Digital health care in optometry

Optometry has been skeptical of digital eye care models that have burst onto the scene during the past decade. 

 Optometry has been skeptical of digital eye care models that have burst onto. This skepticism, rooted in the reality that online spectacle and contact lens sellers ate into the retail revenues of optometric practices, may indeed be justified for technology services offering digital eye care such as online refractions.

And it may be reinforced by concerns that such eye care services are fundamentally unable to match the quality of in-person interaction, examination, and evaluation.

However, digital health care models present an opportunity to increase the reach and services of a practice in a way that some digital eye care models have not.

By viewing digital health care as a series of adjunctive tools that supplement—rather than replace—a clinician’s expertise, optometrists might reframe their thinking of digital health care as a structure to be embraced instead of a threat to be mitigated.

Further, by adopting digital health care models as part of a practice paradigm, optometrists can increase their reputation in their local market, differentiate themselves from the competition, and provide a uniquely high level of care—all without relying on heavy capital investments that could take years to recoup.

Embracing digital health care may be especially effective in caring for patients with potentially vision-threatening retinal disease.

HEALTH ZONE