Well DrK you are in the Canadian forum... also I'd take Canada's healthcare system over the USA's any day of the week, even though my eye exams are no longer covered. By the way, this is the second time I've seen you assume a gender for someone you're talking to on the board, and the second time I've seen you guess wrong. I'm a gent, and I don't understand your problem with analogies. Maybe because you don't seem to understand them? You talk about referring someone to a chiropractor. As far as I remember subluxation theory has been discredited and chiropractors pose as real medical professionals - any good they do can probably be chalked up to placebo effect. You're comparing that to a sight test that is clearly labelled as a non-medical exam, the recipient has to sign a paper saying they understand this, and using theory that hasn't been discredited (I think guys like Mike.Elmes stand a pretty good chance of producing a working pair of glasses using these sight tests because THEY WORK). Most importantly, the Chiro might cause harm or let something go undiagnosed while posing as a medical professional. The glasses aren't gonna hurt anyone, and the client understands that they aren't receiving medical care. Apples and oranges, your analogy doesn't work/is misleading/etc. I guess you don't have to understand logic or be able to read critically to become an OD in Ohio.
I know good OD's, I don't question the value of the role. But if it's just refracting then OD's days are numbered. Evolve or die! Technology is going to get better, not worse, and people DO NOT NEED A COMPREHENSIVE EYE EXAM TO GET GLASSES (they need it for other reasons). I've seen bad OD's refuse to give PD's for fear of onliners and prescribe 1.67 for patients with less than -3 myopia OU. You think the fact that they sell those pricey lenses to the patient didn't influence the decision to "prescribe" them? Don't you think the fact that it comes from a doctor makes the patient think they "need" 1.67 when they definitely do not? A system where a medical doctor also sells what they prescribe is open to abuse, and I've seen it abused. The exam costs $100+ in most offices I've seen, and I've seen sight testing offered free. If the recipient of a sight test has to sign a paper saying they understand this isn't a medical exam, due diligence has been done. They know they aren't seeing a doctor, and they know that they aren't adding hundreds of dollars to the cost of getting their family the glasses they need (they don't need an eye exam every single year, and can't afford it!). I don't think you have legitimate medical concerns about this, I think your concerns are financial. In which case welcome to the world of business (a place where doctors shouldn't be in the first place, not your fault just a stupid system). If over the counter readers are OK, even though they are mostly for people in an age range where it's even more important to get an eye exam, then other spectacles should be too. Get over it - it's happening.
.....because it's current year, right?
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