Methodology
How we build this site, what we verify, and what we do not.
Summary
We aggregate the public NPPES (National Plan and Provider Enumeration System) registry published by CMS and organize eye care providers by city, state, and NPPES specialty. We do not verify licenses or complaints ourselves — for that, we link directly to each state optometry or medical board.
Data Pipeline
- Ingest. We download the NPPES bulk file from CMS (updated monthly) and filter to individual providers (Entity Type 1) whose primary taxonomy starts with 152W (Optometrist) or 207W (Ophthalmology).
- Normalize. We standardize address fields, format phone numbers, and compute years since NPI enrollment (from the NPPES enumeration date).
- Attach specialty only when NPPES supports it. Some NPPES taxonomy codes indicate a real sub-specialty (e.g., 207WX0009X = Glaucoma, 152WP0200X = Pediatric Optometrist). We label those. Generic base taxonomies (152W00000X for optometry) are NOT labeled with a specialty. Ophthalmology (207W00000X) is kept as "Ophthalmology" because it is a physician specialty.
- Group by city and state; link to state boards. Every optometrist profile links to the correct state optometry board; every ophthalmologist profile links to the state medical board.
What We Publish
Only fields that appear in the NPPES public bulk file:
- Provider first and last name
- Credential (OD for optometrists, MD/DO for ophthalmologists)
- NPI number and taxonomy code
- NPPES-declared specialty when a specialty-specific taxonomy code applies
- Practice-location address, ZIP code, and phone
- NPI enumeration date and years since NPI enrollment
What We Deliberately Do NOT Publish or Claim
License status.
NPPES does not publish license status. Use the state board link on every profile to verify current status.
Disciplinary or complaint history.
NPPES does not publish complaints. State boards do. We link there rather than republish.
Board certification.
American Board of Ophthalmology certification is not in NPPES. Confirm certification directly with ABO.
Clinical years of experience.
"Years on NPPES" is time since CMS issued the NPI, not clinical practice years.
Practice name for individual NPIs.
We only display a practice name when NPPES has a real "Provider Organization Name" field. We do not fabricate one from the provider's last name.
Trust scores, rankings, endorsements.
We do not score, rank, or endorse individual eye doctors.
Corrections and Removal
Providers may request correction or removal via our contact page. We honor takedown requests within 1 week.
Not Medical Advice
This directory is a starting point for finding an eye doctor. It is not medical advice. Do not delay professional evaluation based on information on this site.