FAQ

Q What should I bring to my appointment?
A Your glasses, contact lenses, and a copy of your current contact lens prescription (some patients bring copies of their previous contact lens orders or old boxes). Please bring your ID card and Medical Insurance or Medicare card for complete insurance information.

Q Where is your office located?
A 495 Castro Street, on the corner of Castro & Mercy – at the same intersection as Bank of America, Bank of the West, and the Center for Performing Arts in Downtown Mountain View.

Q Where should I park?
A There is a 2 hour public parking lot on Mercy Street located next to Trinity Church. Parking is also available in the surrounding residential areas. Be sure to check for signage indicating limited parking time or for special events at Levi’s Stadium. Parking can be challenging during the lunch hour.

Q How long is a comprehensive eye exam appointment?
A A comprehensive eye exam is at least 1 hour. Often patients will stay longer to choose eyewear.

Q How often do I need an exam?
A Young and healthy adults usually need an eye exam every 1-2 years. Children under 18, seniors over 65, contact lens wearers or anyone with a systemic or chronic health issue should have a yearly eye exam.

Q Will I be dilated during my eye exam?
A Yes, normally the doctor will dilate all new and returning patients; please be prepared to be dilated during your exam.

Q Why do I need a full eye exam with dilation?
A A comprehensive dilated eye exam is a painless procedure in which an eye doctor examines your eyes for common vision problems and any signs of disease. Dilating drops are used to open the pupil wide and allows the doctor to view the back of the eye where most of the anatomical structures are located. Without dilation only 20% of the eye is visible. Dilated exams can detect potentially treatable blinding eye diseases, ocular manifestations of systemic disease, and signs of tumors or other anomalies of the brain, many of which have no symptoms.

Q Why do I need a contact lens check yearly?
A Contact lenses are medical devices that need to be monitored annually. Determining the health of your eyes requires a doctor to view the contact lens on your eye each year. You may be seeing fine and not noticing any irritation, but with a microscope doctors can see problems that have no symptoms. Some of these problems can lead to scarring or blindness well before they cause you any pain. Since contacts rest directly against your eye, the risk for infection and serious disease is much higher for contact lens wearers than for non-wearers.

Q What is an Optomap?
A The Optos is an instrument that enables us to take an ultra-widefield photo of your retina. This retinal imaging tool along with the dilated eye exam aids our doctors in identifying any eye diseases.

Q How often should I have an Optomap?
A Our doctors recommend having an Optomap done annually. You can speak with the doctor at the time of your appointment if you have any questions or concerns. Imaging only takes a few minutes and can be done at any time during your exam.

Q When should my child have his of her first eye exam?
A It is recommended by the American Optometric Association that a child’s first eye exam should be between 6-12 months of age, followed by an exam at 3 years old, at 5-6 years old, and yearly thereafter.

Q Am I a good candidate for LASIK?
A During your eye exam, your doctor can let you know if they think you would be a good candidate for LASIK. If you have had a complete eye exam within the last year, a pre-op appointment can be scheduled for you for the exact measurements needed to determine candidacy.

Q Do you do LASIK here?
A The pre-op and post-op examinations are done here and we refer our patients out for the LASIK procedure.

Q Will I get my PD (pupillary distance) measurement during my exam?
A Yes, you can visit one of our Opticians in the Optical Department for an accurate PD measurement.

Q How much does an eye exam cost?
A A comprehensive eye exam for a new patient is $225, for a returning patient it is $199. If you are a current contact lens wearer or wish to be one, there are additional fees.

Q Why am I being charged a $73 no show fee?
A We request a 24 hour notice of cancellation to avoid a no show fee. When we are not notified that a patient will be unable to keep their scheduled exam appointment, we cannot accommodate a patient on our cancellation list who would like to be seen earlier. For this reason we request a courtesy call from any patient that will be unable to keep their scheduled appointment.

Q Why are you asking for my email address?
A In addition to electronic e-mail reminders for our annual exam appointment, the current health law requires secure electronic communication which our office has established to better serve you. We do not provide your e-mail address to any organization outside our office for any type of marketing purposes.

Q Why do you ask for my medical insurance card?
A We keep your updated medical insurance card on file in case there is a medical diagnosis during your eye exam. Any medical treatment or diagnosis will be billed to your medical insurance. If you need to be referred to a specialist, we can check your eligibility and send you to a doctor within your network.

Q Who is responsible for checking my insurance eligibility?
A As the patient, it is your responsibility to check with your insurance for eligibility. We are here to help you if needed.

Q Can I get a copy of my medical records?
A Yes, you will need to complete a Request for Patient Records form. It will then be forwarded to the doctor to process. You will be notified when your records are ready, please allow up to 2 weeks to process.

Q I don’t have vision insurance, may I still come to MVO for an eye exam?
A We are happy to see patients with or without insurance.

Q What forms of payment do you accept?
A Cash, check, MasterCard, Visa, Discover