Watson Retina, Vestavia: NPI Registry Record and Eye Exam Cost Context
What the registry record says
- NPI number
- 1376170274
- Legal business name
- Watson Retina LLC
- Registered trading name
- Watson Retina
- Primary registered specialty
- Ophthalmology, Retina Specialist (207WX0107X)
- Other registered specialties
- Ophthalmology
- Non eye care codes on the record
- 1 additional taxonomy code outside optometry and ophthalmology
- Practice location
- 4505 Pine Tree Cir Ste 120
Vestavia, AL 35243-2380 - Phone on the record
- (205) 637-7123
- NPI issued
- March 23, 2020
- Record last updated by the practice
- April 11, 2022
- Registry status
- NPI registry record, active as reported by CMS October 2026
- Metro area
- Birmingham, AL
- County
- Jefferson County
- Location precision
- Street address matched by the US Census geocoder
Reading this record
The practice bills under the legal name Watson Retina LLC and registered Watson Retina as its trading name, so an insurance statement may show a name that does not match the sign on the door. Beyond the primary code the record carries Ophthalmology, which is the registry's own signal that the practice covers more than routine work. The entry was last refreshed in April 2022. That is neither fresh nor ancient by the standards of this metro, where 27 of 231 records were updated in 2024 or later and 126 predate 2020.
For local context: Vestavia holds 6 registered eye care practices in this snapshot, 2 of them optometry and 4 ophthalmology, in ZIP codes including 35243. 3 of them took an NPI before this practice did. The closest is West Point Optical Group in Birmingham, 0.2 miles away.
None of this is a licensing check. CMS issues an NPI so a provider can be identified in billing transactions, and states plainly that issuance does not ensure or validate that the holder is licensed or credentialed. The Alabama boards hold the licensing record, and the practice itself is the only source for what it charges today.
Nearest registered practices
198 other registered eye care practices sit within 25 miles of this address, a radius that does not stop at the metro boundary. Inside the Birmingham metro itself there are 231, 5 of them elsewhere in Vestavia. The closest 5 are below, measured straight line between registered addresses.
| Practice | City | Registered as | Distance | Phone on record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Point Optical Group | Birmingham | Optometry | 0.2 mi | (205) 968-1995 |
| Family First Vision Care Kentucky | Birmingham | Optometry | 0.2 mi | (205) 968-1995 |
| Myeyedr. | Birmingham | Optometry | 0.5 mi | (205) 967-2020 |
| Invision Ophthalmology PC | Vestavia | Ophthalmology | 0.5 mi | (205) 879-2221 |
| Hooks Eyecare Associates | Birmingham | Optometry | 0.8 mi | (205) 977-7299 |
Distances are straight line between registered practice locations, not driving distance. Records placed at a ZIP centroid rather than a matched street address are excluded from this comparison.
What to expect to pay at an ophthalmology practice like this
The NPI registry holds no prices, so nothing here is a quote from Watson Retina, and ophthalmology practices do not publish fee schedules. Customers report paying $150 to $300 or more at this kind of practice without insurance, which is a reported band rather than a published price. The nearest published figure is $95, the median starting fee across the 1,280 US retail optical stores that print one (30 September 2026), and Medicare pays $149.64 for a comprehensive new-patient exam (CPT 92004). Ask Watson Retina for its self-pay price.
Ophthalmology visits are usually medical rather than routine, which changes who pays: medical insurance and Medicare Part B cover a medically necessary exam, while a routine refraction for glasses is normally not covered. Ask whether the visit will be billed as medical or routine before you book, and compare with the 185 optometry practices on the Birmingham page if you only need a prescription.