prayforjustice2000

I went to see Dr. Remy Delplanche in Beaverton, Oregon to be diagnosed
for my Kertakonus condition. It was my first visit. I was surprised
when his assistant requested me to select glasses frame first before I
even see the doctor???!!!!

My question here: Is that a normal question to be ask by the doctor to
select glasses frame before he even see me? And how can I tell if the
eye doctor is capable to deal with the Kertakonus condition?

Thank you for your help

drfrank21

The provider is either assuming that every patient seen for an exam will
be getting new frames and lenses (maybe some practice marketing technique)
or just trying to keep you occupied until s/he is ready for you. Either
way, it's simply your perogative to refuse the request.

For moderate to advance keratoconus, it can be fairly straight forward to
diagnosis at the initial visit. But for early suspected k-conus getting
a corneal topographic reading is almost essential.

For correction, special rigid contact lenses are the preferred choice for
moderate to advanced conditions (glasses can still be adequate in the very
early cases). Ask the provider outright if s/he is comfortable treating
this condition- some providers obviously may have more experience than
others.

frank

dabel

The doctor normally has little to nothing to do with frame selection and
fitting. I have had similar experiences, and I think it would be a
mistake to assume that the doctor even knew that you were asked to look at
frames. Frames are a high-markup item, and selling new frames is simply
what you should expect of a retail establishment, which this is. The
frames person may not have even known why you were there, just that you
were there. Perhaps they weren't busy and knew that it would be a while
before you saw the doctor. If you were wearing glasses at the time, that
would be a pretty good indicator that you were a potential frames
customer.


As is true for any retail salesperson who asks you to look at merchandise
that you don't think you are currently in the market for, a simple, "no
thank you" should suffice. I would probably also explain why I was there,
just to make conversation.

--
Dan Abel
Sonoma State University
AIS
dabel@sonic.net