Good vision of the future for eye specialists

OptometryStringent certification puts qualified professionals in high demand

According to recent statistics from the World Health Organisation, 80 per cent of global blindness is avoidable. Of all the factors that can contribute to blindness, the most common is refractive error - changes in the focusing power of the eyes.

In pursuit of better vision, people visit their high-street opticians. But it is not the optician who evaluates their vision. Eye testing is done by an optometrist - a specialist trained to assess eyesight, prescribe corrective eyewear and, where necessary, run further diagnostic tests to determine overall ocular health. The optician then advises on frames for glasses and care of eyewear, based on the optometrist's recommendations.

'Optometry grew out of the gap between opticians and eye doctors,' said Henry Chan Ho-lung, associate professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University's School of Optometry. 'Opticians do not know what happened to the eye and eye doctors deal with diseases of the eye. Optometry developed between the two.'

Before 1994 there was no regulation of optometry in Hong Kong. To help streamline the situation and make it easier for the public to understand, the government set out a four-part system, clearly delineating the qualifications and experience needed for each sector.

Part-one optometrists have full-time formal university training from a recognised institution. They are the most highly qualified in their field, and are licensed to perform all routine and advanced tests. Part-two optometrists are usually trained to a lower level, such as higher certification, and they can only perform basic diagnostic tests. Part-three and part-four optometrists have no academic training and can only measure refractive errors and prescribe eyewear.