The Right Eye Care

Eyesight can be impacted by family history, high blood pressure or diabetes. Eye disease can sneak up without symptoms, so it is important for patients to see the right eye care provider at the right time.

Ophthalmologists have medical degrees and have undergone thousands of hours of residency and supervised training. They are licensed to practice medicine and surgery.

Optometrists are not medical doctors, but they do complete four years of optometry school to receive a Doctor of Optometry (OD), which provides no clinical training managing patients with different systematic diseases. Furthermore, there are no accreditation criteria for optometry schools with respect to the minimum requirements for the number of visits with patients who have ocular disease or for ocular surgical operative experience. They are licensed to practice optometry, which primarily involves performing eye exams and vision tests, prescribing and dispensing corrective lenses, detecting certain eye abnormalities, and prescribing some medications.

Fortunately, Texas has an abundance of ophthalmologists, with a strong pipeline of medical school and residency graduates, along with a growing number of optometrists. Both professions should continue to work in collaboration to take care of all Texans.


Ophthalmologist-Optometrist Collaboration

Texas embraces a physician-led, team-based approach to patient care, which features collaboration among physicians, optometrists and opticians – each playing an important and unique role based on experience and training. There is really no limit ...

Learn More

Eye Surgery

There is no such thing as a simple surgery on the eyes – every surgery is risky and complicated.

Learn More

Laser Surgery

Anyone calling a laser surgery “simple” does not understand how the body works. There is no such thing as a simple surgery, and that includes laser surgery — the laser is a high-tech scalpel. The cut is deep and permanent. First, when treating gla...

Learn More

Scalpel Surgery

While an in-office scalpel surgery may sound straightforward, these surgeries are in fact very delicate and should be conducted by a physician. A bump on the eyelid could simply be a benign cyst or a stye, or it could be a form of skin cancer. If ...

Learn More

Eye Injections

There are simply no minor procedures when it comes to the eye.

Learn More

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness for people over the age of 60. It is a complex group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve. Glaucoma is irreversible and cannot be cured – it can only be managed to delay or prevent blind...

Learn More