Day 2.7 - Rx Interpretation

RX Interpretation

There are two types of doctors that can write an eyeglass prescription.  An Optometrist, who specializes in prescribing glasses and contact lenses, and an Ophthalmologist (a medical doctor), who specializes in eye disease and surgery.  Optometrists typically write their prescription in (-) cylinder, while Ophthalmologists write their prescription in (+) cylinder.  The prescription is the same, and one is not better than the other.   At Success Vision Express, in order to pull lenses, all prescriptions are viewed in a (-) cylinder format.  If you are presented a prescription with a (+), we “transpose” the prescription to a (-) cylinder. You will learn how to do that later in your training.  For now, we’ll focus on the different aspects of a prescription.

There are some basic rules of a prescription.  

1. All prescriptions require a Doctor’s signature.
2. Look for the expiration date – we cannot use it if it’s expired because of state law. If there is no expiration noted, Success Vision Express will accept it for 24 months after exam date noted. If there are no dates to use, call the doctor’s office that wrote the prescription to determine the exact expiration date to be used.
3. The power and bifocal are prescribed, but the customer can choose whether or not they would like bifocals and in which style they would like them.
4. Not all prescriptions will have everything shown in the example below. This is to make you aware of the possible prescriptions you may view. Not all customers need bifocals (the ‘Add’), not all customers need an astigmatism correction (the ‘Cylinder’ and ‘Axis’ and not all customers need a Prism correction (‘Prism’ and ‘Base’).

While working with a prescription you will see a few acronyms.  OD stands for oculus dexter, which is Latin for right eye.  OS stands for oculus sinister, which is Latin for left eye.  From time to time, you may also see OU, which stands for oculi uterque or both eyes.  On a prescription OD, right eye, will always be on top of OS, left eye.

The sphere is the first number in a prescription.  It tells you whether a person is myopic or hyperopic.  MYOPIA means the person is nearsighted; they can see better at close range.  You will see a (-) in front of the number if they are myopic.

HYPEROPIA means the person is farsighted; they can see better at a distance.  You will see a (+) in front of the number if they are hyperopic.

If there is a CYLINDER, this means the person has astigmatism.  Astigmatism simply means the person’s eye is shaped like a football rather than a basketball ball, so light focuses at multiple points in the back of the eye, causing the vision to be blurry at both distance and near. The AXIS is for astigmatism as well.  And it is simply the degree to which the light needs to be bent in order for the eye to focus the light correctly.  The axis number can only be between 1 and 180 degrees.

PRISM is ground into the prescription lens to relieve diplopia (double vision).  The most common cause of double vision is misalignment of the two eyes to function properly, which is caused by weak eye muscles.  Prism is not common in the majority of prescriptions.  You must ask your supervisor if you see a prescription with prism in it. Prism diopter is the unit of measure indicating deflection of light rays.  One prism diopter deflects rays of light one centimeter at a distance of one meter.  The prism diopter direction is called the BASE.  Base is usually indicated as BU for base up, BD for base down, BI for base in, or BO for base out.  Or it may simply be written as Up, Down, In, or Out.

Finally, the ADD power is to help individuals who have trouble seeing up close to read.  This part of the RX helps accommodate for when the lens in the eye starts to become less flexible and is unable to focus at a normal reading distance.  This condition affects everyone around 45-50 years old and is called presbyopia.  The customer will need either a bifocal, trifocal, or progressive lens to correct their vision.

Now that you know some of the basics, try answering 15 phone calls today.  Keep in mind that you may have to put people on hold quite often in order to accurately answer the customer's questions.