Originally Posted by
renee1111
So you think we would be hard pressed to convince the minister. I can think of few good reasons just off the top of my head.
-Accessibility- With the impending doom of a recession, many people are living either on a strict budget or simply living paycheck to paycheck. The fees ODs impose for getting an eye exam are forever climbing and becoming too expensive for those on a budget. I’ll give you an example: In ‘04 the government decided to finally deregulate OD’s fees. So all the OD’s (in my area anyway) made it seem as though the government had imposed these new fee’s onto their patients. When in reality OD’s had pushed for this for a long time. Before deregulation they were all getting paid $39 CND per eye exam. Shortly after, they up’d their fee’s to $45, two months later the fees went up to $59, by years end all were charging $70. In 2008 the average cost is $110. Are these fees going to keep climbing every year or are they ever going to level out?
- Redo rates – If a specific OD’s office has a particularly high redo-rate, it would be great to be able to double check the RX. Which by the way, wouldn’t pose a risk to the public because the patient already had a full eye exam prior to the refraction.
-Most, not all, the Techs who work in Ophthalmologist’s offices, have hardly any training at all, yet these individuals do perform refractions that are dispensed to the patient. Same would go for the Ophthalmic Technicians, some take the course although most aren’t required. I have met techs that took the course and didn’t know what AR was, or how to perform proper adjustments. I would think that basic optical knowledge must be a requirement to work in an OD’s office, but from personal experience I’ve realized that it is not. Seems to me that OD’s have a double standard. On one hand it’s okay for them to have a tech working under them, yet it isn’t okay to have a fully qualified and educated individual do there adjustments or pre-tests.
So in conclusion I think that if refractions are done by Opticians following the College guidelines, there is absolutely no danger to the patient receiving the refraction. The arguments are always “missed pathology or patient not getting a proper eye exam”, but if the standards of practice were strictly followed, patients would have to see an OD every year anyway. (Which by the way = more money for you!)
Finally someone said it!!! I’m glad that you can admit that, because most OD’s dance around the subject. Every time someone mentions refracting courses, an OD chimes in to ask “Who exactly is teaching the course…better be an OD” This is the one of the main reasons Opticians should be legally able to refract, because OD’s are infringing on our profession!
Bookmarks