Be Prepared

Medical Records
Please arrange to have records from your referring doctor AND any prior eye care or surgery sent to our office before your appointment. These can be faxed to: (865)262-8550. This allows the doctor to review your review your records ahead of time and consult with other providers or hospitals, if needed.

Our team can request records on your behalf. To enable us to do this, please complete our online Medical Records Release Form, click HERE.

Appointment Paperwork
Print and pre-complete your appointment paperwork at home, click HERE.

Please also bring the following:
* A legally responsible adult. We cannot examine unaccompanied minors. If a child is accompanied by an adult other than his or her legal guardian, please bring paperwork to support this.
* All glasses
* Contact lens, box, solution, and case
* Eye medications and eye drops
* Photographs or videos demonstrating your child’s eye misalignment or other concern. We are happy to view on your phone. There is no need to print photographs.
* Books, toys, or snacks to keep your children occupied. Please allow at least 2 hours for eyes dilation appointment and at least 1 hour for eyes non-dilate appointment.
* Insurance card(s). See our list of accepted insurances, click HERE.
* Photo identification of the accompanying adult
* Payment method (cash, credit card, Apple pay)

What to Expect?

If you didn’t pre-complete your appointment paperwork at home (see above options), you will need to do this once you arrive. We will need to see the patient’s insurance card(s) and a photo ID of the accompanying adult.

One of our assistants will obtain your medical history and discuss the reason for your visit. He or she will then check vision, eye pressure, eye movements, and other parameters. The eyes will be dilated, if required. Dilation eye drops take 30-45 minutes to take effect. During this time, you may be asked to wait in our dilation room or in your car. Next, the doctor will examine your child and discuss the findings, plan, and followup. If additional testing is needed, this may be discussed at that time.

Please allow at least 2 hours for an eyes dilation appointment and at least 1 hour for eyes non-dilate appointment.

An after-visit note summarizing your child’s visit will be sent to your child’s referring physician, to ensure your child's care plan is well coordinated and communicated. Please let a team member know if there is anyone else to whom you would like the letter sent.

About Dilating Eye Drops

Almost all new patients need to have their eyes dilated. Dilation of the pupils is an essential part of a complete eye examination. It is necessary to permit a complete evaluation of the inside parts of the eyes, as well as to accurately determine the presence of nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism.

Imagine trying to look into a room through a peephole. It's not so easy. Now open the door. Much better! The eye drops "open the door" to allow the doctor to shine light in the eye and see what is inside without the pupil getting small.

This has a side effect of making it hard to focus, especially up close, for 2-24 hours (depending on the type of drop and the patient's sensitivity). Kids can go back to school afterward, but they may have trouble reading or doing homework for several hours. Adult may or may not be able to drive home. It depends on how severely the vision is blurred by the drops. Adults, if you are not sure, plan to have someone pick you up.

Click HERE for additional information about dilating eye drops.