COVID-19 UPDATE: Office Procedures and Policy Updates

We are re-opening thanks to the the relaxing of Executive Orders by Gov. Greg Abbott and CDC restrictions with regards to routine eye-care.  We have resumed care with limited capacity, temporary office hour changes, and with reduced Saturday availability to keep both our patients, doctors and staff safe while complying with the Governor’s new rules.  This is a very fluid process and changes can be made daily and/or weekly based on directives by our local and state officials.  We ask to please be patient with us during this time as we navigate the “new normal”.

Due to COVID-19, optometric practices face new challenges of social distancing, person protective equipment, and other CDC recommendations.  There are some changes to our office procedures and policies that we would like to update you on.

1.  We will require everyone entering our clinic to wear a facial covering. Options include: homemade scarf, mask, bandana, or handkerchief. Our Doctors and staff will also wear masks when coming into direct contact with others.   In compliance with Mayor Ron Nirenburg’s, local orders requiring face coverings, ALL patients  and optical customers entering the office will be required to have a face-mask, or cloth face covering upon entering our office and for the duration of their appointment.
2. We will request all persons entering our office to wash or sanitize their hands.
3.  We will promote a fever-free environment.   All patients, guests, staff, and Doctors upon entering the office will have a temperature screening. Any member of our team with a fever or taking a fever reducing medication will be asked to leave and return once we are able to obtain an accurate measure of their temperature. Similarly, patients will be asked to reschedule their appointments until the same resolution has been reached. 
4.  We will require all patients to fill out demographic information and medical history prior to their appointment.  In addition, our clinical staff will be calling patients prior to appointments to obtain their visit history (vision concerns/issues that they would like to discuss at visit).  So please pay attention to texts and/or calls from our office.  Doing these things will minimize your time in our office, again helping with social distancing.
5. We will promote social distancing measures throughout your visit. We will manage patient flow to limit over-crowding and will ask you to please DO NOT bring additional guests (that do not have an appointment) with you to your appointment.  ONLY the patients with an appointment or a customer needing optical services will be allowed in the office. 
6.  We are doubling our efforts in maintaining a safe and clean environment. “High touch” areas (door knobs, reception, pens, counters, frames etc.) will be cleaned at a higher frequency throughout the day.  We will be using and EPA-approved solution called Pure&Clean that has shown to kill COVID-19.  If you require assistance, for example a medical assistant/caretaker or a parent of a minor child, one other guest will be allowed in the office with a face covering.  The additional guests will also be subjected to same disinfection protocols and temperature screening, as both patients and customers do.
7.  We will be perform an Optomap on everyone, now and into the future, for ages 10 years old and older.  The Optomap provides a digital image of the inside of an eye and allows for the detection of many eye conditions.  There is a fee related to the Optomap, but it is our belief that this is part of gold standard eyecare.  The Optomap helps minimize your time in our office to help with social distancing and will be cleaned vigorously between all patients.   Younger patients can also do the Optomap; however, we are sometimes limited on age due to cooperation.  There are also other instances where the dilation will be done in addition to the Optomap, like Diabetes, cataracts, poor image quality, or other medical complaints/findings that necessitate such.
8.  We will continue to provide curbside service for delivery of eye-wear or contact lenses when needed.  
9.  We now offer an online feature to order your contact lenses and have them shipped to your home.  Please go to the “Shop” tab on the top right of our homepage to order 24/7.  We are NO LONGER extending contact lens prescriptions.
10. We will continue to provide the same great care with everyone’s safety in mind!  We look forward to seeing our patient’s again!!

Any patients who do not wish to comply with our new policies or procedures will be asked to reschedule until the issues are resolved.