Dr. David J. Tabak Relocating Barrington Optometric Office
After more than 25 years in the same location, Dr. David J. Tabak is moving. Dr. Tabak will be moving his optometric practice from its current address on Main Street to the Shops at Flint Creek in Barrington where Heinen's Grocery Store and Alexian Brothers Medical Group-Barrington are located. Construction on his new office space began the week of August 18 with a projected moving date of mid-October.
Dr. Tabak reported there are a number of reasons the office is relocating. "The scope of optometric practice has changed dramatically since I first began practicing in the late 1980's. Optometrists have always examined patients routinely to determine visual acuity and prescribe eyeglasses and contact lenses to correct vision. Today, there is much more emphasis on optometrists serving as primary healthcare providers for care related to the eye," Tabak noted.
Optometrists examine, diagnose, and treat diseases, injuries, and disorders of the eye and visual system. Examples include glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, conjunctivitis, and foreign body removal. Optometrists may prescribe a wide range of prescription medications, both topical and systemic, to treat eye infections, allergies, and eye diseases. Dr. Tabak also manages his patient's post-surgical care for refractive surgery (LASIK), corneal surgery, and cataract surgery.
With so much emphasis on diagnosing, monitoring, and treating eye conditions and disease, Dr. Tabak's new office will have a large data collection room to house diagnostic equipment including a digital retinal camera, automated visual field analyzer, and OCT (optical coherence tomography). The OCT is a new sophisticated, computerized instrument enabling the user to provide a three-dimensional, high definition image of the structures of a patient's eyes.
"Contact lenses have changed considerably over the years as well. With the advent of disposable contact lenses, the success rate for patients wishing to wear contacts has increased greatly. Today, there is a much wider variety of contact lenses including one-day wear, continuous wear, contacts to correct astigmatism, and multifocal lenses," Tabak noted. So many different kinds of lenses and manufacturers means a huge number of trial lenses must be kept on hand. Dr. Tabak's new office will have a larger and more streamlined contact lens room to accommodate this increased lens inventory.
"Over my years in practice, there has also been massive growth in the types of lenses available for eyeglasses. Sophisticated progressive lenses (no-line bifocals) are now custom made to accommodate individual patient's lifestyle needs," said Tabak. He added, "The office's "trace and transmit" digital web-based system has allowed us to shorten the custom lens fabrication turnaround time." This technology has also eliminated the need for a large on-site optical lab. However, it has led to the need for space in the office's dispensary to house the VisiOffice, an instrument that provides a three-dimensional measuring system for top-of-the-line progressive lenses.
The new office will also offer a very low-tech advantage for his patients Dr. Tabak is pleased to report, "It will offer parking; plenty of convenient parking."