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Threats and Opportunities in Optometry

Optometry remains an essential function, but the profession needs to reinvent itself once again. We need to embrace new technology and increase our focus on medical services to realize the opportunities our changing profession affords us. Glasses and contact lenses will remain a part of the revenue stream for most ODs; however, online sales increased significantly throughout 2020, and the increase will continue along with pandemic-related restrictions. Consumers are ever more comfortable shopping online from the convenience of their homes. Online eye exams are another threat to our profession.

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Featured

 The Most Overlooked Issues in Optometry Right Now

Technological advancements and a growing emphasis on preventative care and the importance of routine eye exams have led to major strides in optometry in recent years. But several challenges continue to fly under the radar, quietly impacting both patient outcomes and the future.

 ‘Inadequate to meet demand’: Report spotlights declining ophthalmology workforce as America’s eye health needs grow

“Optometry’s essential and expanding role in health care has become well-recognized by the provider community, policymakers, the health care media and the public,” says Ronald L. Benner, O.D., AOA president, in response to the study findings. “Now, with every indication of an accelerating decline in the ophthalmology workforce outlook, our profession is poised for historic, new opportunities that will allow for the full use of our education, training and skills in caring for our patients.”

Articles of Interest

A Black Eye for Optometry

In 1937, Reader’s Digest took a swing at the young profession in a scathing investigative report, but optometry came back fighting.

Ethics in Optometric Practice- the Obligations that Define a Profession

Optometry ranks amongst the leading healthcare professions and various national Codes of Ethics for Optometry exist1. These can all be traced back to one of the original sources of medical ethics in the Western world: the famous oath of Hippocrates1. Hippocrates lived around 460-380 BC and was believed to be part of a physician's cult in ancient Greece who were faithful to Asclepius, the god of medicine and healing. Indeed, the memory of the worship of Asclepius lives on in modern medicine: the snake around the physician's staff is attributed to this god as snakes were part of the ancient healing ritual. Whilst reptilian remedies do not form part of medicine and healthcare today and Hippocrates original oath (as we understand it through modern translations2) includes statements that would not concord with modern practice: e.g. a pledge to remain chaste and religious and never to procure abortion2, the essence of the Hippocratic oath endures in current principles of medical and healthcare ethics.

Is Optometry a Dying Field?

Future health professionals considering the field of eyecare may well ask whether optometry is a dying profession. Practicing optometrists encounter a medley of challenges as eye care technology improves. But optometry students need not despair; opticians are still in high demand.

Legalizing Optometry

A behind-the-scenes look at the people, the moments and the legislation that made the profession what it is today.

Optometry on Trial—Again

Consider this commentary on your profession: “There are many conscientious and skilled optometrists; men who will frankly admit their limitations when they see that the eye conditions of their visitors are beyond their abilities and training. But there are many optometrists—far too many—who blithely undertake problems beyond their training. To consult one of these, when you have serious eye trouble, may be worse than useless.”

Politics in Optometry, an Inescapable Reality

Optometry is a legislated profession. Time and time again students here this phrase, but rarely are we given more information about what that actually means. It means that the entire scope of practice for optometrists is dependent on bills passed at the local and federal level. It means that there are advocates on the ground year-round working to build political connections in order to put optometry in a position to succeed.

The Continuing Evolution of Optometry

For some time now, articles have been encouraging general practice optometrists to more fully utilize the expanded scopes of medical treatments authorized to them as all state optometry licensing laws have been increasingly updated since 1972. On the one hand however, there has been a shift towards retail store practices and commoditization of optometry while, on the other hand, the initiation and rapid growth of residencies in medical optometry that first began within Veterans Administration hospitals in 1975 and then spread to private clinics and schools has continued.

The Future of Optometry in America

As we take this high-level view of optometry today and speculate as to where the opportunities lie, we should be optimistic that optometry will continue to thrive and grow for the foreseeable future, despite the emergence of any new disruptors.

The Optometry Racket

In every other country in which I’ve lived—Germany and Britain, France and Italy—it is far easier to buy glasses or contact lenses than it is here. In those countries, as in Peru, you can simply walk into an optician’s store and ask an employee to give you an eye test, likely free of charge. If you already know your strength, you can just tell them what you want. You can also buy contact lenses from the closest drugstore without having to talk to a single soul—no doctor’s prescription necessary.

The Top 3 Disruptors to the Optometric Profession

While new innovations and technologies have made our lives easier, they have also brought significant changes to the optometric profession. Beginning with constantly growing online optical sales, technology is changing the game.

Why the ophthalmologist and optometrist conflict should concern patients

Optometry waged state-by-state expansion of practice battles for four decades on its way to where the profession stands now, which is increasingly nebulous. The American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Medical Association have challenged optometry every step as optometry blurs its boundaries with medicine. A patchwork quilt of legislation around the country variably delineates optometric practice. Now two patches have little pockets for scalpels and lasers.

Resources

World Council of Optometry

We advance and promote optometry, global eye health and vision care through collaboration, education, and advocacy.