To help make your appointment with us go as smoothly as possible, please note that some common insurance companies require referrals. This list includes Aetna, Gateway, Unison and TriCare Prime. Please have a valid referral with a medical diagnosis (reason for referral) faxed to our office before your appointment. Our fax number is(724) 772-7021. You will get a reminder call from our office prior to your appointment. If we have not received a referral you may re-schedule your appointment or self-pay with a credit card, debit card, check or cash at the time of your visit. If you have any questions regarding referrals, please call our office. It is often a good idea to check with your insurance carrier as well.

During the eye examination, your child's eyes may be dilated. Dilation causes the pupils to stay enlarged so that a thorough examination retina and optic disc (inside of the eye) can be performed. Some of the dilating drops also cause blurred vision at near by decreasing the eye's ability to accommodate, or focus. This must be done for the doctor to determine your child's refractive error (need for glasses) more accurately. The dilating drops typically last for 4 to 24 hours. The blurriness may typically last from 4 - 6 hours. It is not uncommon for a child with blue or green eyes to stay dilated for up to 72 hours. Because of the effects of the dilation, you should bring a pair of sunglasses to the examination for your child. Your child can return to school with one of our school excuses alerting the teacher that the eyes were dilated.

If you are planning on driving yourself to your own examination, you may want to bring someone with you to drive you home since your vision will be blurred and sensitive to the sunlight.

We are required by law to receive written consent by a parent or legal guardian allowing us to examine any minor. If written consent is not given to us we legally cannot examine the minor. We will be forced to cancel and reschedule the appointment. It is recommended that at least one parent attend all exams with their child. We do have an authorization form which parents can sign to designate others to bring the minor to future appointments.