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How to get more eye exam patients: a plan for optometry and eye care practices

An empty, calm waiting room at an optometry practice

Adults contact optometry and general eye care practices for an eye exam when they have trouble seeing, when another clinician told them to get their eyes checked, or when a recall exam is due: online appointment requests, phone calls, recall reminders and referrals. This guide covers the visit request and the front desk path, not diagnosis, eyewear sales or treatment; LASIK, dry eye treatment, cataract surgery, glaucoma and eye floaters patients have their own guides. The eye doctor or treating clinician (the clinician below) decides the plan, including whether anything should be done and what.

In short

  • Speak to adults who want an eye exam, a check another clinician suggested or a recall exam in plain, respectful words.
  • Keep landing pages plain: the exam, the clinician, the price, one way to book, no photos of eyes or faces.
  • Book the exam with a short script that never names a cause or a treatment and never reassures.
  • Offer an eye exam to callers who report trouble seeing, and pass every question about why to the clinical team on the same call or by a callback.
  • Follow up and send recall reminders only with consent, without pressure, and track each request.
  1. SearchAn adult looks for care near them.
  2. Your pageWhat you treat, who sees them, one way to book.
  3. Call or formThey call or send a request.
  4. Front deskBooks the visit and never guesses a cause.
  5. Clinical teamThe clinician decides the plan.
How a new patient request reaches your practice.

1. Who the patients are and what they search for

Callers are adults 18 or over. They search for an eye exam near them, an optometrist, an eye doctor or the eye exam their doctor suggested.

Present the exam simply: a clinician checks the patient’s eyes. Do not describe symptoms, causes or treatments, and do not say who has trouble seeing.

Only the clinician can say why someone has trouble seeing. Staff never say why a caller sees poorly, never name a type of vision problem or a cause, never say the caller just needs glasses or a new prescription, and never call it normal, harmless, just age, probably nothing or nothing to worry about.

Aim ads at adults only. Never target by age, family history or any health condition, and never build ads, audiences or keywords from those traits or other health information about a person. Write no age-group copy.

2. Landing page basics

The page sells the exam, not a result.

  • Use no before-and-after photos and no close-up photos of eyes or faces.
  • Give the clinician’s name and real credentials.
  • Give a starting price and what it includes, or link the practice’s own price page. Self-pay patients may be entitled to a good faith estimate.
  • Show one way to book and one way to send a referral.

Never use fear, statistics or risk lists, name a treatment or describe how one works. Never promise any result.

Avoid “see clearly”, “perfect vision”, “probably nothing”, “nothing to worry about”, “just age”, “you just need glasses” and “insurance will cover it”. Better: “the clinician will see you, answer your questions and talk through the plan with you”.

3. The phone script

Staff never judge urgency, never ask what the caller thinks is wrong and never name a treatment; they book.

  1. “Thanks for calling. May I take your name, your age and the reason for your visit?”
  2. “Is this a new exam or a recall exam, and did another doctor or clinician send you? Please bring any notes from earlier care.”
  3. “An eye exam starts at [price], as shown on our price page. Further care may be extra. We will check your plan, but cannot promise coverage.”
  4. Why is my vision blurry, do I just need glasses, is it my age, is it serious, is it normal, can I get LASIK, is it covered, and what will it cost exactly? “We cannot tell that on the phone. The eye doctor will help you, and our billing team can answer questions about cost and coverage.”
  5. “I can book your eye exam now. May we text or email you about it?”

Book adults only. Pass any caller under 18, and any question on their eyes or how they feel, to the clinical team. Stay calm and respectful with a worried caller: do not judge and do not reassure. See the new patient phone script.

4. Routing and safety lines

The National Eye Institute Refractive Errors page has one routing sentence, quoted here whole; quote nothing else from it in ads.

It says: “Talk to your eye doctor and get an eye exam if you are having trouble with your vision.”

On the phone, a caller who reports trouble seeing is offered an eye exam, and any question about why, about what kind of problem it is, about glasses, contacts or surgery, or about any symptom goes to the clinical team (the optometrist or ophthalmologist) on the same call or by a callback; staff never diagnose, never reassure and never judge urgency.

The source has no other routing line, so staff add none of their own. When the office is closed, the practice’s own clinician-approved phone message offers a callback.

Book any recall exam or follow-up visit the clinician asks for before the patient leaves; staff never set the timing.

Send recall reminders, texts or emails only with the patient’s own contact details and consent; see texting patients and the TCPA. Keep messages short and private, with no health details. Follow up without pressure (see consultation to treatment), never pay or take payment for referrals (see patient referrals for medical practices), and track each request from first contact to exam.

Where MediLeadGen fits

MediLeadGen sends practices requests from people interested in cash-pay elective treatments. Each request goes to one practice only, with the person’s consent naming that practice, at a fixed price per delivered request.

See how it works for practices

Questions practices ask

How do we get more eye exam patients?

Answer quickly, give clear prices and real credentials, make referrals easy, keep claims inside the sources, and book an eye exam where the clinician decides the plan.

Can we tell callers why they have trouble seeing, or what should be done?

No. The eye doctor or treating clinician sees the patient and decides the plan, including whether anything should be done and what.

What if a caller reports trouble seeing?

Offer an eye exam and pass any question about why to the clinical team on the same call or by a callback (see section 4). Staff never say why, never judge urgency and never reassure.

Does insurance or a vision plan pay for an eye exam?

Coverage varies by plan. Check each patient’s plan, give self-pay patients a clear price, and do not promise coverage in ads or on the phone.

General information for practice teams, not legal or clinical advice. Check device labeling, FDA requirements, state rules and your advertising with counsel and your clinicians. Last reviewed November 2026.

More resources

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