What You Need To Know
Making an Appointment
For the added convenience of our patients, we offer office hours Monday through Friday starting at 8:00 a.m. and continuing until 5:00 p.m. Please call (318) 378-5594 anytime during these hours to schedule your appointment at either our main Shreveport practice or our office in Minden. Routine calls for medication refills and questions can also be made during our regular office hours. Our team of specially-trained concierge call center staff are available to help with directions and answer most insurance and medical questions. Doctor calls are generally returned at 11:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. We also offer patients considering LASIK the opportunity to schedule a Free Consultation online if you wish.
Fees and Billing
In our effort to keep physicians fees at their lowest possible level while providing care in the most efficient and affordable manner, we ask patients to help us keep costs under control by paying for office visits at the time of service. We will be happy to discuss fees with you and provide an estimate of fees on any procedure.
Insurance Questions & Coverage for LASIK & Cataract Patients
Lusk Eye Specialists accepts Medicare Assignment and participates in most health plans offered in our area. We will file your insurance paperwork for office visits and surgeries at no charge to you. Medicare will pay 80% of the allowable charges after you have met your deductible for the year. The remaining 20% can be filed with your supplemental insurance company.
Depending on your insurance carrier, Laser Vision Correction sometimes covered by private insurance companies. We also participate with numerous Vision Plans that provide additional savings and benefits to patients having LASIK laser vision correction.
We recommend that you contact your insurance company prior to your evaluation with Dr. James Lusk, Dr. Bryan Lusk or Dr. Jeffrey Lusk to confirm your benefits, out-of-pocket expenses, co-pays or if your insurance provider offers a LASIK benefit.
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Ultimately, you are financially responsible for the medical care you receive, regardless of the status of your insurance coverage, Persons having HMO or PPO plans that require a referral number must contact your Primary Care Physician (PCP) for that number prior to visiting Lusk Eye Specialists. By law we cannot provide services to a patient if that patient does not have a referral number from their primary care physician. In addition, the patient is required to pay a CO-Pay at the time of visit if their insurance HMO or PPO plan requires it. By law, we are not allowed to waive or discount the CO-Pay. If you have any questions regarding insurance issues, please contact our office during normal business hours so we can provide assistance.
Help Us Ensure The Best Possible Eye Exam Experience
Please allow two hours for a complete eye evaluation if you are being seen by Dr. James Lusk, Dr. Bryan Lusk, Dr. Jeffrey Lusk or one of our associate eye doctors. This time includes dilation of your eyes, performance of advanced diagnostics & testing, discussions by our doctors and patient preparation for any additional services or surgeries that might be needed.
Also, please bring a complete list of ALL of your medications are the medications themselves on the day of your visit. It is most important that we know about your medications to ensure they do not cause any adverse effects to possible eye medications we may give you. Also note that prescription eye medications are strong and should not be shared with others. It is important to share any allergies that you may have.
If you are visiting Dr. James Lusk, Dr. Bryan Lusk or Dr. Jeffrey Lusk for a LASIK laser vision correction evaluation, please leave your contact lenses out for ONE FULL WEEK prior to your visit. This gives the outer surface of your eye (the cornea) time to adjust to its normal shape and allow our surgeons to achieve more accurate measurements during your visit. If you wear glasses, please bring them with you. Please contact our Laser Vision Correction Coordinator anytime during regular business hours at (318) 378-5594 or 1-866-735-4129 for more information.
Advanced Cataract & Cornea Transplant
All three of our surgeons specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of cataracts. Dr. James Lusk and Dr. Bryan Lusk have sub-specialty training in treating diseases of the cornea. Our surgeons perform thousands of intraocular procedures each year, including Laser Cataract Surgery, No-Stitch Cataract Surgery and Cornea Transplantation. Today, our advanced cataract surgical procedures are performed as “Day Surgery” in one of the ARK-LA-TEX’s only dedicated outpatient eye surgery center. Patients are usually home and enjoying visual recovery within a few hours of their procedure. If you would like additional information on our advanced cataract procedures or corneal transplant surgery please go to our Contact Us page.
LASIK Laser Vision Correction
Because of our unmatched combined cornea experience at Lusk Eye Specialists, we feel we offer patients the BEST LASIK PROCEDURE in the ARK-LA-TEX. LASIK is a safe and proven 2-step procedure that uses non-thermal (cool) beams of light to alter the shape of the cornea in % micron increments to reduce or eliminate your need for prescription glasses or contacts lenses. During the past 20 years, Dr. James Lusk, Dr. Bryan Lusk and Dr. Jeffrey Lusk have successfully performed thousands of custom LASIK procedures and are among the most uniquely qualified LASIK surgeons in the region. Dr. James Lusk was also one of only 50 Physicians to become a Laser Vision Correction Instructor to train other Physicians and surgeons on the early use of the VISX Excimer Laser System. All three Lusk surgeons utilize the highest quality laser available – the VISX Excimer Laser – to perform Laser Vision Correction for our patients. VISX is the most widely used Excimer Laser in the world to perform LASIK. The VISX Excimer Laser was the first laser to receive FDA approval to perform LASIK on patients with high degrees of nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. To learn more about VISX Excimer Laser, please go to www.visx.com.
Depending on the thickness of your corneal surface, we perform two methods of Laser Vision Correction: LASIK and PRK. Our surgeons and doctors believe so strongly in Laser Vision Correction that many of them have had LASIK done to improve their own vision. The Lusk LASIK surgeons usually perform laser vision correction on Thursdays and Fridays.
If you would like more information on Lusk LASIK or PRK – or would like to contact our Laser Vision Correction Coordinator – please click Contact Us or call (318) 378-5594 for a free information package and appointment time.
Urgent Eye Problems
If you have an urgent problem, please notify our staff immediately by calling (318) 378-5594. If it is an eye emergency and after hours, go to the nearest emergency room, where physician on duty will begin and contact one of our doctors.