Yes, you are correct. However, you can't be naive for a moment and believe that your association didn't know a thing about it? The Colleges and Associations are very tight - surely someone had wind of it.Originally Posted by kws6000
Watch Discovery Channel tonight - there's a new show called 'When Membership Fees Go Wrong'. It's right after 'Destroyed in Seconds' the BC story.
The OD's lost the most in this deal. How does it feel to move your avg sale from $800 down to almost nothing overnight? It will be more interesting to see if your local buying group will survive the long haul.
Indeed they did. ODs in BC are now competing with "opticians" with 6 months of training for refractions. 6 months is a little easier than 8 years. I guess at least the ODs can dump their certified opticians for cheap labor. Even though opticians can sight test I bet the average optician will make less. There is going to be an uncontrolled explosion of unskilled competition. Overall I think opticians and optometrists took it in the backside. There better be some action by those professions up there.
Why are we arguing over who gets screwed the most? Don't you think it's time we all agree on a compromise, forget sight testing and implement mandatory rx release. Unfortunately I know rx release is still a problem here in bc. :(
Huh,why would opticians give up site testing when mandatory rx release has just been implemented.
There wont be any compromises...The turf war is about to really begin...I can see the BC OD association coming out with an aggressive pr campaign focusing on who do you want to trust your vision with...and I bet it wont be with an unqualified technician pretending to do eye exams.
Not really....The people who didnt want to spend anything were already walking with their scripts....the independent opticians as well as smaller chains fighting for the bottom feeders are going to be hurt the most.I wont be sad to see some fold.
The influx of new "opticians " into the business is going to decrease wages for those already in the business.
Its your group which got particularly knee capped...If the OD association is smart,in its pr campaign it will put the seed of doubt in the public's mind about the qualifications of anyone calling themselves 'optician'...
Your group lacks the unity or financial resources to fight back.
And having some previous knowledge about it matters how?...
The BC OD's had a reprieve of several years regarding the allowing of unqualified people the do pretend eye exams and have the advantage of having the public's perception of being well trained gatekeepers of vision care....
.On the other hand your group has just been branded as being a group with no standards in place and this unfavorable branding will likely be reinforced by the ODs.
The new legislative changes have just screwed your group over royally in favor of the online dispensersand has cheapened the public's perception of your group.
Optometrists and opticians in BC should just stop bickering and band together to fight a common foe: internet optical vendors. Let's face it, both ODs and opticians in BC lost out big on this one. The only real winner is Coastal Contacts. I would argue that the consumer lost out in a big way, too, since the quality of eyecare in BC just went down the toilet. Sure, consumers might save money now by buying cheap glasses and contacts online, but they will pay for it later when they develop serious eye problems because they neglected getting their eyes examined by their optometrist on a regular basis, or because they stopped going to their optician for follow-up contact lens visits.
ODs: You've got to stop seeing opticians as the enemy. Yes, we've taken some of your business away with automated sight tests, but at least we still get to see the patient face-to-face and can determine through screening methods if a patient needs to see an OD or not. Some opticians are even pretty good at spotting things that even medical doctors may have missed. Witness this for example:
Girl, 9, saved by optician after doctors fail to spot plum-sized brain tumour SIX times
An internet provider like Coastal Contacts does not see the patient at all! How dangerous is that?
So why don't ODs and opticians in BC get together and fight this new legislation as vigorously as we can? Surely we can be far more effective if we work together. Yes, we will still have our differences, but at least we can BOTH agree that selling and dispensing eyeglasses without even seeing the patient is not a good thing. If ODs and opticians really care about people's eye health like they say they do, let's put our money where our mouth is and fight this new ruling with as much energy as we can, because in my opinion, we were both dealt a huge blow by this incredibly myopic new legislation.
I agree with you 100 per cent .
Has there been any feedback from any of the Associations and Colleges on this , including Opticians,Optometrists, Ophthalmologists and MD's ?
Just a statement on COBC's website, not much more. I think they're still too stunned by all this to formulate a proper response just yet.
I just wanted to add to my statements above: Opticians should stop seeing ODs as their enemy as well. Yes, ODs have taken a bit of business turf away from us as well, but they are still an incredibly valuable and important part of the eye health team consisting of the three O's. As opticians, we need to train ourselves to recognize early symptoms of eye problems so that we can refer even more patients to ODs when necessary.
So my message to ODs and opticians is this: let's bury the hatchet between us for now as we face a greater, even more dangerous threat to patient's eye care: the internet provider who doesn't even see or care how old the prescription is when the customer orders his/her glasses or contacts!
Seed of doubt? Its already there. Most people can't distinguish the difference, nor do they care.
Your definition of unity is banding together and joining an OD buying group?
And lacks financial resources? You got me on this one. This is only achieved because of the private label brands and substantial savings received are not passed to the consumer and stays right in the OD's greedy pocket. Just ask your dispensers.
And it looks as though the fight for survival has just begun - its much to early to declare the winner.
