Well, it took a few years of work, and I was one of the 12 Canadian Glaucoma specialists involved in this drawn out process. This was an attempt by the Canadian Glaucoma Society to propose guidelines for collaborate care with Optometrists in the management of glaucoma patients
Read MoreOn December 9, 2010, the Office of Administrative Law approved California Code of Regulation (CCR) Section 1571, Requirements for Glaucoma Certification. In surmmary, by Jan 8, 2011 the Board of Optometry will have new avenues to certify optometrists across the state of California for glaucoma care.
Ever since AB 949 was approved in 1997 or so, glaucoma care has been constrained by an complex set of requirements and processes that led only 250 of the state’s optometrists to being certified, less than 10% of the state’s number of optometrists. The new SB 1406 law that is the basis of the new regulations will vastly streamline this process and thus will expand the number of optometrists who can become certified to manage glaucoma.
There is a strong foundation for optometry and ophthalmology collaboration in the California and it is unlikely that this will change dramatically with the new regulations.
What is best for our patients needs to be our guide with respect to managing patients with glaucoma. What should this model look like? Is it a collaborative model between Optometrists and Ophthalmologists or competitive? When should Optometrists check with Comprehensive Ophthalmologists or Glaucoma specialized ophthalmologists when caring for glaucoma patients?
Read MorePlease visit the British Columbia Association of Optometrists website to read a very important posting regarding new regulations set to be implemented in our province that will serve to blind our population by ignorance. The change in the Health Professions Act will permit opticians to dispense glasses or contact lenses without the need for anything more than computerized eyesight testing to estimate the required strength. By no longer requiring a proper examination by an Optometrist or Ophthalmologist, the people of our province will no longer be screened for asymptomatic eye diseases like glaucoma, retinal tears, and other conditions that will lead to permanent visual loss if not found and treated early.
Read MoreOn Sunday 11Apr2010 I had the opportunity of speaking with a fairly large gathering of Optometrists from across British Columbia at a conference they were holding at the UBC Eye Care Centre. I was invited to talk about how best to work together in caring for patients with glaucoma as well as an update on my practice. This was an exciting opportunity given my involvement with this blog that Dr Hom and I started that deals with that very subject, as well as my work on the Canadian Glaucoma Society's (CGS) subcommittee on Inter-professional care of patients with glaucoma.
Read MoreIn the last fifteen or twenty years, advanced technology to assess the integrity of the retina and optic nerve head has literally transformed the ability of the optometrist to manage many chronic eye conditions at a level never before. Optometrists who have the inclination, interest and education can now equal the detection of many, if not all, ophthalmologists for many of these conditions.
Read MoreI started this site in 2009 to write about Glaucoma, Health IT (EMR, EHR), Technology and to host my podcast series "Talking About Glaucoma." There is a shortcut to this blog to make it easier to find http://iguy.tv/blog.
I am a glaucoma sub-specialized Ophthalmologist and have a full time clinical practice at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic of the Geisel School of Medicine in Hanover, NH. I have a longtime interest in the use of technology to help in medical care as well as in Education. In addition, I was a very early adopter and developer of Electronic Medical Record systems who has lectured internationally on the topic of making the transition to EMRs in daily practice.
Copyright © 2009-2018, Robert M Schertzer, MD, MEd, FRCSC. All rights reserved.
