items and information with you as possible to allow us to help you better:

  • Your current eyeglasses (even if broken)
  • Your current contact lenses, case (and contact peel pack for disposable lenses), as well as the names of your solutions if you have any
  • The actual eye drops that you are currently using or have recently used
  • The names and dosages of your oral medications
  • The name, phone number, and address of your pharmacy
  • The name, phone number, and address of your referring doctor
  • The name, phone number, and address of your primary care doctor
  • Your insurance cards

Eye ExamsYou will first be interviewed and examined by one of my ophthalmic assistants (OAs). This person will record some notes regarding the reason and circumstances of your visit. He or she will also perform some or all of the following: a check of your vision, a check of your intraocular pressure, a check of your glasses prescription, a refraction in order to measure your best possible vision, and an installation of dilation drops.

You will then be moved to another room to see me. I will review the information collected to that point and again discuss with you the circumstances of your visit. After I perform an exam, I will record my findings, and discuss my impressions and recommended plans with you.

We know that you need to get back to your normal routine with as little disruption as possible, as quickly as possible. Budget approximately one hour and fifteen minutes for a routine dilated eye exam. Keep in mind, dilation can take twenty to thirty minutes of that time. Complex eye problems that need diagnostic testing or special surgical considerations can sometimes require more time.

The healing process is collaborative: I will not force or manipulate you into treatments. However, you share in the responsibility for your improvement by being compliant with the plan of action we agree upon.

When can I get an eye appointment with Dr. Vital and how long will the visit take?

I feel it is important that same-day appointments are available for eye emergencies. We know that you did not plan to have an eye problem. We also understand how frightening and urgent a sudden eye problem can be. Therefore, we have designed our schedule to accommodate walk-ins and eye emergencies. It is common for other eye care providers to send serious and potentially blinding ocular emergencies to our clinic at a moment’s notice. In rare cases, I am required to unexpectedly leave the clinic to perform emergency eye surgery.

Although these types of visits can disrupt the clinic schedule for those with a previously scheduled appointment, our patients understand that if they were the ones with a serious problem, we would be devoting as much attention and resources as necessary to solve their problems as well. Please try to be understanding if we fall behind due to the random circumstances of eye diseases we need to take care of on any given day. We are always doing our best to respect your time and stay on schedule.

We know that you need to get back to your normal routine with as little disruption as possible, as quickly as possible. Budget approximately one hour and fifteen minutes for a routine dilated eye exam. Keep in mind, dilation can take twenty to thirty minutes of that time. Complex eye problems that need diagnostic testing or special surgical considerations can sometimes require more time.

If you have a previously scheduled an eye exam appointment and find that we are running late, please let the front desk staff know and we will be happy re-schedule an appointment when you can return to us at a better time.