Your first visit
Your first visit starts with a request: tell us what you need, and our staff will contact you to confirm a time and check your coverage. Bring your glasses or contact lenses, your insurance cards and a photo ID. Your exam is with Dr. Yousif Ghaleb, O.D., and you leave with your results explained and your prescription in hand.
Before you come in
- Request an appointment through our contact page or by phone, and wait for staff to confirm a time. A request is not a booked appointment until we confirm it.
- Tell us your insurance carrier so we can check your benefits before the visit.
- If you wear contact lenses and want a contact lens exam, say so when you request the visit, since it is a separate service.
- Ask for an eyewear fitting appointment if you would like dedicated time with an optician after your exam.
- If your eyes may be dilated, plan for blurry close vision and light sensitivity afterward, and consider bringing someone to drive.
What to bring
- Your current glasses, including reading and computer glasses
- Your contact lenses, a lens box, or your current contact lens prescription
- Your vision and medical insurance cards
- A photo ID
- A list of medications and eye drops you use
- A written prescription from another eye doctor, if you have one
- Sunglasses, in case your eyes are dilated
Your first visit, step by step
Every visit is a little different, depending on why you came in and what the doctor finds. This is the typical order of a first comprehensive exam.
Before your visit
We confirm and check coverage
Staff contact you to confirm your appointment and collect the details your plan needs, so your benefits are checked before you arrive.
Arrival
Check in at the front desk
Show your photo ID and insurance cards. If any intake forms are still open, we will help you finish them in the practice's patient system.
First few minutes
Your history
You will be asked about your vision, any eye problems, your general health, medications and family eye history. Mention anything that has changed or worries you.
Next
Initial measurements
A team member takes a few measurements to prepare for the exam, such as checking your current glasses and how clearly you see.
With Dr. Ghaleb
Your eye exam
Dr. Ghaleb checks your vision and prescription and examines the health of your eyes. If dilation is recommended, the drops need some time to take effect, and staff will tell you what to expect.
End of the exam
Results and questions
Dr. Ghaleb explains what was found, what it means for you, and any next steps or referrals. This is the time for your questions.
If you want eyewear
Choosing frames and lenses
An optician helps you try frames that suit your face and prescription, explains lens options, and takes fitting measurements in the frame you choose.
Checkout
Prescription and next steps
You receive a copy of your glasses prescription. We go over costs before anything is ordered and set up any follow-up visit.
Insurance and costs
Vision plans usually cover routine exams and eyewear allowances, while medical insurance covers visits for eye problems. Our insurance page lists plans as participation is confirmed and explains how we check your benefits. If you pay yourself, we tell you the cost before services are provided.
Bringing a prescription from another doctor
If you only need glasses and have a current, complete glasses prescription from another eye doctor, you can bring it in and choose frames without an exam here. A contact lens prescription cannot be used to make glasses, because the two prescriptions measure different things.
If you wear contact lenses
A contact lens exam is separate from a glasses exam. The doctor checks how a lens fits and moves on your eye, which is what produces a contact lens prescription. Wear your lenses to the visit unless we ask you not to, and bring your lens box or current prescription.
Children and guardians
A parent or legal guardian should come with any child to the visit and help with the health history. Our children's eye exam page explains how a visit works for kids and which ages we see.
If you need help getting around or communicating
Tell us when you request your visit if you need extra time, help with forms, a companion in the exam room, or information in another format. We will plan ahead with you. Our accessibility statement explains how to get help with the website.
Keep health details off the website
Intake happens in the practice's patient system, never through a website form. Health history, insurance ID numbers and dates of birth are collected by phone or at the office. Please do not send them through the request form, email or text.
After your visit
Keep your prescription for your records; you can use it at Lens Society or anywhere else. If you ordered glasses, we will contact you when they are ready, check them against your prescription, and adjust the fit when you pick them up. If anything about your eyes changes before your next visit, contact us, and for urgent problems call 911 or go to an emergency department.