Advice on Seeing Specialist Optometrist

• 

  holdenmg on 26/12/2017 - 22:55

  +1

  If you are in Melbourne maybe see if you can have someone look at the Letter at:
  https://www.eyeandear.org.au in East Melbourne.

  Outpatients
  Appointment enquiries & referrals:
  Phone: 03 9929 8500

  https://www.eyeandear.org.au/page/Patients/

  • 

    try2bhelpful on 27/12/2017 - 04:20

    +1

    +1 on this. The queues are long but they are good. Ring them and ask if they can help you.

  • 

    kaleidoscope on 27/12/2017 - 12:56

    +1

    Yes I am in Melbourne. Will definitely ring them up and see. Thanks for your advice.

• 

  Laundryboy on 26/12/2017 - 23:14

  +2

  i believe SS referred you to a specialist ophthalmologist rather than an optometrist ( based on the costs involved). Even if you have health insurance, the consultation fees are not covered fully, if not at all. Ask if the optometrist if he/she can refer to a public specialist or take referral to GP and ask GP to refer you. But the wait would be very long if going through public so depends on the urgency

  • 

    kaleidoscope on 27/12/2017 - 13:02

    Even if you have health insurance, the consultation fees are not covered fully, if not at all

    Really? Thats interesting to know. So basically the insurance just covers cost for things like surgeries, spectacles, contact lenses etc then.

    Ask if the optometrist if he/she can refer to a public specialist or take referral to GP and ask GP to refer you.

    I didn't know about this. Thanks alot.

• 

  steven6 on 27/12/2017 - 01:42

  +5

  I'm always skeptical about anything that's free, or should I buy another tin foil hat? Sounds suspicious to me.

  • 

    kaleidoscope on 27/12/2017 - 12:58

    Lol yeah I get what you mean. I was thinking since it's a corporate event, expenses are covered by the company.

  • 

    mooney on 27/12/2017 - 16:45

    Get a tin foil hat. It’s a revenue stream for SS, at very least will generate new appointments and customers. Many big companies have corporate benefits.

• 

  wei13 on 27/12/2017 - 08:26

  +1

  Private health won't cover for it either.

  What was the reason for referring you? I'm actually not very fond of specsavers optometrist services. I'd get a second opinion.

  • 

    kaleidoscope on 27/12/2017 - 13:10

    Their reason was that they found something but cannot confirm it as they do not have the right equipment to do the required test. Thanks for your advice.

• 

  bobbified on 27/12/2017 - 08:42

  +3

  After the examination optometrist gave me a referral letter to do a follow up eye test at a specialist clinic

  Did they find something wrong with your eyes during your free examination that requires a specialist to look at? Did they tell you what they found?

  It almost sounds like this "free" service is there to refer people to this "clinic" and get a kickback from that $400-500 fee!

  I would go to a regular optometrist first for a second opinion (which is free with medicare) and talk to them about whether you really need to go to a specialist.

  I was referred to opthalmologists last year by the Eye and Ear Hospital and the initial consultations (which is usually more expensive than follow-up consultations) were around that $250 mark. And just under half of that was rebated by Medicare (iirc, $130 rebate).

  Not one of my visits to the ophthalmologist appointments were covered by private health insurance, even though I had top cover. That made me really question my policy's worth.

  • 

    kaleidoscope on 27/12/2017 - 13:07

    +1

    They mentioned a condition in the eye related to the curvature of the lens and told me they suspect it could be the case but they do not have the right equipment to confirm, so do a follow up check at a specialist clinic.

    Very informative and thanks for sharing your experience as well.

• 

  shaz0316 on 27/12/2017 - 09:59

  +2

  +1 for the comment above. Get another opinion preferably not from another specsavers. Did they tell you why they had to refer you on?