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Choosing careOptometrist or ophthalmologist: which one do you need?
For almost everything, an optometrist. The short version: an optometrist is where eye care starts and usually where it stays. An ophthalmologist is a surgeon you see when surgery is on the table.
What an optometrist does
An optometrist holds a Doctor of Optometry degree. They examine your eyes, measure your prescription, fit glasses and contact lenses, and diagnose and manage most eye conditions, including prescribing medication for them.
- Comprehensive eye exams for every age.
- Glasses and contact lens prescriptions, and the fittings behind them.
- Medical eye conditions: glaucoma, dry eye, infections, injuries, diabetic eye exams.
- Diagnosis and monitoring of conditions like cataracts and macular changes.
- Children’s vision, including vision therapy and myopia management.
What an ophthalmologist does
An ophthalmologist is a medical doctor who specializes in eyes and, critically, performs eye surgery. Cataract surgery, LASIK and retinal surgery are theirs.
They also treat complex medical eye disease. But you generally do not start with one. You get referred to one.
So who do you call first?
Start with an optometrist for
- A routine eye exam, for you or your child
- Blurry vision, or a prescription that stopped working
- Glasses or contact lenses
- Red, painful, watering, burning or itchy eyes
- A diabetic eye exam your primary care doctor asked for
- Something in your eye, or an injury that is not an emergency
- Flashes, floaters, or any sudden change. We will tell you fast if it needs a surgeon
How the two work together
Most people who eventually have eye surgery are found by an optometrist. We identify the problem, explain it, and connect you with the right surgeon. Then we handle the visits before and after, which is called co-management.
That matters more out here than it does in a city. It means follow-up visits happen locally instead of adding a long drive to every appointment. We partner with Dr. Edward Stevenson and Box Butte General Hospital to bring cataract surgery to Alliance for exactly that reason. More on surgery co-management.
And what about an optician?
An optician is not a doctor. Opticians are the specialists who fit, adjust and dispense eyewear, and a good one is the difference between glasses you wear and glasses in a drawer. Webb has opticians on staff at all three clinics.
Webb Eyecare is an optometry practice: Dr. Jason Webb, Dr. Cady Hubbard and Dr. Kristen Reinard are all optometrists. If what you need is a surgeon, we will tell you, and we will stay involved either side of it.
Prefer to talk to a doctor than read another article?
Schedule a comprehensive eye exam at the clinic closest to you: Scottsbluff, Alliance or Bridgeport.
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