By deregulating, the public will eventually understand that there are distinct differences in education and expertise. They will no longer walk into a store and assume everyone is the same. That is happening with the Great Glasses stores. You try them once and many (not all) are coming back now for proper eyecare.
Girl, 9, saved by optician after doctors fail to spot plum-sized brain tumour SIX times
That's kinda neat. It seems the optician used an ophthalmoscope to view the nerve.
It's notable that this article is from the UK. I think UK opticians/optometrists are much closer in scope than here in Canada.
Ophthalmic Optician (Optometrist) in England is the same as an Optometrist. I suspect the article is reflecting what you and I would call an Optometrist. Dispensing Opticians in England and Canada are similar.
Optometrists in the UK are often called ophthalmic (not dispensing) opticians. It was an optometrist that did the exam.
Eyelogic applauds changes..
Eyelogic will benefit significantly from opticians (or any optical store technician) refracting, and it did not take them long to publicly support these changes. I wonder what they think of opticians being de-regulated.
Big business is behind this backroom political deal. Follow the money...
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/mar...pendent-sight/
CALGARY, (Didn't Coastal do a major promotion in Calgary recently giving away 500 pairs of free glasses...)Mar 22, 2010 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) ----Trading Symbol: EYE.A (TSX-V)
Eyelogic Systems Inc. congratulates the Government of British Columbia for being the first jurisdiction in North America to allow independent sight testing by licensed Opticians. The B.C. Ministry of Health Services announced on March 19, 2010 that effective May 1, 2010, Opticians in British Columbia will be allowed to perform independent sight tests without the need for review by a medical doctor.
"Modern consumers want to make their own choices when it comes to their health and the health of their families," says Mark McDonald, President of Eyelogic. "This new regulation will allow patients to make an informed decision between a comprehensive eye exam and a sight test, after being informed about the differences."
The decision comes from a lengthy consultation process beginning in 1998 when Eyelogic installed the first Eyelogic System in BC. Since that time, over one hundred BC Opticians have installed Eyelogic's technology to offer their customers better convenience and access.
"We look forward to working with more Opticians across British Columbia as sight testing becomes an increasingly important aspect of their scope of practice," says Mark. "As the leading automated refraction provider in Canada, we believe Opticians and their customers will benefit from this decision."
Eyelogic Systems Inc. is the market leader in automated sight testing systems. The Eyelogic System, developed by Calgary ophthalmologist Dr. Alan Dyer, is a highly accurate and efficient method to determine a person's eyewear needs. The technology has been in use for over 14 years in Provinces throughout Canada and around the world.
It is interesting that even with their press releases, EyeLogic shares have no volume and there does not seem to be any change in the price in days ? Does anyone follow this ?
I would have thought that Coastal Contacts shares would benefit from this BC regulatory change too , the same as one might expect of Eyelogic shares .
In the US it is the AOA (American Optometric Association) that advocates the online dispensing of eye wear. Of course every OD I know of hates what has happened to contact lenses but guess they assume this time around things will be different with eye wear.:hammer:
Don't worry without an independent OD and Opt selling eye wear online would not work very well after all someone needs to sell this stuff at inflated prices in order for their to be value in the online eye wear. I wonder when the OD's and Opt in BC will start putting the value in the sight test / eye exam and selling the materials for next to nothing?
Where do you get this information from?, might I ask?
A press release:
http://www.optiboard.com/forums/show...tions-for-ECPs
Interesting read.
For a few years now, we have had a website for our practice which allows patients to refill their CL Rxs for up to a year online. Some patients feel it is more convenient than the traditional method of calling the office.
I've never thought of offering spectacles this way, although I could see it happening. We have all of the patients measurements. We might even have a photo of the patient on our computers that we can super-impose a frame over. And then make the patient come in to pick them up for final fitting.
I'm not saying I love the idea, but I can see it coming. If we don't do it, someone is going to do it to us and our patients.
The BC Association of Optometrists has been fighting deregulation of eyecare for 10 years or more. The BC provincial governement has been less than reasonable over the years.
As an optometrist, really don't have a big problem with sight-testing as long as patients receive periodic eye health exams. Sight-testing has been a reality since I started practicing 7 years ago. In fact, the local sight-tester and her mother are patients of mine.
The threat to eye care is non-regulated dispensing of eyeglasses and CLs. This inevitable phenomen will have a large inpact over the next few years. ODs and opticians will be impacted...especially those already catering to those customers who value low price over quality. I could easily make a very healthy income without my dispensary just with exams...I have a heavy medical componant to my base. I might say phuck it and do just that.
Everyone is still in shock; however the times are changing. Those that keep pace and embrace change will survive. Although this company is growing rapidly and expanding their market share, they will never meet critical mass.
There will always be patients/customers that prefer to be serviced and shop in person - with this comes an increased price which many will happily oblige.
Essilor is a huge contributor to the AOA. Essilor is already poised for selling internet glasses, but has to spin it that somehow this is a good thing for their customers while at the same time selling directly to the consumer. Once a client goes online to buy eyewear, there will be many online vendors and prices to choose from - they don't care as long as they end up with an Essilor lens in the end.
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