Iowa Eye Center

What Iowa Eye Center does

Iowa Eye Center (legal entity Iowa Eye, P.C.) is a physician-owned ophthalmology practice founded in 1992 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, serving patients across Eastern Iowa. The practice delivers comprehensive eye care spanning routine eye exams, medical management of conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and macular degeneration, and emergency eye care. Surgical offerings include cataract surgery with multiple intraocular lens options (monofocal, multifocal, trifocal, EDOF, toric) and iLASIK refractive surgery using Visx CustomVue Wavefront-guided S4IR laser technology with Iris Registration and tracking capabilities.

The business operates through an integrated three-part model: medical and surgical ophthalmology delivered by eight board-certified ophthalmologists, an on-site full-service optical center staffed by certified opticians with on-site lens manufacturing and same-day dispensing capability, and a digital layer including an online contact lens re-order store and a Promptly patient portal. Revenue is generated through professional services (medical eye care and surgical procedures reimbursed by insurance or paid out-of-pocket for refractive surgery) and hardware sales (eyeglasses and contact lenses). The practice accepts a broad mix of medical insurers (Medicare, Iowa Medicaid, United Healthcare, Wellmark BC/BS, TRICARE, etc.) and vision plans (EyeMed, VSP, Avesis).

Iowa Eye Center is an independent professional corporation with no disclosed external investors, parent company, or acquisition activity. It operates from a single clinic location in Cedar Rapids with 51-100 total employees and provides 24/7 ophthalmologist on-call coverage. Marketing is primarily content-driven (blog, newsletter, Facebook, seasonal optical promotions, patient testimonials), and patient acquisition relies on referrals, word-of-mouth, and regional reputation, reinforced by the 2023 Best of the Corridor Award from the Corridor Business Journal.

Name

Iowa Eye Center

Legal name

Iowa Eye, P.C.

Website

https://iowaeyecenter.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Iowa Eye Center is a physician-owned ophthalmology practice in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, founded in 1992, delivering medical eye care, cataract and iLASIK surgery, and on-site optical retail to patients across Eastern Iowa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ophthalmology Services

NAICS

Optical Goods Retailers (45613), Offices of Optometrists (621320)

SIC

Ophthalmic Goods (3851)

akta.pro primary industry

Ambulatory Surgery Centers (Ophthalmic/Outpatient Eye Surgery) (HLAKAKAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Comprehensive Eye Exams & Vision Care (HLAKAKAA), Cornea, External Disease & Refractive Surgery (LASIK/PRK) (HLAKAKAF), Ophthalmology Surgery Centers (HLAFAIAF)

Keywords

• Ophthalmology services
• Cataract surgery
• LASIK eye surgery
• Optical retail
• Comprehensive eye care

Headquarters

HQ city

Cedar Rapids

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Medical Eye Care Services: Revenue from comprehensive ophthalmology services including eye exams, consultations, and medical treatments for conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and macular degeneration
2. Surgical Procedures: Revenue from surgical procedures including cataract surgery and LASIK refractive surgery. Cataract surgery involves removing cloudy lens and replacing with artificial intraocular lens (IOL)
3. Optical Center - Eyeglasses: Revenue from sale of prescription eyeglasses, frames, and lenses. Services include single vision, bifocal, trifocal, progressive lenses, and specialty eyewear. On-site lab enables same-day service on select prescriptions
4. Optical Center - Contact Lenses: Revenue from contact lens sales including soft contacts, rigid gas permeable, silicone hydrogel, toric, bifocal/multifocal, and colored contacts. Offers direct shipping to patients and online re-ordering

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Iowa Eye Center is a physician-owned ophthalmology practice that provides comprehensive medical, surgical, and routine eye care for patients of all ages, including cataract surgery with intraocular lens implants, iLASIK refractive surgery, glaucoma management, and diabetic retinopathy care. The practice complements these clinical services with an on-site full-service Optical Center that sells prescription eyeglasses and contact lenses, supported by an online store and patient portal.

Product overview

Iowa Eye Center is a comprehensive eye care practice offering a unified portfolio of medical eye care services, surgical procedures, and optical products. The practice operates as a single integrated eye care center with medical services including cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic eye disease, macular degeneration, routine eye care, and emergency services. Surgical expertise includes iLASIK (Visx CustomVue Wavefront-guided S4IR LASIK) and cataract surgery with multiple IOL options. The on-site Optical Center provides eyeglasses and contact lenses, supported by an online store and patient portal (Promptly). Services are accessible through various insurance and vision plans. The practice was founded in 1992 and has been performing LASIK since 1998.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cataracts – Evaluation and Surgical Treatment

Quantifiable outcome

• Thousands of successful LASIK procedures performed since 1998
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Minnesota Eye Consultants: Midwest multi-specialty ophthalmology practice offering LASIK, cataract surgery, glaucoma, cornea, and dry eye treatment. Comparable physician-led model with similar technology investments (wavefront-guided LASIK) and patient demographic focus.
• Cincinnati Eye Institute: Multi-specialty ophthalmology practice serving the Cincinnati tri-state region with board-certified ophthalmologists, multiple subspecialties, and integrated optical services. Highly comparable physician-led multi-specialty model, though larger and now operating within a larger platform.
• MidWest Eye Center: Regional ophthalmology and optometry practice serving the greater Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio region. Offers comparable cataract surgery, LASIK, glaucoma management, and routine eye care with multiple subspecialty ophthalmologists.
• Northwest Eye Clinic: Minnesota-based multi-specialty ophthalmology practice offering cataract, LASIK, glaucoma, retina, and oculoplastic surgery. Comparable regional Midwestern physician-led model with similar service breadth and optical retail integration.
• Eye Center of Iowa: Iowa-based ophthalmology practice offering cataract, glaucoma, and general eye care. Comparable regional multi-specialty eye care model within the same state market.
• Clarkson Eyecare: Midwest-based multi-location ophthalmology and optometry practice (now part of EyeCare Partners). Provides comparable comprehensive eye care including cataract surgery, LASIK, glaucoma, and routine exams across multiple clinics — highly comparable service model.
• Wolfe Eye Clinic: Multi-specialty ophthalmology practice with locations across Iowa, including Cedar Rapids. Offers cataract surgery, LASIK, glaucoma, retina, and ocular plastics with multiple board-certified ophthalmologists — directly comparable in scope, geographic market overlap, and physician-led model.

Broad incumbents

• EyeCare Partners: National PE-backed ophthalmology and optometry platform operating hundreds of locations across the U.S. Offers the same comprehensive medical-surgical-optical services as Iowa Eye Center at much greater scale, and represents the type of consolidator that may pursue Iowa Eye Center as a tuck-in.
• Vision Innovation Partners: PE-backed ophthalmology platform consolidating Mid-Atlantic and Midwest practices. Operates multi-location eye care groups offering medical, surgical, and optical services comparable to Iowa Eye Center, representing a consolidator peer.

Regional players

• TLC Laser Eye Centers: National LASIK-focused refractive surgery provider. Comparable in LASIK-specific technology and patient segment (myopia/hyperopia/astigmatism correction) but does not offer the broader medical-surgical-optical integrated model Iowa Eye Center provides.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@IowaEyeCenterCedarRapids/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/IAEyeCenter
• Xx.com/iowaeyecenter

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Iowa Eye Center