Concept

The Color Vision Clinic is an intermediate where the doctor determines what type of color vision deficiency the patient has along with what, if any, color vision aides the patient might benefit from. This appointment, as of this time, is only scheduled at our Lewis Center location in a 30 minute slot and only with Dr. Stutler.

Approximately 4.4% of the population is color blind; however, most patients who are often called color blind would be better described as color deficient. 99% of people with a color problem have a color deficiency (There is an eye disease call achromatopsia which is very rare and causes someone to only see the world in black and white; these people will not be helped with our color vision clinic). 1 in 12 men are color deficient; 1 in 200 women are color deficient. The color vision clinic helps treat those that we can help will see colors more vibrant. Children that are color deficient often confuse colors on board games and have difficulty learning colors in school. Adults with color deficiency may have difficulty telling the difference between green and red on a stop light. Stop lights that are horizontal instead of vertical may cause great difficulty for a color deficient person and could be dangerous.

There are three main types of color vision deficiency: protan, deutan, and tritan defects. 99% of all color deficient people are suffering from red-green color deficiency which is a sex-linked hereditary condition and a combination of red-blindness (protan defects) and green-blindness (deutan defects).

Severity of color blindness is usually divided into the following four categories: slightly, moderate, strong, and absolute. Strongly color blind people might only be able to tell about 20 hues apart from each other, with normal color vision this number raises to more than 100 different hues. Colored lenses or glasses can improve color discrimination but cannot give normal color vision. One color vision aid now available for certain types of color vision deficiency is called Enchroma. Please watch the following video on Enchroma.

WORKUP ORDER

Complete visual acuity, expedited medical history.

CHARTING CHECKLIST

  • Layout: Intermediate

  • Hx/Meds: Forward and update as needed.

  • Workup: Enter the patient’s Color Vision Deficiency diagnosis as the chief complaint. Fill in VAs, pupils, and EOMs. Fill in the Color Vision Testing section with whatever color vision screening was performed.

  • Exam: Forward anterior and posterior findings and update based on the doctors findings. Forward the patient’s Color Vision Deficiency diagnosis in the plan and make it the #1 diagnosis for the appointment. Update plan to reflect all recommendations from that appointment.

  • Testing: If the Doctor performs a D-15, create an entry for this test and scan in the score sheet.

  • Routing: Enter the following under the additional notes section “Please post color vision clinic today: $40”. Also include if the doctor recommends Enchroma glasses under the glasses seaction.


Additional Color Vision tests

Ishihara

The Ishihara test is similar to the Waggoner test in that a patient is presented with different colored plates that contain images which they should be able to identify with normal color vision. In contrast the shapes in the Waggoner test, Ishihara uses numbers and lines which the patient can trace with their finger.

Please watch the following video on the Ishihara test.

D-15

The D-15 is another test the doctor may use to determine the strength and type (protan, deutan, tritan) of color vision deficiency the patient has. This test requires the patient to organize several discs in a progression of color from dark to light. The patient starts with a dark, primer disc on the left side of the box. Next, they select from the pool of remaining discs the one they think is closest in color, placing it to the right of the primer disc. They repeat this process, selecting from the remaining discs the one they think is closes to the most recently placed disc, until all of the tiles are used up and then the doctor will use a special form to grade the patient’s answers.

Please watch the following video which illustrates the D-15 test.

Please take the following Checkpoint Quiz