COVID-19 MESSAGE – Please Read
We are here for you!
Ophthalmic Consultants of the Capital Region is committed to keeping our patients and staff safe during the COVID-19 pandemic while continuing to provide quality care.
Our Medical Services practice remains open for Urgent and Emergency in-person visits, and in addition, we are pleased to announce that we’re now offering telehealth appointments, which will allow our practice to:
- Maintain our high standards of patient care
- Provide an easier and more convenient way to access care – patients can engage with providers in a one-to-one setting from the comfort and safety of their home
- Offer more flexible, on-demand care options
Our OPTICAL SERVICE remains available as noted below.
Please see our CLINIC and ENHANCED CLINIC SAFETY MEASURES noted below.
MEDICAL SERVICES
Telehealth Visits
Patients can use a smartphone, tablet or computer to conduct their virtual telehealth visit. If you are unable to access a way to use video for “telehealth,” please don’t worry – our specialist eye doctors can consult with you by telephone.
Please contact our office at 518-438-5273 to schedule an appointment and for answers to any questions about what to expect during your first telehealth visit. You may call us 24/7 and one of our doctors will be available to return your call.
Essential, Urgent & Emergent Eye Care Appointments
It is our goal to provide essential, urgent and emergent eye care to patients. As many patients and providers are aware, the regular in-office treatments (such as injections) we provide maintain sight and functioning and missing an appointment or treatment can lead to permanent vision loss. We are striving to minimize disruption to these visits, as much as possible. If you are not sure if you should keep your appointment, please call any of our offices. Our eye doctors are working tirelessly to assess each patient’s eye care requirements and the need for an appointment.
In-Office Lasers
At this time, we are still providing sight-saving laser procedures. We will be contacting all patients with a laser procedure appointment to confirm the time and location. Please call any of our offices if you have any questions or concerns regarding your laser procedure appointment.
Outpatient Surgery
All elective surgeries at the outpatient surgery center have been postponed until further notice. Regarding urgent and emergent surgeries, while we continue to monitor the pandemic, we are looking at each eye surgery appointment individually and deciding when to perform the surgery based on the urgency of each patient’s situation. In very select cases we are currently performing sight-saving eye surgeries.
All Other Appointments
We are modifying how we see patients during this pandemic. If you are scheduled for a routine eye exam especially a one year or six months follow up visit, and you are not experiencing any worsening eye symptoms, we ask that you reschedule your appointment at least two months from now.
Modified Clinic Office Hours
Our Schenectady and Schodack locations are temporarily closed.
The Clifton Park office will be open Tuesday and Thursday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Our Troy office will be open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
The Albany office will maintain a regular schedule Monday thru Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Clinic Safety Measures
Visit Preparation, Check-in procedures, and social distancing
- Prior to coming to our office, we ask that you check your body temperature to assure it is normal. If you do not have a normal temperature please call our office to cancel your appointment.
- Please plan on wearing a face mask or at least a scarf to cover your nose and mouth prior to entering our office. If you do not have a scarf or mask, please let us know when you call the telephone number while “signing in” (See info below).
- Our doors will be locked and patients with appointments will be required to stay outside of the office until the technician is ready to bring the patient into the office.
- Each patient is triaged by telephone with a doctor and waits in their car until it is time to come to the door. The front desk will call the patient to tell them to come to the door which will then be unlocked for entry. Only the patient is admitted into the office.
- If the patient arrives by public transportation, they are to call us using the number on the door to tell us they have arrived and to indicate if they have a mask or not. A mask will be needed prior to entry. The patient’s temperature will be confirmed and the patient will be put in an isolated area to wait.
Enhanced Clinic Safety Measures: Steps we are taking to keep people safe
- We are limiting the number of daily appointments to honor social distancing
- All the desk and counter spaces have the addition of plastic sneeze shields
- All employees wear face masks as do patients
- All slit lamps in examination rooms have medical plastic shields between the patient and the doctor/technician
- Lower face plastic shields used for additional safety over face masks
- Each lane and patient or employee “touch area” is disinfected after each patient encounter
Temperature checking of all personnel and patients entering the building.
OPTICAL SERVICES
During this time, the following services will be provided by our Optical Departments in Albany, Troy and Clifton Park (Please see the day and time schedule below):
- Minor Repairs by Appointment
- Contact Lens Orders – are being taken over the phone and shipped directly to the patient
- If a patient is seen for medical issues and an optical script is given, we are able to fill those scripts during operating hours
- Lost glasses/broken glasses – we can reorder what the patient had previously.
Optical Days and Hours by Location (See below)
(AM hours are 8:00 am until Noon and
PM hours are 1:00 pm until 5:00 pm)
Please call 518-438-5273 to set up an appointment with our optical in accordance with the schedule below:
Monday AM – Albany
Monday PM – Troy
Tuesday AM – Albany
Tuesday PM – Clifton Park
Wednesday AM – Troy
Wednesday PM – Albany
Thursday AM – Clifton Park
Thursday PM – Albany
Friday AM – Albany
Friday PM – Troy
