Yes. This, as Mark says in the above. Ditto. True.
In my own experience, the eye doctors we normally see, i.e. our own optometrist or ophthalmologist, may or may not make such referral, and particularly if you don't specifically suggest/ask for it.

Post-collision 4 yrs ago, 2008, the ER twice referred me to see my eye doctor. I did; both my ophthalmologist and my optometrist. That was immediate 2-followups.

Both confirmed "significant changes" in my vision.
(Major-major changes, as I had just seen both drs. just weeks prior to the accident, and my vision was very fine at
~ 20/30, 20/40, requiring only a change in reading glasses prescription. Distance vision was still nearly perfect @ 20/20).

The wacky vision probs, plus double-vision, blurry-vision, and one eye turned outward from center (still) was all immediate post-mvc and enduring (for me) now 4 yrs.

At year#2 I drove long-distance to see a vision-therapy optometrist. Some home eye exercises, which in my case, were of no real help. Too ffar for me to return for any followup.

At year#3 I made an appt. with my "local low-vision community vision rehabilitation services", a not-for-profit orgztn focused on helping people with vision disabilities. The most excellent young woman optometrist/eye dr was more thorough and attuned to me than the other 3 drs I had seen. She expressed 'concern' that whatever was going on might be beyond her realm of experience and expertise, thus made referral to a neuro-ophthalmlogist, saying that his findings might add a prism to one lense of fulltime-wear eyeglasses. That he did.

Neuro-ophthalmologist tests were highly interesting and unlike any prior eye/vision exam that I have had. They even gave to me a copy/printout of the super-high-tech computerized-graphics readout of the computer's analysis of my vision, for each eye. Not just numbers, lines and columns, but also a 'visual' picture of my vision for each eye. Very interesting, yes!

Did he take the time to *explain* or tell me/educate me about any of those findings? Nope! His office sent his findings back to the referring optometrist. She herself personally wrote to me a letter informing me of the conclusion of his findings, i.e. adding a small prism to her accompanying Rx for eyeglasses.

So, it was 3 yrs before I got a referral, appropriate in my case, to neuro-ophthalmologist!

In all fairness, I add that I had of my own initiative appointed with a neuro-ophthalmologist 2 ys ago, but there was none such specialist in my region, state, other than state university medical center, 300 miles away. I'm still not able to drive that!

Yours in a better vision for us,
Theta