Frequently Asked Questions

Yes they will partially cover your eye exam and glasses or contacts. Our office accepts Eyemed, VSP, Blue Cross 20/20, Davis Vision, Superior Vision, NVA, Medicare*, Cigna, Humana, and Aetna. Please reach out even if you don't see yours listed, sometimes your insurance actually uses one of the ones we take but is listed as something different.

*Partial coverage is taken due to insurance network agreements

Here's the rundown:
 

1. Paperwork is filled out and we will verify any insurance coverage prior to the pretesting.

2. We use an autorefractor, eye pressure measurement (no puff machine, just a gentle tap with the iCare tonometer) and a retinal image if the package is opted in

3. We check your current prescription and how your eyes work together

4. Retinal and ocular health evaluation.

5. Dr. Pham walks you through every finding and answers your questions. No rushing.

6. Our staff will assist with any contact lens or glasses orders.

The whole visit takes about 30 minutes to an hour. You always receive a copy of your prescription regardless of whether you purchase anything.

That would be great! You can click HERE and print and fill it out. You can also fill it out electronically and email it back to us. Our email is HIPPA compliant!

Se habla espanol! All our staff does and Dr. Pham has some spanish speaking ability. He speaks vietnamese too!

From birth to 100+ years old. We sometimes get asked if we only see kids and nope, we confidently will examine any patient!

If a patient is in for a contact lens evaluation then yes a trial will be given. If an exact match isn't available then one will be ordered at no charge to you to ensure we get you a proper lens before finalizing your prescription.

Once a year or two. Even if your vision feels fine.

A comprehensive eye exam checks more than how sharp you see. We're looking at ocular health: eye pressure, retinal condition, nerve health, the full picture. Conditions like glaucoma and macular degeneration don't give you warning signs early on. Annual exams catch problems before they become serious.

Kids should start at 6 months, then again at 3 years old, and before 1st grade. After that, every year.

Yes we will provide one as soon as we can or at any other time when requested

Yes, we are even able to process partial transactions to maximize whatever amounts your fund has.

Generally no, though knowing your prescription or a copy of it helps. If an eye doctor has previously discussed any eye findings with you before then a copy of previous records would be helpful! You may use this form to request your records from your prior office to be sent to us directly.

If the exam or prescription was done within 45 days then we will add on to that exam. Otherwise a new exam is needed.

A vision screening (the one your kid gets at the pediatrician or school) only checks if they can read a chart at distance. That's it.

A comprehensive pediatric eye exam evaluates how the eyes focus, how they work together, eye pressure, retinal health, and more. Kids don't know what "normal" vision looks like, so they won't tell you something's wrong. Conditions like amblyopia (lazy eye) are treatable when caught early, but screenings miss them regularly. If your child has only had screenings, they haven't had a real eye exam.

An eye exam at our Katy office will run about 139. Contact lens exams are an additional 69-99 more. If you have insurance or bundle your exams with our glasses or contacts then that price will be lower. Our full pricing can be seen on our booking page.

We can use our in office lab to do same day with certain prescriptions. For more advanced orders, the lab has a 1-2 week delivery window for when we get back orders. Typically they will be sooner but drill mount glasses will lean more towards 2 weeks.

Contact lenses typically takes a few business days to a week. If it's an extended range contact lens or a made to order, that could take up to 3 weeks. For our contact lenses we offer direct shipping to your house too free of charge!

We are able to ship subject to a possible postage fee. We prefer pick up so we can do final adjustments to ensure a well fitting frame. Likewise, contact lenses are able to be shipped though some quantities are eligible for free shipping!

Yes. Your eyes really lets us look at other problems you could be having!

We literally look at some of the blood vessels and nerves in your eyes for signs of diabetes, high blood pressure, autoimmune conditions, and even some neurological issues, sometimes before other symptoms show up. That's one more reason annual exams matter.

Yes, if the frame has the standard bevel features and the frame is in good condition. We are not liable for any frame breakage from the process of updating the lens.

Acuvue oasys, acuvue oasys for astigmatism, acuvue 1 day moist, acuvue oasys 1 day, acuvue oasys 1 day for astigmatism, acuvue oasys max 1 day, acuvue for presbyopia. Air Optix, air optix colors, air optix multifocal, air optix for astigmatism, total 30, total 30 for astigmatism, dailies total 1, dailies total 1 for astigmatism, dailies total 1 multifocal, precision 1, biofinity, myday, clariti 1 day, biofinity multifocal, misight, infuse one day, ultra for presbyopia. Boston EO

Anti-glare in varying quality levels, transitions (in 6 colors!), scratch resistant, blue light, tinted, sunglass tint.

