Specs & Spines Clinic Update for March 26th

We have been quickly adapting to changes during this time of uncertainty while COVID-19 affects Canada and the way we manage and care for our patients.

As mandated by the College of Optometrists of Ontario and College of Chiropractors of Ontario, we have been closed to routine services since Tuesday March 17th, 2020. Although optometry services are deemed to be an essential health care service, we are limited to provide only urgent vision care to help reduce unnecessary visits to emergency rooms while front line health care workers deal with COVID-19.

Urgent vision issues include, but are not limited to: 

• sudden onset vision loss or peripheral vision

• sudden onset flashing lights and/or floaters in vision

• painful eye with light sensitivity

• sudden onset double vision

• eye injury (severe trauma or chemical burn)

• red, painful eye accompanied with: blurred/foggy vision, nausea, discharge or cloudy/foggy cornea

Dr. Ivy Koh, our optometrist, will triage your vision care concerns based on your description of symptoms via email or phone call to the office and determine if this is urgent or non-urgent.

In-office care or ophthalmology referrals will be determined with this first screening of the concerns.

As you may know, in-office care is limited to patients that truly require it, as there is risk for both practitioner and patient with any in-person contact due to the nature of COVID-19 and incubation period that can still be asymptomatic, in addition to current worldwide shortage of personal protective equipment.

Currently, we do not have firm date of return set for opening of routine care in Ontario due to COVID-19 provincial regulations. In lieu of this, we have set up a method of continuing to provide care to patients seeking help by telemedicine. Currently, telemedicine consults are not a covered service under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) for any age group. You may be able to bill your third party insurance provider for the consultation:

Telemedicine consultations with our office cost $40 per session.

As your vision symptoms were screened by Dr. Ivy Koh and deemed to be non urgent, you can access care remotely via telemedicine with the following instructions: 

1. New patients to the office are required to send a completed intake form (fillable PDF). This can completed on your computer, saved and emailed back to us

2. We will send a link to an official invoice for the consultation via PayPal of Stripe. You are not required to have a PayPal or Stripe account and can pay via debit, credit or PayPal. 

3. Once payment is received, we will transmit a link to the online telemedicine portal through doxy.me web program, which will require a computer and internet access. If you prefer phone consultation only, you can request this as well.

4. Any medical prescriptions required as deemed appropriate for your treatment will be faxed to your preferred pharmacy remotely

5. You can send your invoice payment to your third party insurer as a claim or request us to attempt electronic claims on your behalf to pay you as the patient directly

Alternatively, if you wish to decline or defer any telemedicine consultations at this time, we encourage you to keep watching our social media channels (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook), our website or call our office phone to keep updated as to when we will be able to provide on-site routine care.

We are still able to order and offer free shipping to home for our contact lens patients, Please contact Dr. Ivy if you wish to take advantage of this. We can also try to help any patients that have ordered glasses through our clinic before if they have broken their only pair of glasses as we will have your measurements on file.

We hope to have a webshop for the clinic open very soon, where you can purchase eyecare products and contact lenses from the comfort of your home even if the clinic is closed , which will continue even after COVID-19 is defeated. Keep updated on our social media channels.

Stay safe, stay healthy and we’ll get through this together (but physically apart)!

Changes to Optometry & Chiropractic Practice during COVID-19

Dear Valued Patients,

Based upon direction from our regulatory bodies, the College of Optometrists of Ontario and the College of Chiropractors of Ontario, we are temporarily suspending routine Optometry and Chiropractic services at this time until March 29th.

Only urgent care cases for optometry (such as in the instance of sudden onset vision loss or significant injury to one or both eyes) will be accepted at this time. These urgent care cases will be first triaged by contacting our office email at optometry@specsandspines.com or through our office phone at (416)251-4448 during modified business hours of 10 am to 2 pm, Monday to Friday. We will take these urgent care cases by appointment only after being triaged.

Our staff will be in touch to reschedule any existing appointments at a later date. Please be aware that this decision was made with our primary responsibility to protect the health and welfare of our patients during these challenging times. We will be revisiting resumption of both regular optometry and chiropractic services on a week by week basis.

If you have eyewear product such as contact lenses or glasses that were ordered prior to March 16 and have questions, please contact our office via email or phone for further direction.

Please stay tuned to our social media channels on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for updates. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding and support during this unprecedented situation. Please stay healthy and safe.

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Introducing...Andy Wolf Eyewear

In keeping with our commitment to source independent, high-quality and unique eyewear to our patients, we are excited to introduce Andy Wolf Eyewear to our office!  With over 90 working steps to produce one frame with locally sourced materials in Austria, Andy Wolf Eyewear is gaining traction in the fashion industry and has recently been spotted on celebrities such as Rihanna, Kendell Jenner and Gigi Hadid. 

Andy Wolf released its first collection of timeless, modern spectacles in 2006, eyewear which not only fulfills the highest aesthetic criteria, but also provides ultimate comfort and functionality. While not creating mass production but luxury hand-made articles, sales have steadily increased.

