Information on how to refer to ECRC:
Please call our front desk at 252-758-2402 and make the request. Alternately please fax a request to 252-758-2762 and the front desk will get back to you with a date and time. Noting how urgent the request is will help us place the patient in an appropriate appointment. If it is an emergency, call and talk to either out clinic manager (Melissa) or our office manager (Judy) and they will smooth the process.
It is most helpful to have the reason or question in the referring physician’s mind that needs answering. The reason why the patient was sent. Old records like the most recent notes are also helpful to understand the eye pressure trends and what the vision was in the past and what is the best corrected vision now. Old information like what treatments the patient has already had and where they were done are always helpful.
The patient should bring a current list of medications, allergies, and any notes of past medical problems and surgeries. We used to have the patient bring a snack if they were diabetic so that their blood sugar would not drop too low while being away from home. Our wait times have improved dramatically as we make improvements to the schedule and testing of the eyes so the snack suggestion is no longer valid. We still do very comprehensive testing and examinations that take time to do well. We also see numerous work ins to the schedule on an emergency basis that may delay our schedule and ask the patient’s indulgence as one day they may need the same emergency treatment.
For any problems please let me or my manager know and we will try to put things right.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you.
Sincerely, Dr. Van Houten and the staff of ECRC.
East Carolina Retina Consultants 