Optometrist vs Ophthalmologist | Medical Optometry America (2024)

If you’ve ever booked aneye exam, neededeye surgery, or had aneye infection, you’ve likely noticed there are different kinds of eye doctors to choose from. From optometrists to ophthalmologists, you may be confused about who you should see and when.

What’s the difference between an optometrist and an ophthalmologist anyway (besides how difficult it is to spell “ophthalmologist”)? Eacheye care professionalplays their own important role in your eye care, so it’s helpful to know the difference.

While all Optometrists are trained to provide primary care for your eyes, they are perhaps best known for their expertise in providing vision correction and care. These eye care clinicians are focused on optimizing your visual acuity and helping you manage and optimize your vision as it changes throughout your life.

Some of theservicesoffered by an optometrist include:

• Eye exams and vision tests
• Eyeglass prescription updates and eyewear solutions
• Contact lens fittings
• Examination for common eye diseases and conditions

While medical optometrists can also offer vision correction services and write prescriptions for glasses and contacts, they are dedicated to providing primary medical care for your eyes, assessing your eye health, monitoring and diagnosing diseases at their earliest stages, and providing a wide variety of therapeutic interventions.

Services and therapies offered by medical optometrists include:

• Comprehensiveeye health examsfor adults, children, and seniors
• Eye exams specifically designed for patients withdiabetes
• Diagnosis and treatment for various eye diseases (likeglaucoma,macular degeneration,anterior eye and corneal diseaseandcataracts)
• Dry eyediagnosis and comprehensive therapy options
• Pre- and post-operative careincluding, counseling on surgical options
• Emergency eye care
• Prescription medications

On top of primary eye care, your medical optometrist also plays a significant role in youroverall health care. A comprehensive medical eye exam can oftendetect health conditionsseemingly unrelated to your eyes, likediabetes,high blood pressure,aneurysms,autoimmune diseases and certain neurological conditions.

Anophthalmologistis a medical doctor who undergoes advanced eye care training and is licensed to practice medicine and surgery. They are secondary-level eye care providers who often work with your optometrist.

When discussing the difference between an optometrist and ophthalmologist, It’s almost like comparing yourfamily doctorwith acardiologist. You see your family doctor for regular appointments and for general health problems. But if you have aheart conditionand need more advanced care, you would see a cardiologist.

Ophthalmologists go through medical school and specialized ophthalmological training, and some choose to subspecialize in specific areas. Subspecialties usually require an additional year of focused training (called a Fellowship). They can be in areas likeglaucoma,retinal conditions,pediatrics,neurology,plastic surgery, and more.

An ophthalmologist can provide many of thesame servicesan optometrist can, and many do actually providecomplete eye care. Because many ophthalmologists subspecialize in certain areas, their additional medical and surgical training enables them to perform a wide range of surgical and interventional procedures.

Someservices and treatmentsophthalmologists can provide include:

• Surgical eye care forcataracts,trauma,childhood eye conditions,glaucoma, and other issues
• Interventional and surgical eye care for conditions likeglaucoma,iritis, andcornealdisease
• Plastic surgeryto raise droopy eyelids or smooth wrinkles

Many ophthalmologists and optometrists work together to provide fully comprehensive eye care for their patients.

You should see youroptometrist for general eye care, including eye exams, vision correction, contacts and spectacle interventions. For medical care of your eyes and on-going management of chronic eye diseases and conditions, amedical optometrist is ideal for primary medical eye care. Should you need amedical intervention or surgical care, your optometrist can refer you to an experienced ophthalmologist.

Ultimately, which doctor you see depends on the level of care you need.

Visit youroptometristfor general eye care and eyeglass or contact lens prescriptions,

Visit yourmedical optometristfor primary medical eye care, including eye medication prescriptions, monitoring and managing eye diseases, or emergency eye care services.

Visit anophthalmologistfor interventions like surgical treatments for serious eye diseases, advanced ocular problems, or refractive eye surgery. In most cases, you won’t need to find an ophthalmologist on your own: your optometrist can refer you to someone experienced and trustworthy.