Ocular Concerns with Erectile Dysfunction Medications

When visiting your eye care professional, be sure to disclose any erectile dysfunction medications you may be taking as these may place you at risk for vision loss.

These medications all have possible ocular problems as listed on www.drugs.com.

Cialis, Viagra, and Levitra can decrease blood flow to the optic nerve of the eye, causing sudden vision loss. This has occurred in a small number of people taking these prescribed medications, most of whom also had heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or certain pre-existing eye problems, and in those who smoked or who were over 50 years old. It is not clear whether these medications were the actual cause of the vision loss.

Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy is a medical condition involving loss of vision due to damage to the optic nerve from insufficient blood supply (www.wikipedia.com). A number of studies have linked erectile dysfunction medications to AION.

AION typically presents suddenly and upon awakening. The patient notes seeing poorly in one eye. Vision in that eye is obscured by a dark shadow, often involving just the upper or lower half of vision, usually the area towards the nose. There is no pain associated with this.

If you notice any symptoms as listed above, contact your eye care professional immediately.

Medicare Pays for Eye Exams

You may have heard that Medicare does not pay for eye exams. That is not true. The insurance industry, including Medicare, classifies eye exams as either routine or medical. A routine exam is one in which no medical conditions are found and includes one or more of only four diagnoses. These are myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), astigmatism or presbyopia (the condition that often makes reading glasses necessary for those over age 40 or so). The eyes are healthy but glasses or contact lenses can help the patient see more clearly. Medicare will not pay for this exam.

However, if you have a medical diagnosis, Medicare will pay for your eye exam. Most patients eligible for Medicare have a medical diagnosis. If you are diabetic or have any medical eye condition -- including but not limited to glaucoma, cataracts, dry eyes and eye infections – Medicare will pay for your eye exam.

A medical eye exam by any of our optometrists or ophthalmologists qualifies as covered by Medicare. Many of our patients come for a medical eye exam but also need a prescription for glasses. Medicare will not pay for the refraction, the part of the exam that determines your prescription. There is a $30 charge for the refraction. In some cases, you will be able to get the refraction during the same visit as your medical eye exam, saving you the time and expense of another trip. When you call for your appointment, tell our schedulers if you also need a prescription.

Converting Your Medical Chart from Paper to Electronic

Citing technology and federal incentives, The Eye Care Institute will be converting to electronic medical records during October or November of 2010. “Finally, eye care specific software has made electronic charting of medical records a reality,” said Dr. Brennan P Greene.

Our current patient appointment software and billing system was installed during 2001 and is now outdated. During the next few months, the appointment scheduling and patient accounting system will convert to a new software platform, called Allscripts Professional. This system will run on faster servers and offers the latest in privacy protection.

After studying the electronic medical charting options for the past two or so years, we have chosen MedFlow to be our electronic medical records partner. Dr Mark L. Jaggers, along with practice CEO, Mark Prussian, traveled to a medical records conference in Chicago during February to confirm MedFlow as the best choice. Dr. Jaggers said, “MedFlow offers the best eye care software and has been consistently improving.”
Patients will notice changes as our medical charts convert to computerized versions. During each of the first few visits once the conversion to computers begins, our doctors and staff will have the paper chart in the exam room while also using the computer chart. After two or three visits per patient, our doctors and staff will stop bringing the paper chart to the exam. However, we expect to retain the paper charts in storage for an additional 7 to 10 years.

Prussian said, “Because the federal government is offering incentive money for physicians to convert charts to electronic methods while also cutting Medicare reimbursement to doctors who choose to remain with paper charts, patients can expect many of their doctors will make the conversion to electronic charts rapidly.” Prussian continued, “Most feedback from practices that now use electronic charts is that they are so pleased they made the conversion that they wish they had done so earlier.”
We welcome your feedback and suggestions as we implement these two important software updates during 2010.