Why is it necessary to find a good retinal doctor?
Finding a good retinal doctor is important to receive the best level of care. Your doctor should be up-to-date on the latest treatments and be able to choose from among the many choices of treatment to determine which is the best for you as an individual. Some doctors may not keep up with new treatment options and, therefore, may not offer these choices to you as a patient. Moreover, some treatments work better for some patients, but do not work well for others. You must rely on your retinal specialist to offer the best treatment for you. To do so, your doctor must get to know your eyes and you as a person in order to choose what is best for you. The retinal specialist must then review the options and explain why he/she has chosen your treatment plan. All treatments have benefits, risks, and limitations. All of this information must be explained to you. It is helpful if the doctor gives you written information to take home to review after the visit.
How do you go about finding a good retina doctor?
This task is not easy or as obvious as it may seem. At a minimum, your retina doctor should be a medical doctor (MD or DO) and completed a residency in ophthalmology and should be board-certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology. You can find out online if your doctor is certified. Board certification is essential, but it is only the first step in finding your retina doctor.
Be aware that some ophthalmologists call themselves retina specialists, but they have not completed a retina fellowship program. A retina fellowship is a one or two-year program of highly specialized training, which is undertaken after a general ophthalmology residency program. You may ask your doctor if he/she completed a fellowship in retinal disease and for how long (one or two years). Some information is available to you at the web site of the American Society of Retinal Specialists. You may prefer a doctor who has been trained at a highly reputable university. One source of information is Castle Connolly.
A number of additional factors may be important in the decision to choose the best retina doctor for you:
Does your doctor do research? This issue has a good side and a possible bad side. In general, research may help a doctor to stay up-to-date on diagnosis and treatment. On the other hand, intensive research may draw the doctor’s attention away from information that does not pertain to his/her research interest. In this scenario, the doctor may become an expert in a small area of research and fall behind in the general knowledge of patient care that is important to your care. Simply put, you may prefer a doctor whose primary interest is patient care, not scientific research. Having said that, there are superb retina doctors who excel at both research and patient care. When interviewing a retinal specialist, try to gain a sense as to whether the doctor is more interested in you and your eye problem or his/her research.
Who referred you to the retinal specialist? Although this may not be an important issue, it is something to consider. In years past, doctors referred their patients to other doctors primarily on the basis of their knowledge about who provided the best care. There was no incentive to refer to anyone but the best for their patients. Due in large part to considerable financial duress imposed by government regulation and the insurance industry, general eye doctors have found the need to reap financial gains by hiring retina doctors to work for them. In this setting, the referring doctor may choose a retina doctor who works in the same clinic (or a separate building owned by the same clinic) because he/she makes money from doing so. The clinic retinal doctor may well not be the best doctor available in the area for your care. When in doubt, get a second opinion outside the clinic.
Are you comfortable with your retina doctor? This is a simple, but exceedingly important question to ask yourself. If you do not feel comfortable with your doctor, you may not follow through with instructions properly. You may not ask questions and gain an understanding of your problem. Never hesitate to seek a second opinion. A good doctor is not threatened by second opinions. In fact, good doctors often offer second opinions to their patients who appear uncertain or distressed.
For a telemedicine consultation with Dr Pautler, please send email request to spautler@rvaf.com. We accept Medicare and most insurances in Florida. Please include contact information (including phone number) in the email. We are unable to provide consultation for those living outside the state of Florida with the exception of limited one-time consultations with residents of the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Minnesota, and Washington.