Find an Eye Doctor Near You
Use our locator to search for certified eye care professionals and find a vision expert near you. Eye care locations will automatically be populated below based on your current location. If you wish to find an eye doctor in another area, you may manually enter an address or a postal code.
The Importance Of Eye Exams
To help you maintain happy eyes, it’s recommended that you visit an eye care professional once a year to not only check your vision but to receive an overall eye health exam. Regularly visiting an eye care professional can help detect any underlying eye-related diseases at an early stage, allows you to discuss any risk factors or family history for diseases, and ensures your vision needs haven’t changed since your last exam.
When you attend your eye exam, it’s important to remember to bring applicable insurance information, a list of any medications you’re currently taking, and your current eyeglasses or contacts.
Types of Eye Care Professionals
What type of eye care professional should you visit for your eye exam; an optometrist, ophthalmologist, or optician? Below is a summary of these eye professions based on their area of practice in the U.S.
Optometrist
Optometrists (OD) have a four-year medical degree allowing them to perform eye exams, diagnose and treat eye conditions, and write prescriptions for eyeglasses and contacts, among other things. Optometrists also care for patients who have undergone eye surgery, but cannot perform eye surgeries or LASIK.
Ophthalmologist
Ophthalmologists are medical doctors (MD) or osteopathic doctors (DO) with a specialization in eye health and vision. Ophthalmologists can perform eye exams, diagnose and treat eye conditions, write prescriptions for eyeglasses or contacts, and perform eye surgeries.
Optician
Opticians help you select eyeglass frames, conduct frame fittings, and can become licensed in certain states for contact lens fittings. An optician cannot perform an eye exam, diagnose or treat eye conditions, or write prescriptions for eyeglasses or contacts.
