Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) covers the following eye care services for:

• Children 0 to 19 years old - An annual, full comprehensive eye examination plus any follow-up assessments that may be required.

• Adults aged 20 to 64 years - OHIP does not cover comprehensive eye examinations for this age group. These individuals have private insurance coverage or pay out-of-pocket. Some exceptions to OHIP coverage apply depending on the medical condition. Ask your optometrist if you qualify.

• Seniors aged 65+ - An annual, full comprehensive eye examination plus any follow-up assessments that may be required.

Some optometric services NOT covered by OHIP:

• Additional comprehensive eye exams during the same year of an OHIP-covered exam.

• Eye examinations that are required by potential employers or other third parties.

• Contact lens fitting exams and progress checks

• Retinal imaging (such as retinal photography, ocular coherence tomography, Heidelberg retinal tomography, etc)

• Laser refractive surgery co-management (pre- and post-operative) visits

• Treatments, such as :

  • Eyeglasses

  • Contact lenses

  • Low vision aids

  • Vision Therapy (Eye co-ordination exercises)

  • Medications to manage diseases of the eye and surrounding tissues.

Unfortunately, many ocular conditions are not always accompanied by symptoms. There is often an increased risk to the patient if treatment is not initiated soon enough. As such, periodic optometric examinations are imperative.

The Canadian Association of Optometrists (CAO) recommends the following:

• Birth to 24 months - Infants and toddlers should undergo their first eye examination between the ages of 6 and 9 months.

• 2 to 5 years - Preschool children should undergo at least one eye examination between the ages of 2 and 5 years.

• 6 to 19 years - School-aged children should undergo an eye exam annually.

• 20 to 39 years - Young adults should undergo an eye examination every 2 to 3 years

• 40 to 64 years - Adults should undergo an eye examination every 2 years

• 65 years or older - Older adults should undergo an eye examination annually

You can visit the Canadian and Ontario Association of Optometrists Websites by clicking the links below:

• Canadian Association of Optometry

• Ontario Association of Optometry

We do! You can find us on facebook under "Dr. Brian Lockyer & Dr. Suzanne Lockyer, Optometrists" or facebook.com/DrydenOptometrist