With the advent of the internet it is becoming increasingly more convenient to find information on a variety of topics, so why should eye care professionals be any different? The simple answer is they shouldn’t, and they aren’t. The internet now offers a number of different varieties of eye care doctor locator that can help you locate the right optometrist for your needs.

Three Variations

A brief search of the internet will yield a number of responses when you type in “eye care doctor locator.” Generally speaking they all have similar features. The differences come down to nuance.

First there is the generic search tool. Similar to a search feature on a telephone directory site, you type in a key word, your zip code or city, click go or any number of words that have the same meaning, and then wait for your results. Results are typically alphabetized, but sometimes no results are given based on location. Rural communities seem to have fewer hits or none at all than larger metropolitan areas.

Next comes the advanced search option which includes all of the basics featured in the generic search. But it also allows you to search by doctor’s last name and subspecialty. You can also search by doctor specialty in relation to the generic search tool so you can refine the generic search.

The final search option easily found on a brief search was even more sparse than the generic standard. It includes nothing but fields for zip code, city, and state. However it did pull up more results than the generic when using a rural zip code. The results even feature a distance counter that tells you how far it is from your zip code.

A Doctor Rating System

A major feature that seems to be missing from all of these eye care doctor locator search tools is a rating system. Certainly it would be up to the doctor’s patients to review and rate the doctor’s. However, it seems that it would be beneficial in terms of finding a good doctor. There probably wouldn’t be a major expense for the sites to include it, but it was missing from the three archetypes covered here.

Furthermore a brief search including “eye care doctor locator with ratings” turned up nothing of value. There were some quick guides to finding a good eye doctor, but nothing with a rating. Eye care doctor locators are available online, but they seem to need a little bit of refining to meet the needs of people who would frequently use them.