Diplomate Spotlight – Dr. Jeff Klein

Always searching for ways to improve as an optometrist, Dr. Jeff Klein was among the first to sit for the board certification exam and now serves as an ABO Ambassador for the state of Nebraska. “When I became board certified,” said Dr. Klein. “our state was in the middle of presenting legislation to expand our scope of practice. Going through that process, as a member of the Nebraska Optometric Association Board of Directors, it became apparent the direction our profession and health care in general was moving. To me, becoming board certified was important to stay current with the changing health care landscape as well as a good way to distinguish myself as an optometrist who’s gone above and beyond the minimum requirements for my patients.”

Although Dr. Klein doesn’t feel the impact of board certification on the profession has been fully realized yet, he does believe it is ongoing and will become even more important as health care continues to move toward pay for performance with commercial payors and Medicare. As an individual provider, Dr. Klein has found that the board certification process has had a positive impact on his practice by providing valuable education through ABO learning modules, assessments and patient evaluation tools.

After graduating from the University of Houston College of Optometry in 1999 and completing externship training in the cornea and ocular surface, Dr. Klein started in private practice with his wife Ann, also an optometrist, and his father-in-law, Dr. Herbert Feidler, an ophthalmologist. He specializes in medical optometry and along with his colleagues, recently founded the Dry Eye Center of Nebraska which focuses on dry eye and ocular surface disease. Dr. Klein is also an InfantSEE and See to Learn provider and volunteers with multiple vision screening programs and local health fairs. He was awarded the Nebraska Young Optometrist of the Year in 2007 and named the Nebraska Optometrist of the Year in 2012.

While caring for patients occupies a great deal of Dr. Klein’s time, his greatest pleasure is spending time with his family, including wife Ann and children Caitlin, Carson and Caleb. Cheering the kids on at their sporting events and concerts, he even finds time to coach a few of the teams himself! And if there is any time left over, Dr. Klein enjoys traveling, hunting, fishing and a good round of golf.