Glossary of Optometry Software Terms
Plain-English definitions for the terms used across our reviews and guides, grouped by area. Each term links to the article that covers it in depth.
Records & Practice Management
EHR (Electronic Health Record)
Software that stores a patient's clinical record - exam findings, diagnoses, treatment history - and is designed to be shared across providers. See our comparison of optometry EHR platforms.
EMR (Electronic Medical Record)
The older term for a digital chart kept inside one practice. In everyday use "EHR" and "EMR" are now largely interchangeable; the distinction that remains is that an EHR is built to be shared outside the practice and an EMR is not.
Practice Management Software
The scheduling, billing and front-desk system a practice runs on, often bundled with or separate from the clinical EHR. See our practice management software comparison.
Cloud-Based EHR
An EHR hosted by the vendor and accessed over the internet, versus a server-based system installed and maintained on-site. See cloud versus server-based optometry EHR.
Interoperability
The ability of one system (an EHR) to exchange data cleanly with another (a lab, an imaging device, a hospital system) without manual re-entry. See EHR interoperability for optometrists.
Patient Portal
A secure online account where a patient can see results, message the practice, or complete intake forms before a visit. See what to look for in a patient portal.
Patient Recall
The system that reminds a patient it is time for their next exam or contact lens follow-up, typically automated by text, email or letter. See our patient recall systems comparison.
Billing & Insurance
RCM (Revenue Cycle Management)
The full path from a scheduled visit to the practice being paid: eligibility checks, coding, claim submission, remittance posting and denial follow-up. See our RCM guide.
ERA (Electronic Remittance Advice)
A payer's machine-readable answer to a submitted claim - what was paid, what was adjusted, and why - standardized as the ASC X12 835 transaction. See our RCM guide.
EOB (Explanation of Benefits)
The paper or PDF equivalent of an ERA, typically sent to the patient rather than posted automatically into practice software. Covered in our RCM guide.
Claim Denial
A submitted claim the payer refuses to pay, usually for a coding, eligibility or authorization reason. See reducing optometry claim denials.
Days in Accounts Receivable (A/R)
The average number of days between providing a service and being paid for it - a core cash-flow metric. Covered in our practice analytics guide.
Collection Ratio
The percentage of billed charges a practice actually collects, net of write-offs and adjustments. Covered in our practice analytics guide.
Eligibility Verification
Confirming a patient's insurance coverage and remaining benefit before their exam, the earliest and cheapest point to catch a billing problem. Covered in our RCM guide.
CPT Codes
Current Procedural Terminology codes - the standard codes used to bill a procedure, such as an eye exam or a diagnostic test. See our ICD-10 and CPT codes reference.
ICD-10
The standard diagnosis coding system used on a claim to state why a procedure was medically necessary. See our ICD-10 and CPT codes reference.
Medical vs. Vision Insurance
Vision plans (VSP, EyeMed, Davis Vision, Spectera) typically cover routine refractive exams and materials; medical insurance covers a diagnosed medical eye condition. A single visit can bill both. See medical vs. vision insurance billing.
Imaging & Diagnostics
OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography)
An imaging technology that produces a cross-sectional scan of the retina, used to detect and monitor glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and macular disease. See our OCT software comparison.
Fundus Photography
A photograph of the back of the eye (the fundus), used to document and track retinal disease over time. See OCT vs. fundus photography.
Corneal Topography
A map of the cornea's curvature, used for contact lens fitting and detecting conditions such as keratoconus. See our corneal topography software comparison.
Visual Field Test
A test that maps a patient's peripheral vision, most often used to monitor glaucoma progression. See our visual field software comparison.
AI Retinal Screening
Software that analyzes a retinal image for signs of disease - most commonly diabetic retinopathy - without a specialist reviewing every image first. See our AI retinal screening comparison.
Glaucoma Detection AI
AI tools that flag likely glaucoma from imaging or visual field data, intended to support rather than replace a clinician's diagnosis. See glaucoma detection software.
Contact Lenses & Vision Therapy
Scleral Lens
A large-diameter rigid contact lens that vaults over the cornea, often fitted using corneal topography for irregular corneas or dry eye.
Orthokeratology (Ortho-K)
Rigid contact lenses worn overnight to temporarily reshape the cornea, used for myopia control and daytime vision correction.
Myopia Management
Clinical approaches - including Ortho-K, specialty soft lenses and low-dose atropine - aimed at slowing the progression of nearsightedness in children.
Amblyopia
"Lazy eye" - reduced vision in one eye from abnormal visual development in childhood, tracked with software that measures compliance and progress. See treating amblyopia in children.
Contact Lens Fitting Software
Tools that support lens selection and fit verification, often using topography data. See our contact lens fitting software comparison.
Optical Retail
POS (Point of Sale)
The system that processes a sale in the optical shop - frames, lenses, contacts - and typically connects to inventory and insurance billing. See our optical POS software comparison.
Frame Inventory Management
Software that tracks frame and lens stock levels, reorder points and dead stock across one or more locations. See frame and lens inventory management.
Virtual Try-On
A camera- or AR-based tool that lets a patient preview how frames look on their own face, typically used in online or in-store optical retail.
Telehealth & Compliance
Teleoptometry
Remote eye care delivered by video or asynchronous image review rather than an in-person visit, subject to state-by-state licensing and reimbursement rules. See our teleoptometry software guide.
HIPAA
The U.S. federal law setting privacy, security and electronic-transaction standards for patient health information. See our HIPAA compliance checklist for optometrists.
HL7 FHIR
A modern data standard for exchanging health records between different software systems, increasingly used alongside older interoperability standards. See EHR interoperability for optometrists.