Medically reviewed by Dr. Michael Nodland, OD · Updated August 2026
Call (561) 799-3932 or book an appointment. Eye Expressions is family-owned, one doctor, on Fairway Drive just off PGA Boulevard, with parking at the door.
A diabetic eye exam is a dilated or ultra-widefield examination of the retina that looks for damage to the small blood vessels at the back of the eye caused by diabetes. It is recommended once a year for anyone with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, whether or not your vision has changed, because the earliest damage is visible in an image long before it is noticeable to you. It is a medical exam, billed to Medicare or your medical insurance, and it is not the same appointment as a routine glasses check.
This page is the detailed one: staging, screening intervals and Medicare. Diabetic eye disease sits inside the wider medical eye care Eye Expressions provides — glaucoma, cataracts and macular degeneration are covered on the parent page, eye disease treatment in Palm Beach Gardens, and the full list of appointments is on services.
How often do I need a diabetic eye exam?
Once a year, at minimum, for as long as you have diabetes. That interval applies to type 1 and type 2, to people on insulin and people managing with diet, and to people whose blood sugar has been well controlled for years.
Many patients arrive because their primary care physician or endocrinologist told them to. Annual retinal screening is a tracked quality measure in diabetes care, so your physician’s office may be following up on it as an open care gap, and a dated exam result is what closes it. If you need the result to reach that physician, say so when you book and bring their details with you.
Dr. Nodland may recommend seeing you sooner than a year if there are findings that need watching. That interval is set at your visit and explained to you.
What are they looking for?
The exam looks for diabetic retinopathy — damage to the retinal blood vessels — and for diabetic macular edema, which is swelling in the central retina. Both are graded by how far they have progressed.
| Stage | What is happening in the retina | What it usually means for vision |
|---|---|---|
| Mild non-proliferative | Microaneurysms — tiny bulges in the walls of retinal vessels | Usually no change in vision |
| Moderate non-proliferative | More widespread changes: small bleeds, deposits from leaking vessels, some vessels closing off | Usually no change in vision |
| Severe non-proliferative | Widespread vessel blockage leaving areas of retina short of blood supply | Often still no change; high risk of progressing |
| Proliferative | Fragile new blood vessels grow where they should not, and can bleed or pull on the retina | Serious risk of vision loss; needs specialist treatment |
| Diabetic macular edema | Fluid collects in the macula, the center of the retina. Can occur at any stage | The most common cause of vision loss in diabetes |
The other thing being looked for is change. Staging tells you where the retina is now; only last year’s image tells you how fast it got there, and rate of change is often what decides whether you are watched or referred. With a sole practitioner, the person making that comparison is the person who took last year’s image.
Will this exam cost me an afternoon of blurry vision?
For most patients, no. Eye Expressions uses optomap ultra-widefield retinal imaging, which for most patients means the annual retinal check can be done without dilating drops — drops are still used when a closer look is needed, and Dr. Nodland will tell you beforehand. The imaging is included in a comprehensive exam rather than sold as an add-on, so there is no separate charge if you are paying for yourself, and if you are using insurance the copay is never more than $39. The full explanation of the imaging, and of what dilation involves if you do need it, is on the eye exam page.
That question matters more for diabetes than for almost any other condition, which is why it is worth answering here rather than leaving to a general page. You need this exam every year, for decades, and the drops are the reason a lot of people put it off: the blur, the light sensitivity, the afternoon written off, the ride home. An exam that is easier to keep is an exam that gets kept, and annual screening only works if it actually happens annually.
I have no vision problems — do I still need one?
Yes. Diabetic retinopathy typically causes no symptoms at all in its early and moderate stages. The retina has no pain fibers, and central vision can stay sharp while damage builds in the surrounding tissue.
By the time you notice blurring, floaters or a dark patch, the disease is usually not early. The exam is not there to explain a symptom. It is there to find something while it is still silent.
What can I do about it?
The exam finds it; managing your health is what slows it. The factors that most influence whether retinopathy develops and how fast it progresses are blood sugar control, blood pressure, cholesterol, and smoking.
Those are managed by the physician treating your diabetes, and that is who to talk to about targets and medication — this page is not the place for that advice. What the eye exam adds is objective evidence of what is happening in your smallest blood vessels, often the first visible sign of how the rest of your circulation is doing.
Does Medicare cover it?
Yes. Medicare Part B covers an annual diabetic eye exam, and medical insurance plans generally cover it too. This is a medical claim, not a vision plan claim — vision plans cover routine exams and eyewear, while an exam for a diagnosed health condition is billed medically.
Eye Expressions accepts Medicare, VSP, EyeMed, Humana, Aetna, Anthem, Blue View Vision, MetLife, Superior Vision, Davis Vision and Advantica. Plan networks vary — being covered by a carrier is not the same as your specific plan being one we are contracted with. Call (561) 799-3932 with your card and we will check before you come in. Because this is an annual visit you book ahead, there is normally time to run that check and send you an estimated copay first — worth doing, since a medical claim and a vision-plan claim do not carry the same cost share. More detail is on our insurance page.
How do the results get back to the doctor who sent me?
Raise it when you check in. If a primary care doctor or endocrinologist sent you, bring their name and their fax number or address to the visit and say who is expecting the result — the office can then tell you what it needs from you and what will be signed. Do not assume it travels on its own: the form the report takes, how it is sent and how long it takes are worth asking about at the desk, and worth asking again at checkout if nobody has confirmed it. If the result is closing a care gap for your physician, ask for a copy for yourself as well, so you are not dependent on it arriving.
Frequently asked questions
Is a diabetic eye exam the same as a regular eye exam? No. A routine eye exam measures your prescription and checks overall eye health, and is usually billed to a vision plan. A diabetic eye exam is a medical evaluation of the retina, billed to Medicare or medical insurance. Both can often be handled at one visit, but they are separate services and may be billed separately.
My blood sugar is well controlled. Can I skip a year? No. Good control lowers your risk considerably, but it does not remove it, and retinopathy can develop quietly in people whose numbers look good.
What happens if you find something? It depends on the stage. Early changes are usually monitored more closely, with imaging repeated at a shorter interval. Proliferative retinopathy and macular edema need treatment from a retina specialist and are referred, with Dr. Nodland staying involved in follow-up. More on our eye disease treatment page.
Can I book a Saturday appointment? Not through the scheduler — it does not offer Saturday, and Dr. Nodland holds no regular Saturday exam hours, so a Saturday exam is something you have to ask for on (561) 799-3932. Saturday 9am–2pm is optical time: frame browsing, order pickups and adjustments.
Book your annual diabetic eye exam
Call (561) 799-3932 or book online.
Eye Expressions · 7100 Fairway Drive, Suite 39, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418 — on Fairway Drive just off PGA Boulevard, with parking at the door. Monday–Friday 10am–6pm · Saturday 9am–2pm (optical; exams by phone request) · Family-owned since 2010 · 5.0 stars from around 500 Google reviews