answer:All doctors need to have the same credentials in order to be licensed. I wouldn’t expect a private practice doctor to be any better than one who works in a clinic or vice versa – I think you run the same risk of getting someone who’s super awesome or inept regardless of where you go. I’d do the same thing with an optometrist that I’d do with a dentist, chiropractor, GP, etc. – ask around. Ask who your friends have seen and who they’d recommend, then decide based on cost and what your insurance will cover. Just an anecdotal addition: My dad, a dentist, retired in March. All his career, he practiced alone, not in a group office or anything. Right now he’s decided to just take some time off and relax, but he hasn’t eliminated the possibility of working part-time later on in a clinic-type situation. So even if you go somewhere where many different optometrists practice, that doesn’t mean you’re getting someone unqualified. In the case with my dad, you’d be getting someone who’s practiced successfully with no lawsuits or anything for 41 years.