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Change in the optometric profession is inevitable. Persuasive economic factors will play a great role in shaping the future of optometry and ophthalmology. Optometry is in a position now and into the future to leverage its great strengths to benefit the public in a cost conscious manner.
All health professions have developed a national program of competence assessment to address the specific issue of "entry-level practice." This is also true in optometry through the 3-Part examinations of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry. These examinations test the cognitive (knowledge) skills necessary to be fit to practice and the communication, affective and psychomotor skills that are required to apply the underlying knowledge in the solution of patient problems. The scope of the National Board examinations and how they change to keep pace with the expansion and the scope of practice, demonstrates that entry-level is a dynamic concept.
The risks of acquisition of infectious diseases including the human immunodeficiency virus--1 (HIV) to practitioners and patients in the practice of optometry is discussed. Measures that reduce the risk of contracting or transmitting HIV and other infectious diseases in optometry are presented. Effective disinfection including that for HIV are discussed.
The optometry in physical examinations is conducted manually at present and this method is neither precise nor efficient. After studying the standard logarithmic visual acuity charts which is popular in our country, we have designed an optometry system based on Client/Server Computing Mode. The system's architecture and its working principle are also presented in the article.
With the rapid development of modern ophthalmology and optometry, people put in higher claim for visual quality. However, the application and penetration of the optometry knowledge and research achievement in every domain of ophthalmology are bound to affect the elevation of visual quality, which is one of the highlights our future work.
This study tested the effect of a visually directed intervention program on changes in standardized test results of intelligence quotient and achievement during kindergarten. Two groups of 19 kindergarten children from equivalent schools were matched for intelligence quotient, age, and sex. Fall and Spring measurements were made in the following areas: intelligence quotient, academic achievement tests, and paper and pencil perceptual tests. A visually based intervention program involving both optometry and education was provided for the experimental group. Kindergarten children in the experimental group who received the visually directed optometry and education intervention program showed significant differences in the rate of change in four of the eight tested areas when matched to the control group.
Today's optometry students and practitioners alike are often unaware of the richness of optometric history. The use of ophthalmic pharmaceutical agents and the designation of primary care practitioners are often taken for granted. This article utilizes some of the early research conducted by Harrington, Hofsteter, Prentice, Hirsch, Wick, Fitch, and Gregg, and describes the advent of drug legislation and the expanded role of optometry within the health care system.
Increasing demands for vision care for the elderly will result in increasing needs for specialty skills in optometry. Examples of such skills include management of degenerative eye disease, rehabilitation of impaired visual functions, assessment of psychosocial dysfunction, and interdisciplinary health team participation. This article shows how a geriatric optometry residency differs from the general optometric curriculum, and from other types of residencies, in preparing the optometrist to meet the special needs of the geriatric population.
This paper presents some parallels between the issues relating to our young population's difficulty in vision performance facing optometry in 1976 and medical eye care in the late 1800's. Three specific elements are identified and discussed: namely, (1) difference in practice of optometry and our organizational efforts; (2) the lack of agreed-upon clinical systems; and (3) the lack of availability of care. Suggestion for consideration are presented.
The following article describes the program for the study of optometry to begin at Israel's Tel Aviv University in the 1987/1988 academic year. Details of the proposed structure, facilities and curriculum are presented. In addition, background is provided as to the current vision care system in Israel, and how the absence of a school of optometry has influenced its condition.
A recent trend has arisen that calls for the joint practice of optometry and ophthalmology. The optometrist provides expertise in the optical management of ocular disorders. This trend is advantageous to the patient that would normally be limited to ophthalmological eye care. There is a growing need for optometrists to practice in this manner; i.e., interprofessional optometry.
The authors express the opinion that optometry schools have obligations to the profession and the public which involve missions beyond their primary function of educating and training students. They identify those missions which they believe are highly important but only partially addressed. They are: clinical research; expansion of optometry's scientific base; specialized patient care; and education of practitioners. They offer explanations for lack of progress, but insist it is vital that these obligations be met by our schools, and offer suggestions toward this end.
