SOCIAL

  the way i see it

Spinning and Grinning

Optometry is more than just refraction

Marc R. Bloomenstein, O.D., F.A.A.O.

Have you ever had one of those moments in which you just stop (and I don’t mean “Hammer Time”) and think, “Wow, when did this change?” Most of us can look in our closets and see remnants of what we once thought was cool and realize that those fashions have moved on and are now, well, a thing of the past.

The same can be said of our profession. My optometry peeps, I am here today to say that the days of spinning and grinning for a living are becoming as extinct as the rotary phone.

The thought hit me one day when I walked into the Urban Outfitters on Broadway in the lovely city of New York, home of the best Halal ever (on 6th Ave.) and now, corrective glasses without a doctor’s prescription. That’s right; Urban Outfitters was selling glasses without a script! I was somewhat flummoxed by this notion until I realized that, frankly, we don’t need the refractions.

Don’t put the page down; hear me — or should I say, read me? — out.

The old ways

For years, going to the optometrist was a singular event that involved formulating a prescription based on dials of sphere and cylinder. Vision insurances were established so that people could visit these specialists and get the little square of paper with all the numbers and purchase glasses at a discounted rate.

Those days also were filled with non-contact tonometry neck injuries, Harry Potter-esque wands with small white dots at the ends designed to establish a visual field and a little something called “leaching.” Moreover, we had to wait until Saturday to watch any cartoons, a truck drove by and left milk at the door, and the optometrist was the only vendor to sell prescription glasses. Believe it or not, those times were not that long ago. Trust me; pull out your smartphone and “Google” it.

Tides of change

Fortunately, advancements in technology and the wisdom of the leaders in our profession were able to help mold us into the medical eyecare specialists we are today. Consequently, the things that we held dear and historic have become commonplace and somewhat easily replaced.

For example, we can now use an automated visual field, antibiotics and anti-virals to cure ocular infections, and, most importantly, we have automated wavefront analyzers that provide refractions within a tenth of a diopter in seconds.

However, what cannot be replaced are your diagnostic abilities and medical acumen. Yes, the refraction is necessary to establish change in the visual pathways and is an important aspect of the comprehensive evaluation. But, optometry is not defined by this measurement.

My outrage at the Urban Outfitters for providing prescription glasses was easily assuaged when I realized that optometry is so much more than just providing refractions. In fact, I have technicians who do most of my refractions, enabling me to spend more time evaluating the ocular health of and dispensing sage medical advice to my patients. Remember, we are doctors of the eye, not masters of the phoropter. OM

DR. BLOOMENSTEIN CURRENTLY PRACTICES AT SCHWARTZ LASER EYE CENTER IN SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. HE IS A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE OPTOMETRIC COUNCIL ON REFRACTIVE TECHNOLOGY. E-MAIL HIM AT MBLOOMESTEIN@GMAIL.COM.