Why Choose Us?
Other Providers
Laser Vision Correction Provider Classification:
The various providers available in the laser vision correction field can usually be grouped into several categories:
- I. Private Practice Ophthalmologists
- a. Refractive Specialists
- b. General Ophthalmologists
- II. Physician/Hospital Owned Ambulatory Surgical Centers
- III. Corporate Laser Centers
- a. Discount Centers
- b. Value Centers
- c. Premium Centers
I.)
Private Practice Ophthalmologists
(MD Eye Surgeons):
This category typically includes those individual physicians who have helped develop the field of refractive
surgery and those who came later and have incorporated these techniques into their private practices. These
surgeons can usually be divided into two categories:
-
Hale Vision Laser & Implant Center
is this type of provider:
a) Surgeons making refractive surgery their specialty, often having their own surgical facilities, typically dedicated to the latest technology and considering all available technologies, including non-laser technology, when helping patients decide on the proper course of treatment.
- b) Surgeons who offer these procedures to their private practice patients, not as a specialty but as an adjunct to their other eye care services. They typically utilize a corporate laser facility or ambulatory surgery center that has lasers available. These centers are often owned by a group of doctors or hospital organizations.
II.)
Physician/Hospital owned ambulatory surgery centers:
These facilities are typically designed to provide out-patient, day surgery services for surgeons in multiple
specialties, i.e. eye surgery, plastic surgery, podiatry, ENT, GI, etc. These facilities may incorporate the
appropriate lasers to allow surgeons to perform LASIK and other laser refractive procedures. These organizations
do not commonly advertise and only provide services for the doctors for a fee.
III.)
Corporate Laser Centers:
- a.) Corporate Discount Centers: These centers are typically located in metropolitan areas in multiple states in the United States and Canada and may be publicly traded companies. There have been many different chain operations since the early 90’s when LASIK initially became available. These chains are usually owned by non-medical business interests, usually advertise a very low price ($299 per eye, etc.) and charge in advance for preliminary testing. The surgeons involved are often rotated between multiple locations within any given state and sometimes multiple states. Patients are typically “upsold” and end up with a cost that is significantly higher than they expected. A high level of surgical patients per hour are customary for these one-dimensional laser-only organizations. There have been FTC issues with these companies and they have been cited for misleading advertising and issues related to failure to refund deposits on exams and surgery (Follow this link for more information). Some centers have been closed in some organizations, other whole companies have gone bankrupt, leaving patients without continuation of care.
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b.) Corporate “Value” Centers: These companies also tend to have multiple centers around the
country, provide a somewhat wider range of technology and pricing than the “discount centers”
and concentrate heavily on patient financing. They may also be publicly traded companies. Their surgeons
may also have responsibilities for multiple locations and share centers with other surgeons and are also
laser-only in technology. Some companies in this category have also been cited by the FTC for misleading
advertising. These centers are probably a step-up from the discount centers but also depend on high volume
surgery to support their significant marketing expenditures.
http://www.cincypost.com/2003/03/27/lca032703.html
http://www.yourlawyer.com/practice/panews.htm?parea=Malpractice&story_id=5113
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2003/03/lcacomplaint.pdf
- c.) Premium Corporate Centers: There are premium level corporate centers also. They can be publicly traded, have centers in multiple states and Canada, and are more likely to have state-of-the-art technology. The most well known member of this category depends heavily on relationships with local and regional optometrists, who will find and prepare patients for surgery.
The “Lifetime Commitment” Issue
One thing that many corporate centers have in common, but is rarely seen in the private practice groups, is the
issue of the “lifetime commitment.” This is a term used to describe a form of warranty that implies
the patient need not worry about future changes in their vision because retreatments will be provided at no
additional cost to the enrollee throughout their lifetime. There are many significant elements to be considered
if you are factoring this “guarantee” into your decision process.
- Some centers charge extra for this “commitment,” some factor it in from the beginning.
-
Whose “lifetime” are they covering, yours or the centers? Corporate centers have been known to close and
move out of town without warning or follow-up care provisions.
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If your prescription is on the difficult side, making you more likely to use the guarantee, there will
likely be a clause excluding you from the program. This is common to all programs. Typically patients
with higher degrees of nearsightedness, astigmatism and all hyperopic patients fall into this excluded category.
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You will be required to have an annual examination, at your cost, usually with a doctor connected with the
center, to retain your eligibility. If you fail to provide proof of this examination in a timely manner
you will be removed from the program.
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In most of these programs your vision must deteriorate to a significant level, usually worse than 20/40,
before you are considered a candidate for retreatment. Private practice refractive specialists regularly
retreat patients whose vision would not qualify under the corporate center guidelines. Thus, any comparison
of retreatment rates amongst surgeons can also be very difficult to fairly interpret.
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There are many reasons why a patient’s vision may change over time that are not related to return of
nearsightedness, etc., and often, other treatments that may be more appropriate than another laser treatment.
These, of course, will not be covered under the plan. The center surgeon must approve that you qualify medically
for any further surgery and has the final word on this issue.
-
In some systems, you may be allowed to pay for a retreatment that does not qualify under the program guidelines,
thus, totally defeating the purpose of the “lifetime commitment”.
While these plans may strike a “feel good” chord with some patients, one must be fully aware of the limitations
to such programs. Always ask in advance for a full disclosure of plan details before allowing an apparent positive to
become a frustrating negative.
At Hale Vision Laser & Implant Center our policy is to cover retreatments for a period of one year. After thousands
of cases we have found that 75% of all retreatments occur within the first six months following the initial laser surgery,
and 99% occur within the first year. After this period there are nominal charges applied that reflect technology changes
and period of time since the initial surgery. Healing issues, illnesses, life changing events, etc. will always be
considered before discharging a patient from the normal course of postoperative care. We have been performing refractive
surgery for over twenty years and have stood firmly behind every procedure we have done. In the world of medicine where
we cannot always control the healing process, it can be impossible to totally satisfy everybody all the time.
We can promise you that our team considers your happiness with the procedure our main goal, but your overall health and
safety must always come first.
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