An independent practice, built around the work others refer out

NVISION Eyecare® is an independent optometry practice offering general and specialty eye care using state-of-the-art technology. Alongside routine optometric services we provide the care that is more often referred on: myopia control for children, specialty contact lens fitting for corneal ectasias, dry eye treatment, and orthokeratology.

The practice was founded in 2018 by Dr Ryan Mahmoud, in the Apollo Health & Wellness Centre in Rosedale. The intent was specific — an eye-care-focused optometry service, rather than an optical retailer that also does eye tests, so that children's vision, contact lenses and dry eye could be done properly rather than fitted around a shop floor.

Independent, and what that actually changes

Being independent means no chain deciding which frames we stock, which lens designs we can offer, or how long an appointment is allowed to take. We allow 30 minutes for a standard eye examination and 40 for a CAA pilot exam, and a widefield HD retinal photo is included with every eye exam rather than sold as an add-on.

It also means we can invest in equipment that a volume-driven model could not justify. Corneal topography, OCT, visual fields and dry eye imaging are here because the specialty work depends on them.

Part of a wider health centre

We are based in the Apollo Health & Wellness Centre and work closely with other health professionals, which gives our patients a high level of care. Where an eye finding points to something systemic, or where a condition needs an ophthalmologist, that conversation happens directly rather than through a letter and a long wait.

Accredited beyond routine optometry

Both of our optometrists are therapeutically endorsed, meaning they can prescribe topical and oral medications for ocular conditions. Our principal optometrist is additionally an authorised glaucoma prescriber — one of a limited number of optometrists in New Zealand able to prescribe medication to treat glaucoma — and is accredited with the Civil Aviation Authority to conduct eye examinations for pilots.

Those accreditations matter to patients in a practical way: conditions that would otherwise mean a second appointment somewhere else can be managed here.

A teaching practice

Our practice provides teaching services for the University of Auckland’s School of Optometry & Vision Science, for their Bachelor of Optometry degree. One of our optometrists is also completing a PhD in dry eye research at the University of Auckland, which keeps us unusually close to the evidence in an area where the technology is still moving quickly.