Specialists Database Help

Updated March 2024

Please bookmark this page for future reference.  This page is broken up into the following sections:

• What is the online Corneal Specialist Directory?
• The visual components of the Corneal Specialist Directory
• How to access and search the Specialist Directory

What is the Online Corneal Specialists Directory?

It is a vetted and patient recommended specialists directory only available to current Fuchs’ Friends members.  It visually shows on a map where specialists are located around the world.  The page contains the following attributes.

1. A Specialists Search Engine that provides several flexible methods to narrow one’s search candidates quickly and accurately
2. An Interactive (Google) World Map displaying groupings of corneal specialists that we have gathered and, in many cases, have been recommended:
   • By Fuchs Friends member/patients after they have had significant corneal surgery.
   • By a reliable source, such as their Fellowship Mentor or DSAEK/DMEK Lab course Trainer-Cornea Specialist.
3. A List of almost 500+ corneal specialists around the world which is updated:
   • Periodically by volunteers who call each specialist’s practice and obtain updated information from the office staff.  In the event a specialist is still active but no longer at the listed practice we attempt to track them and update their record accordingly.
   • As needed if we receive a formal Recommendation Form indicating a Fuchs Friends member is specifically recommending the specialist, or
   • As specialists not currently on our list are proposed by a member or another reliable source.
   • If or when we receive information indicating we should no longer list that specialist because of retirement, death of for other reasons, we mark their record so they are not listed but their record remains available for review if needed.

The visual components of the Specialists’ Web Page

The page is divided into three sections vertically;

1. The Search controls (top section).
   
2. The Map (center section below the Search Controls section).
   
3. The List (bottom section below the Map section).
   

The Map

The map displays small circles containing numbers which represent numbers of corneal specialists.  A Google algorithm defines the area represented by the counts in the circles.  The Map displays only the number of corneal specialists (currently) viewable in the list. When you first access the Specialists’ List page, all of the specialists in the list are represented on the map and viewable in the list (below the Map).

If you had just searched, the total count on the map would represent the number of results that matched your search criteria.

If your search had no results, the Map would be blank and no specialists would list.  If this happens you should use the Reset button to return to the main (initial) view, cancelling any residual search results or just reload the page.

The List:

• Initially and after a Reset, contains the available information about all of the corneal specialists in this database shown in their information card.
• After a successful search, contains the resulting list of corneal specialists from that search.
• After an unsuccessful search, contains no entries.

After clicking on the name in the info card, The specialist’s landing page may contain the following information.

• Specialist’s name (Provider)
• Company (practice)
• Street address/number
• City
• State/Province
• Zip/Postal code
• Country
• Telephone

How to access and search the Specialist Directory

There are two simple ways to search the specialists’ directory

1. Search using The Default Map View (we recommend using this option)
2. Search using the Location Search Box to find a specialist nearest you.

Option 1 – Default Map View steps:

1. Visit the specialists directory at https://www.cornealdystrophyfoundation.org/specialists/
2. Immediately scroll down to view the world map showing all specialists in the database.
   
3. The map contains clusters of colored circles with numbers showing how many specialists are in that vicinity.  Click on a desired cluster bubble to zoom-in on that area to narrow results to that area or you can use the zoom feature of the map.
   
4. After a user has zoomed into a desired region, Blue Map Markers start appearing to denote a specific specialist and location.
   
5. Click on a Blue Map Marker to display an information card show basic information about the specialist
   
6. Now click on the Specialist’s Name in the information card to link to the specialists’ detailed information page.
   
7. After viewing the landing page, you can click the “Back to Specialists Search” button to return to the map and start your search again.
   

Option 2 – Use the Search Box to find a specialist nearest you:

1. Visit the specialists directory at https://www.cornealdystrophyfoundation.org/specialists/
2. In the search box area, type in a region (city, state) or your full address in the Location Address search field on the left, followed by choosing the Radius (select the number number of miles from your location you want to search from).
   
3. Click on the blue “Search Specialists” button to search.  The page will refresh with an updated map, scroll to the map to see your results
   
4. The Red Map Marker indicates your address or your location.  The Blue Map Marker indicates a specialist location.  The clusters of colored circles with numbers show how many specialists are in that vicinity.  Click on a desired cluster bubble to zoom-in on that area to narrow results to that area.
5. Click on a Blue Map Marker to display an information card showing basic information about the specialist.
   
6. Now click on the Specialist’s Name in the information card to link to the specialists’ detailed information page.
   
7. After viewing the landing page, you can click the “Back to Specialists Search” button to return to the map and start your search again.
   

If you have an issue with the directory or functionality, please reach out and contact us.