Systemic hypertension is a major health problem in the United States. Almost 16 million people with this disease are estimated to be untreated or inadequately treated. Optometry graduates of the University of Alabama in Birmingham School of Optometry have always received clinical and didactic training in the routine assessment of blood pressure. This study reports the results of a survey of these graduates to determine the number who screened for high blood pressure following graduation, their criteria for referral, their management of hypertensive patients, and their patient characteristics. Over 90% of the optometrists surveyed screened for high blood pressure, and they screened 57% of their patients. Twenty percent of these patients were found to have high blood pressure. These results indicate that optometrists are an important and significant resource in the detection of hypertension in many high risk groups.
Since the passage in 1971 of the first statutory law specifically authorizing optometrist to utilize pharmaceutical agents in the practice of their profession, optometry's responsibility and relationship to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has been poorly defined. This paper describes the function of the Drug Enforcement Administration and proposes a strengthened optometric relationship with this important federal agency. Optometry's further development as a provider of primary eye and vision are services depends, in part, on this unique relationship.
BACKGROUND AND METHODS: Optometry has played a significant role in the USAF vision research program since the early 1960s. The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) sponsors active duty optometry officers for Ph.D. and masters programs in Physiological Optics at civilian universities. After training, they are assigned to research laboratories at Brooks AFB, TX, or Wright-Patterson AFB, OH. Senior research optometrists manage vision and medical research programs and have served on the staff of the United States Air Force (USAF) Surgeon General. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Research papers reporting on USAF vision research programs, especially those germane to improving aircrew combat effectiveness, have been published extensively by USAF optometrists in Air Force and joint services technical reports as well as the open literature. These programs include: refractive error trends, contact lenses, ophthalmic materials, night vision, aircraft transparency measurement, nuclear flashblindness, laser, and space flight. As long as vision remains the most important sensory input to the pilot, USAF optometrists will remain an integral part of the aerospace medical research team.
BACKGROUND: Promoting professional competence, providing quality care, and improving health care processes are issues of major importance in Air Force Optometry as well as the entire Air Force Medical Service. METHODS: Clinical Quality Management is the mechanism through which these issues are addressed. Without a Quality Management Program, accreditation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is impossible. RESULTS: The two main components of Clinical Quality Management; the credentials/privileging process and quality assessment and improvement, are presented to discuss how they are used in Air Force Optometry. CONCLUSION: Clinical Quality Management is not a perfect management method, but it does force professionals and organizations to constantly assess themselves in order to effect improvements.
BACKGROUND: Military optometry is experiencing changes at an unprecedented rate. Despite decreased staffing and budgets, the military must deal with more complicated deployment requirements as it takes on more humanitarian missions. New and emerging technologies, particularly automated information systems, will enhance its ability to meet these challenges. METHODS: Workgroups consisting of Army, Navy, and Air Force optometrists are developing operational strategies to meet future demands, employing 1) analysis to identify opportunities for business process improvement, 2) software prototyping to elicit and test automated system concepts and 3) functional economic analysis to evaluate the costs and benefits of automated information technologies. RESULTS: The workgroups have developed an operational concept that incorporates the development of a comprehensive Defense Vision Information System (DVIS). The DVIS is an automated information system that supports five general functional areas: 1) deployment readiness, 2) clinical examinations, 3) vision conservation (preventive medicine), 4) resource management, and 5) expert referencing. A full-scope DVIS will require integration with other military systems such as personnel, logistics, and existing hospital information systems. CONCLUSIONS: Technology will enable the military to expand the scope and nature of optometry services through automation. The ultimate goal of automation is to support providers through efficient clinical operation and quick access to quality information for decision making. Eye care providers and patients will benefit as we use technology to optimize quality and cost effectiveness in the wartime and peacetime delivery of primary eye care.
The Optometry Game is a computer simulation developed to aid students in practicing test selection and lens prescription skills. Features of the simulation include a game format, digitally reproduced voices and patient pictures, and the ability of the user to customize the game for a variety of applications. Twenty optometry students evaluated the game by playing a variety of simulated patients and found it to be potentially useful in various classroom learning environments.