Polycarbonate, trivex, 1.67 high index, 1.74 high index

Kate Spade, David Beckham, Caroline Herrera, Boss, Ray Ban, Michael Kors, Nine West, Brooks Brothers, Polo,  Versace, Tom Ford, Nike, Calvin Klein, Dragon, Armani, Tiffany & Co, Paul Hueman, Karra and our house brand.

Yes, if you've already went to the DMV and they've given you a form then please bring it with you If you want to go to us first before visiting the DMV to know if you'll pass the vision portion then schedule a routine eye exam!

If you are coming from a company or a school exam please bring any form needed to sign.

They are one year from when you got them made. We can do an emergency one box order for expired contact lens prescriptions.

A good starting point is an annual eye exam. From there if we uncover any further diagnosis then we will know what kind of exams or referrals you would need.

We do and we prefer our patients to see an eye doctor over an urgent care or their primary care doctor. We cannot do an eye emergency visit using your annual eye exam insurance benefit. Similarly, at that visit it would be problem focused and the general glasses and health check would need to be done at a subsequent visit.

An eye doctor can either be an optometrist or ophthalmologist.

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An optometrist (like Dr. Pham) completes optometry school and is trained to perform comprehensive eye exams, prescribe glasses and contacts, diagnose and treat eye diseases, and prescribe medications. An ophthalmologist completes medical school plus a surgical residency and performs eye surgeries in addition to exams. If you need surgery, we'll refer you to a trusted ophthalmologist. For everything else (exams, glasses, contacts, disease management, specialty lenses), that's us.

Currently we are only in network with vision insurances and not medical insurances. This mainly affects patients who are coming in for an eye emergency. Often our cash price for our medical exams would be lower than out of pocket if one were to have a high deductible plan, otherwise an ophthalmologist would be a good place to try to use your medical insurance.

We do not write prescriptions for windshield tinting.

OD is your right eye. OS is your left eye. The SPH (sphere) number tells us how nearsighted (negative number) or farsighted (positive number) you are. CYL (cylinder) measures astigmatism, if you have any. Axis tells us the direction of the astigmatism correction. ADD is the amount of reading prescription.

The further your numbers are from zero, the stronger your prescription. If you're at -2.00, you are nearsighted, which means you can't see far away clearly without correction. We walk you through your exact prescription during your visit so nothing feels confusing.

No. They're related but different.

Your glasses sit about 12mm from your eyes. Contacts sit directly on them. That distance changes the optics, so the prescription values often differ. Contact lens prescriptions also include a base curve and diameter measurement that helps with selecting a proper fit. That's why you need a separate contact lens fitting on top of your glasses exam.

 

If you're around 40 and noticing that your arms aren't long enough to read your phone, you're probably dealing with presbyopia. Totally a normal age related finding.

Progressive lenses give you distance, intermediate (computer), and near (reading) vision in one lens with no visible line. Bifocals do a similar job but with a hard line between distance and reading. Progressives look cleaner and give you that middle-range computer vision that bifocals skip. They take a few days to adjust to, but most patients prefer them. We fit these in-office because the measurements need to be precise and different designs are suited for different people.

Heat the compress and place it on your eye for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, press firmly on your eyelid onto your eyeball. Make repeated pushes in the direction to the eyelashes. Do not do circular pushes or rubs. About a minute of massages is enough.

No. This is one of the most common myths out there. I really should do a video and article on this!

Glasses correct the light entering your eyes so you see clearly. They don't change the shape of your eye or make your prescription progress. What happens is you get used to seeing clearly, so taking your glasses off feels worse by comparison. Your eyes didn't get weaker, it's more like it won't tolerate blurry vision anymore.

They're not permanently damaging them, but they're definitely straining them. For kids in particular, they are making prescriptions get worse but I wouldn't consider that damage per say.

Staring at screens reduces how often you blink. Less blinking means drier, more irritated eyes. That leads to headaches, blurry vision, and fatigue (digital eye strain). Try the 20-20-20 rule; every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. And blink fully. There may be a need for a "booster" lens, blue blocking lenses, or even prism in glasses to further help the eye strain.

Regular clear eyeglasses can have UV protection! We have lenses and coatings that does that. The vast majority of our lenses we sell will have that protection.

Sunglasses can incorporate polarized lenses to further cut glare from driving and water activities but polarization does not block UV! Sunglasses need to be treated to block the UVA and UVB rays and just as a clear lens can block 100% of those rays, the darkness of the tint does not matter! We carry UV protective lenses and coatings that we can put into frames.

We do not fit orthoK lenses. We instead choose to fit soft multifocals or the misight lens. For glasses we have the new Stellest lens!

We are one location only. We also do not have access to other office's records or prescriptions.