Preparing for Your Visit

What is the approximate cost of an examination?

Our standard new examination fee starts at $171.44. This includes a complete ophthalmic examination of both eyes, Schirmer tear test, intraocular pressure, and fluorescein staining. These tests will be performed even if they have previously been performed by your veterinarian.

Performing our own diagnostic testing allows us to provide you with an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment plan for your pet. If lab work is necessary, we can accept lab work that has been performed within thirty days. There are rare occasions when this may need to be repeated.

Additional diagnostic tests and medications are not included in the new examination fee. For example, if we are evaluating your pet for cataracts, we may have to perform an ocular ultrasound or electroretinogram, and this would be a cost in addition to the new examination fee.

Estimates for procedures provided over the phone based on your description of the eye abnormality are approximate estimates. We cannot give an exact cost of services over the phone, as the working diagnosis of your pet's eye problem may be different than anticipated.

How long will my pet’s appointment take?

Most new appointments will take between 20-40 minutes. Recheck appointments can vary between 5 and 20 minutes.

We pride ourselves on being punctual; however, since this is Louisville’s only board-certified ophthalmology clinic, we have to accommodate emergency appointments on a daily basis. These emergencies will cause unavoidable delays in our schedule. We will provide you with the same attention to detail as everyone else. Early morning appointments and appointments immediately after lunch are the most likely to be on time.

Should I give medications to my pet the day of the examination?

Please always give your pets medications on their regular schedule. This is especially important for pets with glaucoma. We like to check their eye pressure while they are receiving medications appropriately. If you have a question about which medications you should or should not give prior to the appointment, please call, and we can help answer your questions.

Can my pet be scheduled after hours on an emergency basis?

Please be advised that this hospital is not a 24-hour emergency hospital, as we have only one ophthalmologist on staff. If an emergency should arise after hours, we recommend you call your primary care veterinarian. They will be able to get in touch with Dr. Tolar, who can help advise the best treatment plan for your pet. If you have an emergency, please call BluePearl Veterinary Partners 24-hour emergency department at 502-244-3036 or Veterinary Specialist Partners at 502-901-7990.

You may send an email to bluegrassvetvision@gmail.com; however, you may not receive a response until the next business day.

Should I inform the staff if my pet may bite?

Please, please, please inform us prior to your exam if your pet may become nervous with restraint or close contact so that we may place a muzzle or have you place a muzzle.

Even if your pet has never snapped at or bitten anyone before, the ophthalmic examination requires Dr. Tolar’s face to be next to your dogs teeth. Please understand that this is for our protection and will not harm or traumatize your pet in any way. If your pet shows ANY sign of fear or aggression we will place a muzzle in order to safely complete our examination. If you are unable or unwilling to muzzle your pet we may not be able to complete our examination. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Should I inform the staff if my dog is aggressive toward other dogs?

Yes, please let us know if your dog does better not making contact with other dogs. We can arrange for them to enter the building when no one is in our lobby and escort you directly to an examination room. You can call when you arrive and we will help arrange entrance to the clinic.

What type of payments do you accept?

We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, CareCredit, Zelle, debit cards, personal checks, and cash. There is a 3% service fee on all credit cards. There is no service fee on debit cards, personal checks and cash. Payment for services is due in full upon discharge of your pet. We do not offer in-house financing or payment plans at this time.

What if I’m running late for my appointment?

Most of our clients travel quite a distance to our clinic, and unforeseen traffic and weather issues may arise. If you think you are running late, please call our office to see if this late arrival can be accommodated, or if we will need to reschedule your appointment. In most cases, we do try to accommodate you, but please understand that if you arrive late, we may delay your appointment to keep on schedule for our other patients. You will be worked in as soon as possible. If you are running 15 minutes late and do not call to notify our office, your appointment will be rescheduled.

Appointment Confirmation Policy

We will send a text or email to confirm your pet's appointment. If you do not have one of these modes of communication, we can call at your primary number listed. We would appreciate a confirmation within 24 hours of your pet's appointment.

Since we are the only board-certified ophthalmologist in the Louisville area providing high-quality ophthalmology care, we have more patients who need ophthalmology care than we have room in our daily schedule to provide. When a patient does not show up for their appointment or cancels too close to their scheduled time, we are unable to fill this appointment time with another patient who desperately needs care. Please cancel or reschedule your appointment within 24 hours so we are able to offer another pet the needed care. This policy is our attempt to ensure that both you and our other patients receive the ophthalmology care you need.

Prescription Renewal

By law, we must see patients once a year to renew prescriptions. If your pet is on a lifelong medication and we have examined them in the past year, you may call our office to arrange pickup, or we can mail it to you for a shipping fee. If it has been past the year mark, I am unable to refill your medication. If you are unable to return to our clinic, please call your regular veterinarian for refills. Please note that prescription refill requests will not be processed outside of normal business hours. The following options are available to refill your medication:

1. Mail the medications to your home via UPS. Please call our office to order and pre-pay with a credit card. There is a shipping fee on small box orders.

2. You can pick up medications or written prescriptions directly from our office during regular business hours Monday-Thursday 8 am-4:30 pm and Friday 8 am-12 pm. Please call our office in advance to have medications ready for pick-up.

3. You can order medications through our clinic's online pharmacy. There are some compounded medications (tacrolimus, cyclosporine, idoxuridine) that are not available through our online pharmacy.

Surgery

We will set up a drop-off time for the morning of surgery. Usually, this time is set for 8 am but may vary depending on the surgery being performed. Surgeries are performed between 8:00 AM and 10:15 AM on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. We are unable to determine the order of surgeries until the day of the procedure, so we cannot give you an exact start time, but most animals will be able to go home between 3 pm-4:30 pm.

Please be sure to administer topical eye medications on your regular schedule prior to surgery unless instructed otherwise. It is also important to bring all medications with you the day of surgery. We are unable to bring controlled medications into the building, but we can make sure you have plenty of medications for after surgery. If your pet is on oral medications, please check with our staff to make sure it is appropriate to administer these medications prior to surgery.

It is important that your pet is fasted prior to the surgical procedure. Water should always be available, but food should be picked up by 10 pm the night before surgery. If your pet is diabetic, please bring insulin and syringes with you. We will check their blood sugar prior to surgery to determine the appropriate amount of insulin to administer.

We need your pet to arrive early; even though surgery time is not until 10 a.m., we need your pet to arrive early to do pre-op physical exams, place an IV catheter, and plan anesthesia. As soon as surgery is complete and your pet is extubated (breathing tube is removed), you will receive a call or text at the phone number you designated on the signed estimate and authorization. We will have you call back in about an hour to get another update and determine a pickup time. We will email you the post-surgical instructions and call you to go through these instructions before you pick up your pet.

You will need to make arrangements to pick up your pet before 4:30 pm, as this is when the hospital closes. If you are not at the clinic by 4:30 pm, your pet will be transferred to BluePearl Veterinary Partners 24-hour emergency service. This transportation charge will be added to your invoice, and there will be an emergency fee and hospitalization fees charged through BluePearl Veterinary Partners.

Almost all eye surgeries will require the use of an Elizabethan (E-collar). Unfortunately, the soft, flexible cones and inflatable doughnuts don’t work for eye surgery, as they bend backward and allow the pet to rub the eye on objects. The cone will need to be 1 inch past the nose when the collar is pushed all the way back and the neck extended.