When a patient comes in for an appointment, a new record is added to the patient’s Exam record in Eyecare. This record is completed by the doctor and the Optometric Assistant (OA). One of the last tabs completed in each patient’s record is the “Routing Tab.” The routing tab is one of the most important things for an optician to know and understand, as it is the part of the record that communicates everything the optician needs to do when working with the patient. As you know, once the doctor and the OA are finished with the patient’s medical portion of their appointment, the patient is brought to the optician to complete their appointment with scheduling, purchasing eyewear, collecting fees, etc. This routing tab provides the instruction for all of these tasks, personalized to the patient.

The following components are on the routing tab, and are crucial for you as an optician to understand and remember to look for:

  • What the primary office code is to post on the patient’s ledger

  • Any additional codes to post to the patient’s ledger

  • The patient’s annual recall appointment (if this is a pt here for an exam, you will schedule the next year’s exam)

  • In the Contacts and the Glasses sections, there are details of what the doctor prescribed for the patient’s eyewear. This is what you discuss with and order for the patient.

  • Additional Notes section tells you what additional appointments the doctor needs you to schedule with the patient, if they took photos of the patient, and any additional information that is pertinent to you taking care of the patient’s visual needs.

  • If the patient was dilated. If the patient was dilated, they will need to be seated to see the doctor again, after they are finished with you. This also lets you know that the patient is in the process of being dilated, so they may become uncomfortable and you should assure them that mild discomfort is normal.

There is a lot of information on this one screen so it is imperative that you read it over carefully to make sure you post every code correctly and fulfill the doctors prescriptions accurately.

end of module.