Ophthalmology involves the treatment of the eye and vision disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who diagnoses and treats eye disorders and diseases, and sometimes performs eye surgery. Ophthalmology is more than just vision care. This specialist is trained to medically or surgically treat all ocular and vision problems, including disorders of the eyelids and visual pathways. The ophthalmologist also provides comprehensive vision exams and prescribes glasses and contact lenses.

Doctor density varies by specialty and location. The United States has 24,310 practicing ophthalmologists. Broken out by state, ophthalmology doctor density in Alabama is 277, in Alaska is 38, in Arizona is 398, in Arkansas is 185, in California is 2,924, in Colorado is 344, in Connecticut is 378, in Delaware is 70, in District of Columbia is 166, in Florida is 1,521, in Georgia is 563, in Hawaii is 113, in Idaho is 74, in Illinois is 986, in Indiana is 401, in Iowa is 254, in Kansas is 228, in Kentucky is 321, in Louisiana is 374, in Maine is 90, in Maryland is 686, in Massachusetts is 844, in Michigan is 791, in Minnesota is 432, in Mississippi is 167, in Missouri is 490, in Montana is 73, in Nebraska is 123, in Nevada is 122, in New Hampshire is 100, in New Jersey is 862, in New Mexico is 118, in New York is 2,080, in North Carolina is 662, in North Dakota is 56, in Ohio is 863, in Oklahoma is 200, in Oregon is 320, in Pennsylvania is 1,179, in Rhode Island is 106, in South Carolina is 343, in South Dakota is 50, in Tennessee is 477, in Texas is 1,300, in Utah is 164, in Vermont is 67, in Virginia is 587, in Washington is 470, in West Virginia is 133, in Wisconsin is 455, and in Wyoming is 29.