“In contrast to numerous companies, who produce glasses in low-wage countries in the Asia-Pacific region, our products are entirely made in Austria”, comments Katharina Plattner, designer and managing partner of Andy Wolf. Hand-made in Austria means that every frame has to a pass a series of manufacturing steps and quality checks which turns every Andy Wolf product into a unique piece of handicraft. Highest quality Mazzuchelli acetate from Italy is used which means that the entire process takes several weeks to create a single frame.

“Our frames not only stand for style and elegance but also make you completely forget that you are wearing glasses. The collection targets a particular group of people for whom their eyeglasses are precious accessories, therefore Andy Wolf products are only available at selective distributors”, states Plattner. “Our commitment to excellence has found an audience with not only celebrities but with customers all over the globe”. The label is present at every major international trade show ranging from Milan to Paris and New York.

Come visit our office to view the collection on feature today. We have new styles and colours coming in the next few weeks!

Specs & Spines Open House / Celebration - April 1, 2017

We were extremely excited to hold an open house celebration in celebration of our new location in Mimico on Sat April 1st! The weather held out and gave us a beautiful sunny day that brought plenty of happy local residents into our doors to tour the office and learn more about our services.

Amongst the revellers, we had the privilege of honoured members of local government in attendance at our celebration.  Thank you to Councillor Mark Grimes, Member of Parliament (Etobicoke-Lakeshore) James Maloney, and Senator Victor Oh for your presence at our official ribbon - cutting ceremony. 

It was a great day to say thanks to all the family, friends and community members that have supported us along the journey of opening up this new office.  Our celebrations included a prize draw for Ray-Ban Sunglasses, custom orthotics, Canyon Creek Gift Cards and Keurig Coffee Maker (courtesy of Antham Construction Group). We look forward to servicing the members of Mimico for decades to come and are ready for many more celebrations in the coming years.

Drop in and say hi or check out us out on social media to see what we are up to next ! 

Winners:

Custom Orthotics - Nathan V; Keurig Coffee Maker - Martin M; Canyon Creek Gift Cards - Aldona R and Rochelle R; Ray-Ban sunglasses - Sandee R.

Councillor Grimes, Dr. Ivan, Dr. Ivy and MP James Maloney

Dr. Ivan

Dr. Ivy and daughter Carys

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Dr. Ivan, Councillor Grimes , Senator Victor Oh, MP Maloney and Dr. Ivy

Carys, Jay, Tin and Giselle

Bruno and Angie from Antham Construction Group

EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS OUTSIDE WITH POLARIZED LENSES

Polarized Lenses

What Are They?

Polarized lenses are made to reduce the glare of light from objects around you, particularly outdoors. This is why they are only found in sunglasses, either prescription or non-prescription.

Light is made up of waves that are oriented in all directions. A polarized lens has a laminated filter that only allows light from one angle to enter, usually vertically oriented light. With horizontal light waves blocked, the glare is diminished or completely gone.

How Are They Made?

Polarized lenses are made when organic dyes and metallic oxide pigments are mixed into the lens material, making them part of the lens rather than just a coating. Care is taken to keep color distortion at bay, making gray the most popular color of polarized lens. Brown and amber are other common colors but while many other tints are available they may cause too much color distortion.

What Are the Benefits?

Polarized lenses are highly recommended for people who spend an abundance of their time outside.

• Polarized lenses reduce glare, or bright light reflected from surrounding objects. This is particularly dangerous when driving or walking near vehicular traffic since light glaring into a driver’s eyes can cause an accident.
• Polarized lenses also reduce eyestrain. Most of us squint at glare; when glare is gone there is no need to stress your eyes to see clearly.
• Polarization can provide extremely crisp images with dazzling colors, which is why it is often used in photography.
• Polarized lenses provide protection from UV rays although the protection may not be significant depending on the construction and quality of the lens.

Downside

Polarized lenses tend to make LCD screens difficult to read, often causing the text to disappear completely. This has become more problematic in recent years due to the proliferation of LCD screens. For most it is a minor inconvenience but for machine operators who must be able to read those screens, it can be dangerous. However, BluTech outdoor lenses are polarized and still allow you to see those LCD screens!

Also, as noted above, while polarized lenses can protect your eyes from UV light, the amount of protection varies. Be sure to check labeling for specific UV protection claims.

While polarized lenses may seem to be a great tool for skiers, they can actually compromise the light contrast that alerts the skier to specific conditions such as being able to distinguish between ice and snow, or the presence and shape of moguls. However, polarized lenses are excellent for water sports where glare from the water can be a nuisance or a nightmare.

The next time you need replacement lenses, don’t be surprised if anti-reflective treatment is suggested by your eye care professional. And if you love or work in the outdoors, in bright sunshine or even hazy conditions, polarized lenses can help you see better and protect your eyes.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR ESSILOR POLARIZED SUN PROMO UNTIL APRIL 30, 2017!