Optometry in 2035. Does it exist?

[Chris Ryser]

If so, why is there resistance to the idea that some of these changes may be bad

EVERYONE in this thread has referred to inevitable changes/evolution of our profession. If so, why is there resistance to the idea that some of these changes may be bad for practicing optometrists?

Life has been too good for the status quo, just about forever, specially for the ones who are also selling glasses.

The internet and technologies have been and will even more change the world over the next years to come. New ways of testing eyes automatically for prescriptions are being developed and refined as we go along.

In the meantime your largest optical suppliers are doing their best to push you off the map when the time comes and it might be even earlier than you predict.

[optio]

Anyone know why this average-salary-information website says most people in optometry "move on to other positions" after 20 years? What do you think it's referring to?

"An Optometrist earns an average salary of C$87,781 per year. Most people with this job move on to other positions after 20 years in this field."

http://www.payscale.com/research/CA/Job=Optometrist/Salary

[jc17777]

as an optician I would love to earn that average annual salary. Why would an optometrist move to another position unless it was related to the field and they were making more money

[optio]

I have absolutely no doubt the website is wrong (about moving on to other positions). I just don't understand why they would be so wrong about that fact, and what led them to believe it was true to begin with. I'm almost certain that historically, most optometrists stay as optometrists after 20 years of work.

I'm also curious to know where they get their salary stats.

[jc17777]

http://www.jobs4ecps.ca/JOBS4ECPS_Salary%20Survey%20Summary_20150210.pdf?

According to that survey done by jobs 4ecp's optometrists average salary is actually higher than what was listed

[Chris Ryser]

For official statistics you go on industry Canada .........................

I have absolutely no doubt the website is wrong (about moving on to other positions). I just don't understand why they would be so wrong about that fact, and what led them to believe it was true to begin with. I'm almost certain that historically, most optometrists stay as optometrists after 20 years of work.

I'm also curious to know where they get their salary stats.

That website belongs to a private firm that asks for opinions.
Go and look for it:

Contact
Payscale Inc
1000 1^st Ave, South
Seattle, WA 98134ACT
PayScale, Inc.
1000 1st Ave South
Seattle, WA 98134


If you want official statistics you go on industry Canada look for a profession, and do your own search. Then you will get the real facts, but they are usually about 2-3 years behind times.

[rbaker]

Well, clearly (no pun intended) people will still need medical and refractive eye care in the future. I believe that the driving force in the US and Canada as well as the rest of the developed nations will be driven by economics.

Optometry and Ophthalmology will soon merge into a single profession and the "new" eye doctor will manage a large clinical staff of ancillary personnel who will perform all the drut work such as refraction, tonometry, visual fields, fundus photos and all the rest of the acquisition of data and metrics which allow the eye doctor to make medical decisions. We already see this business model in some large ophthalmology practices where technicians, technologists, APRN's and PA's perform 90% of the work.

We will also see an increased utilization of Temporary Foreign Worker Program ( TFWP in Canada ) and Foreign Workers Visas in the US. This use of foreign workers is already quite prevalent in nursing homes, physical therapy and hospitals.

Clearly, the cost of health care at its present state is, in the long run, unsustainable and the possibility of a single payer system in the US looms on the horizon. Canada is already sucking the hind teat.

There will be a few of you who will be able to hold on to the old ways but for most the party is nearly over.

[Chris Ryser]

Greed can still exist even in a big medial box environment.

Optometry and Ophthalmology will soon merge into a single profession and the "new" eye doctor will manage a large clinical staff of ancillary personnel who will perform all the drut work such as refraction, tonometry, visual fields, fundus photos and all the rest of the acquisition of data and metrics which allow the eye doctor to make medical decisions. We already see this business model in some large ophthalmology practices where technicians, technologists, APRN's and PA's perform 90% of the work.

Revenge of the Opthalmo

................... I have lived through one of those right here in Naples a few years back, they even have an optical store off the waiting area.

After having gone through the mill, I saw the doctor who told me that I had a cataract in my left eye, and that he was going to fix it for $ 4,000.

I said no thanks, and that I was having it done back home in Canada under the national medicare for free.

He gave me the exam results in a sealed envelope which I delivered to the license bureau, were after opening the envelope I was told that he suggested that I have to redo the physical driving test.

........I agreed right away, did it and passed with flying colors and got my license back validated for a few more years.

Greed can still exist even in a big medial box environment.

[throughalensdarkly]

I think rbaker might be right when he says "Optometry and Ophthalmology will soon merge into a single profession". I'm still something of a novice in the optics world, but to me this makes some sense...

