Ohio Opticianry independence at risk

[CNG]

I think you can view it differently.

1. What you are seeing is the end result of anti opticianry legislation blocking efforts by optometry (30 yes or so) initially and later joined by the big boxes. Big areas of population (The east coast ) meant licensure requirement for opticianry. Rural or small cities no licensure (Midwest and some west coat states). Licensure protects the public because opticianry still exist. Rural and small areas where the kingdoms of optometry. Meanwhile small cities became big and because the lack of independent opticians opticianry is simply dead and workers to ods and big boxes but are simply that...workers not owners. If something is not right in dispensing the od will be involve.

2. The optical pie went three ways all over the US . When optometry blocked opticianry licensing, the pie split between optometrist and to some degree big boxes.It is very rare to see independent opticians in non licensed states. Optometry has almost full ownership and control. Optometry does not like to eat redo so to some extend their glasses are made correctly.

3. Opticianry is barely alive in licensed states. Stagnation of scope of practice limits opticians to eyeglasses. States that are strong have contact lens scope of practice ( limited) but still is a health issue. Contacts will continue to save the day for licenswd opticians. Not because we fit them but because we can. The day contacts become otc then opticianry will have no argument to be licensed.

4. The coming of telemedicine will be to some extend the extra nail in optometry couffin. I doubt that it will help opticianry be reborn in the non licensed states or improve the status of real ownership and independence of licensed opticians. It will certainly create an over abundance of optometrist. Telemedicine is done by ophthalmology and it will be foolish for optometrist to not embrace it with technology on the side of telemedicine. They can legislate telemedicine by optometrist but very hard for ods to legislate telemedicine by ophthalmology.

5. As a business owner in my clinic which uses ods and one omd I can tell you that income for me has dropped in the dispensing area. The even out was the technical component of many tests that the ods and omd uses. There is simply no way for recent graduates od or omds to survive billing medical unless they do surgery. The cost of equipment alone is a killer it takes more than 5 years to recoup the investment and at that point I will be out.if optometry is to really thrive it has to make the jump into surgery. Surgery by optometrist is not far fetch.

Sorry but everything boils down to ownership. Opticianry is a slaved profession in non licensed states. Barely in licensed states. Someone has to be responsible for the error. Big boxes simply eat the redo or give the money back.

Like I said poorly made eyeglass may improve vision halfway but not all the way. This approximation is acceptable to the public. The public has to understand that the PD is the only measurement that online can request them to take because the rest require the frame to be positioned for measurements. Now if the online send the frame they might get it right. But then again who verifies that it is correct?

[obxeyeguy]

CNG, According to the post and link supplied by wmcdonald, (whose efforts I admire) :

The largest part of US citizens are purchasing their glasses in states that require no licensing. How do you explain that ?

I'll play. First, there are more states that don't require a license then ones that do. (29 to 21, I believe) Second, the states that do require a license are heavy on the coast areas, east and west, and do have many of the larger population cities, but also the larger concentration of millennials. That is the most difficult group, raised in a time to accept mediocrity, everything is disposable, high expectations, but seems to accept less. Also the most tech savvy, if you can't do it on your phone, they don't need it. Most likely the group pushing the Internet purchases, OK is fine with them, they accept that. Buy a 60" TV for a grand, but it's only 1080, not 4k, toss it and get a newer one. Eyewear the same, risk vs. reward. We quote them stupid prices, and dazzle them with product names they dont care about unless the speak droid, and wonder why they walk. I see OK, not great, repeat until happy, don't need advice or seek it other then Google or bing, all they need to click, order, and pay.

[CNG]

You are essentially right. Old Big cities where the majority of the population lives require a license. The original question of this post was the combination of optometry boards with opticianry. Optometry is and will never be our allied so this thing of egging optician to help the separation of boards coming from an optomerists is because it helps in preserving the status q in Ohio Optometrists. It kills them that the board will made of 2 Ods, 2 Opticians 1 OMD and another profession. Learn to read in between the lines. There is nothing honorable in this request.

[Chris Ryser]

Optometry is and will never be our allied so this thing of egging optician to help the separation of boards coming from an optomerists is because it helps in preserving the status q in Ohio Optometrists. It kills them that the board will made of 2 Ods, 2 Opticians 1 OMD and another profession. Learn to read in between the lines. There is nothing honorable in this request.

I see that you are accusing the optometrist's, of having come up with another nasty trick to side track dispensing opticians.

That is not a new idea, it has been tried many times before in the battle of retailing eyeglasses.

The age old differences between Opticians and Optometrists this time for the bread and butter market should be overlooked.

To me it looks more like a political move to deregulate the market in the optical retail field, as it has happened already in several of the Canadian Provinces, very silently and without fuss.

When the worlds two largest optical manufacturing corporations, both with very deep pockets and the wide connections they have, did enter the optical retail market, one should expect that they want to win.