What is Co-Management?

Co-management is a collaborative relationship that exists between your ophthalmologist and your optometrist to provide you with the best pre and post-operative care. This collaboration improves patient care, especially as it applies to following your case long-term. Co-management maximizes the benefits to the patient by utilizing the expertise of both providers to their utmost potential. Coastal Vision Medical Group co-manages for all surgical cases including cataracts, refractive surgeries like LASIK, and glaucoma.
 

How Co-Management Works

Your optometrist is your primary provider for vision care and correction. They are your first stop and have been following your care over time. Whether you opt for refractive surgery to correct vision or require surgical intervention, your optometrist refers you to an ophthalmologist to take your care to the next level. While the ophthalmologist is responsible for customizing your surgical options, they work closely with your optometrist to understand your medical history and provide a care plan to maximize post-operative results. Your optometrist then continues to follow up on your vision care plan over time.

Successful Co-Management

At Coastal Vision, we value effective and efficient communication to foster a successful co-managing relationship. Our network of optometrists shares our philosophies, core values, and best practices in eye care. This then ensures that both providers do what is best for the patient, together. This includes optimizing ocular surface health pre and post-operatively, using safe and advanced technology to treat conditions, and maintaining detailed medical records for efficient transfer of care. Coastal Vision Medical Group has over 20 years of experience with co-management and we have built a strong rapport with our optometric network. As such, we successfully customize patient experiences and have developed trust and organization with our network of optometrists.

Remember, your optometrist is like your primary care doctor for your eyes. They know your medical history and have the most knowledge about your eyes’ stability over time. This information is essential for your ophthalmologist when discussing surgical options. Co-management allows for multiple doctors with different specialties to determine best solutions for your eye care. The same is true for when your eye condition warrants different care from say a retina specialist. Coastal Vision believes that strong co-managing relationships allow all doctors following your case to assess care and advocate for the patient according to their expertise