Doctors will fulfill the medical role (whichever title they want to use). Comprehensive eye exams are important and we should all have them on a regular basis - stuff like glaucoma, macular degeneration, etc requires a highly trained medical professional to diagnose and treat, and probably will for some time. But refracting itself is going to be less and less dependent on a highly trained medical professional as technology moves forward, and someone who is just having trouble seeing out of their old specs really just wants to have a new rx and a new pair of lenses. They don't want and don't need a comprehensive medical exam for what they're trying to do. They should get that exam on a regular basis, but we can't make them do it. We should all go in for regular physical checkups too, but again a lot of people don't and we can't make them. Does that mean they shouldn't be able to get a bottle of Tylenol for a headache? Of course not, and someone who doesn't want to bother getting a comprehensive exam shouldn't be restricted from getting a pair of glasses. A healthcare system where people didn't have to pay an arm and a leg for medical care would go a long way towards getting them in the door for a comprehensive exam, but that's another issue.

Also - getting a pair of specs with a bad rx isn't going to cause medical issues is it? It's just a redo and lost money for the optical, which provides the incentive to get it right. If tech gets to the point that autorefraction (or something like it) becomes really reliable, what's left for optometrists to do? There will be the doctors for full exams and fixing any problems those exams find, and then there will be the local optical where you can get a refraction and a pair of glasses, or get a pair of glasses using an rx generated by a doctor at a comprehensive exam that may include refraction. I don't see any problem with that...

Again I'm not an industry veteran by any means, and I'm happy to be corrected if I'm wrong, but... am I?

[Chris Ryser]

major changes in all of our eyecare professions over the next few years.............

There will be a game changer within our lifetimes that makes human performed refraction obsolete, whether due to robots, or a new refractive "solution", and it will come from outside the 3-Os. At that point, optometrists won't necessarily go obsolete, but there will be a much reduced need for them.

..............interesting discussion

The start of that future will begin in about 2 1/2 month from now, probably around the end of June 2018, when the now world wide accepted merger between Essilor and Luxottica will happen.

This will create a similar situation in the optical retail business around the globe, of what happened in the oil industry not so long ago. There no more small service stations that sell the gaz and make repairs, the retail outlets consist now of multiple pumps, self service and some of them have also a car wash and, or a food store.

In the optical trade the merging main players have also played politics for a long time, by supporting professional associations as well as governments on many levels.

We should be seeing major changes in all of our eyecare professions over the next few years.

[Lab Insight]

..............interesting discussion

In the optical trade the merging main players have also played politics for a long time, by supporting professional associations as well as governments on many levels.

We should be seeing major changes in all of our eyecare professions over the next few years.

Chris, the professional associations are just as much to blame for this debacle by allowing it to happen for so many years and accepting bribe sponsorship money at the same time.

Whether the associations knew it or not at the time, the sponsorship funds were more of a pay off to turn a blind eye and pave the road for the future to where we are today.

Now the associations bit the hand that fed them, and tried to take them to court, which is even more ludicrous. The lawyers on both sides have to be laughing their asses off on this one - do I want my new yacht in white or beige?

[fjpod]

Computers may replace manual objective and subjective refraction... in fact they already have. But deciding what to prescribe so that the patient will be happy with their Rx, and not come back complaining, has not yet been mastered by the AI people. In fact, it has not yet been mastered by many people holding licenses that allow them to refract.

[optio]

There is this.

https://willrobotstakemyjob.com/29-1041-optometrists

[Chris Ryser]

We all have time to put on our seatbelts before the rocking starts...................

Whether the associations knew it or not at the time, the sponsorship funds were more of a pay off to turn a blind eye and pave the road for the future to where we are today.

..........................we are now 2 months before the fully accepted merger by the world wide authorities.

We will be seeing a modernized version and situation, that we have already experienced in Canada for many years, by the near domination of the optical retail business by Imperial Optical.

However most of today's professionals have only a very faint idea whatever happened then. Only this time it will be more complex and total as the preparation period has been very carefully planned into details in all sectors from manufacturing to retail over the last 15 years, or more.

We all have time to put on our seatbelts before the rocking starts.

[McAnerin]

I believe, that instead of discussing WHAT is coming in the near future, we should discuss how we best should EVOLVE to meet it. I've recently moved to a kiosk style optical in a mall, that pushes volume and affordable frames, w/ no optometrist at all. It's been very lucrative, while still giving people a personal experience. Changes are coming, and the winners are the ones that find out how to make it work for them. Unlike the big companies, we cant choose what the game is, but we can certainly have the best strategies for the new playing field.