Practice standards for optometry and optometric practice accreditation.
BACKGROUND: To assist optometrists to deliver care more efficiently and effectively, in 1995 Optometrists Association Australia decided to develop standards that would assist optometrists in better managing their practices. Existing practice management standards for health professionals were thought to be either not specific enough for optometric practice or to have shortcomings in the context of optometric practice in Australia. METHODS: Following a literature search, material previously developed by Optometrists Association Australia to assist practitioners with management of their practices and standards from other professions were used to assist with the development of a draft set of standards for optometric practices in Australia. Successive drafts were circulated for comment to optometrists in practice, non-optometrists with experience in the development of practice standards for other health professions and to Australian General Practice Accreditation Limited. The comments were used to refine the standards and the accreditation guidelines to their final form. RESULTS: Optometric Practice Standards suitable for use in a practice accreditation program were developed. The standards comprise seven sections--Practice administration, Quality assurance, Rights and needs of the patient, Practice services, Practice facilities, Communication and Patient records. These sections are divided into criteria that provide the detail of the requirements of the standard. Indicators describing how criteria can be assessed accompany the criteria.