FAQs
Welcome! Your primary care physician, optometrist or ophthalmologist has referred you to our office. Whether you are referred for a retinal issue or a cataract consult, please take the time to read through the information below.
How do I book an appointment with West Coast Retina Consultants?
New patients, and patients who have not been seen in the past 6 months, MSP requires a specialist referral from your primary care physician, or optometrist. Once we have obtained a referral, we can book an appointment.
Current patients can call our office at 604-875-1661 between 8am and 5pm on regular business days. You can also email us at reception@retinavancouver.com for non-urgent requests.
Is my appointment covered by MSP?
MSP covers most procedures done in our office; however not all services and very few medications/drugs are covered under the provincial health plan (MSP).
If you are receiving a treatment of medication that is not covered, you will receive a bill.
We also charge if you request copies of your diagnostic imaging.
It’s also important to keep your MSP up to date, if you are behind on your MSP payments they
will not pay for your service and you will receive a bill from our office.
You can pay your bill by cash, cheque, debit or credit at all of our offices; we will also process credit card payments over the phone.
I am a current patient with an eye emergency, what do I do?
We provide 24 hour a day, 7 days a week coverage for all our active patients with emergency issues that cannot wait until regular business hours. Call our office at 604-875-1661 and press 1 when prompted.
Where can I park at your office?
We are tenants at all our locations, so unfortunately, we have no control over parking. Please make sure you are following the parking rules posted at each lot.
Eye Care Centre Location - limited pay parking under the building, pay parking at Fairmont Medical Building, meter parking along West 10th Ave.
805 West Broadway Location - Pay parking under the building.
5477 152nd St Location - Free 2-hour parking. This building is very strict with parking. You must be in a spot marked Visitors.
5900 No 3 Rd Location - Free 2 hours parking in the parkade adjacent to the building. Spots are marked Visitors.
Are your locations wheelchair accessible?
All of our locations are wheelchair accessible, however we do not have loaner wheelchairs available for transfers at this time.
How long will my appointment take?
You should plan to be at our office for 2 hours. We make every effort to get you in and out of the clinic in a timely fashion. Our office deals with a wide variety of patients of diagnosis that add unpredictability to our schedule.
In addition, our retinal physicians are on-call for emergencies for the entire province (including the Yukon). Retinal problems are the most significant vision threatening ocular emergency and can be time sensitive. This means the clinic can receive a sudden influx of emergencies or that the physician may be called away to the operating room for emergency surgery.
We truly value your time and are constantly working on making our clinics run more efficiently. You can do your part by showing up at your appointment time & making sure we have your up-to-date contact information on file to reach you in a timely manner for schedule changes.
Do my eyes need to be dilated at every visit?
You are being seen at our office for a retinal problem. The retina is located at the back of the eye and can only be properly examined when the eyes are fully dilated. If you are new to our office or haven't seen us in the past 6 months both of your eyes will be dilated. If you are being seen more regularly, we do try to limit dilation when it is clinically safe to do so.
We suggest that you plan for dilation at each visit. We recommend you bring dark sunglasses and have a driver arranged for every appointment. Dilation can take 30-60 minutes to take effect and can last for up to 4 hours.
Why do you test my visual acuity, eye pressure and take images every visit?
We are looking for any changes in your eye condition. Visual acuity, intraocular pressure and our imaging provide the physicians with objective information to help maximize patient care.
Why am I seeing a different doctor this appointment?
We run a group practice. This provides many benefits such as more flexible booking, 24 hour a day, 7 day a week emergency coverage and also 4 highly trained retina specialists who are always re-evaluating your care so that you are receiving the most up-to-date evidence based care.
If you would prefer to be followed by only one doctor, please let our reception staff know and we will make every effort to only book you with that specific doctor. Please keep in mind emergencies do come up.
Will someone call to remind me of my appointment?
We have moved to an SMS appointment confirmation system that is integrated into our Health Records Software. If you prefer not to be contacted by SMS, you can easily opt out of the service.
Please refer to our Terms and Conditions for Electronic Communication. More information on the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information can be found in our privacy policy.