Patient Education This sections is the largest and most difficult section. I put this chapter first because it is good to get the largest section out of the way, but in reality the material in this chapter calls in material from chapters that come after it. You may have to jump around the a book a little to get the most out of this chapter. Surgery There are a lot of surgeries that patients have to have in ophthalmology.

When the doctor gets the patient in his room he should be able to understand the patients complaints in seconds. To do this the doctor needs a history that is complete, concise, and relevant. General History A history is obtained by asking specific questions. Try to condense the patient’s story to only include pertinent facts. You need to be like a detective and search for pertinent facts. Some people may be harder to get histories from than others.

Ocular Medicines (Instilling and Identifying) Eye drops are used in ophthalmology to: Dilate the pupil Numbing the eye Treat Bacterial infections Treat allergies Treat viral infections One disadvantage of eye drops is that they do not have long contact with the eye. If the eye requires prolong treatment then an ointment is prescribed. The problem with eye ointment is that it blurs the patients vision. Instilling Drops are instilled by:

Intraocular Lens Power Calculation When a surgeon performs cataract surgery he does not want to put in just any old lens. He needs to make an educated decision on what lens would cause the light to converge on the retina just right. To make this decision the physician needs the following information Refraction – The most current manifest refraction. Keratometry – The curvature of the eye A-constant – A constant that comes with the IOL Master Axial length – The distance between the anterior and posterior poles of the eye.

Slit-Lamp/Anterior Segment Photography The five types of slit-lamp illumination Illumination Meaning Direct Illumination is directly on area of interest Indirect Illumination is on another structure than the structure of interest Diffuse Illuminates entire area (nonspecific) Retroillumination Illuminates structure behind structure of interest Tangential Illuminates area across the surface of a structure Fundus Photography http://en.

I had the chance to interview my friend who is going to the OMT (Ophthalmic Medical Technician) program at Pima, which prepares students to become COTs(Certified Ophthalmic Technicians). She was very kind in letting me ask her some questions. I am grateful for the time that she took out of her day to help. Why did you decide to go to become a COT? For the past 8 years I wanted to work in ophthalmology.

Measure Measurements that help the optometrist properly fit contact lenses. Keratometry – This is a measure of the curvature of the eye using a keratometer. Iris Diameter – The diameter of the iris measured in millimeters. Refractive error – This is obtained by using the phoropter. Vertex Distance – This is the distance between the back surface of the glasses and the front of the cornea. Patient Instruction Instructions for patients using soft contact lenses include:

Amsler Grid Amsler Grids are just graph paper with a dot in the middle which the patient is supposed to focus on. Patients cover one eye while looking at the Amsler Grid. It is then the technicians job to ask questions about what they see. Amsler Grids are only used to test the central 20 degrees of a patients field of vision not the peripheral. If a patient is complaining of distortions it is important to use the Grid so that the patient can mark where distortions are seen.

Before reading this section I would recommend at least skimming Review of Ocular Diseases so that you are confident with common pathologies before you read about how those pathologies are treated surgically. General What is a minor procedure? A minor procedure is a simple procedure that can be perfumed with minimal risk. Many of these procedures are performed in the clinic. Examples of minor procedures are chalazion removal, punctal plug insertion, and foreign body removal.

Third-Party Coding Current procedural terminology (CPT) pronounced “captain” is how healthcare providers communicated their services to insurance companies. When collecting histories ask the seven questions required by CPT. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) are diagnosis codes that allow all healthcare providers to communicate with each other. Government and Institutional Rules and Regulations The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) – This act protects patients personal health information.