Abstract
This paper presents the findings of a study to determine optometrists’ opinions on the presentation of ocular pathology and ametropia in patients wearing ready-made reading spectacles. Ninety-seven optometrists completed a questionnaire pertaining to ametropia and ocular diseases among these patients. The questionnaire contained information regarding patient demographics, ocular pathology, ocular ametropia and the regulatory and public health aspects of ready-made readers.Ninety-five percent of respondents stated that they had seen patients with ready-made readers in their practice and 62% of these stated that they had found the presence of ocular pathology in these patients. The pathologies most commonly reported as seen by practitioners were dry eye (86% of practitioners), cataracts (80%) and diabetic retinopathy (54%). In addition, 39% of practitioners reported seeing patients with anisometropia. The majority of practitioners (71%) stated that they sold ready-made readers in their practice. Sixty-three percentof practitioners indicated that they would be prepared to offer a service whereby a reduced consultation fee and a pair of ready-made readers could be incorporated into an indigent “package”. An overwhelming 88% of the practitioners felt that the sale of ready-made readers should be more regulated and 74% of practitioners felt that the Professional Board for Optometry and Dispensing Opticians should be responsible for monitoring their sale. The research suggests that wearers of ready-made readers should be screened for ocular pathology, reduced visual acuity and amblyopia. Current regulations should be tightened and a public awareness education campaign should be initiated. The use of ready-made reading spectacles, in deference to an eye examination by an optometrist, appears to be largely as a result of the perceived costs of pri-vate practice combined with ignorance and apathy
Highlights
IntroductionThe Professional Board for Optometry and Dispensing Opticians (PBODO) of the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has for some time monitored the provision of ready-made readers
This study originated when the first author examined a patient who had been referred for an eye screening by the local Traffic Department after having failed the standard driver’s vision test
The results show that the majority of patients attending the optometric practices had significant refractive errors and almost 40% of respondents found significant anisometropia in patients wearing these readers
Summary
The Professional Board for Optometry and Dispensing Opticians (PBODO) of the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has for some time monitored the provision of ready-made readers This culminated in the promulgation of regulations in the Government Gazette[1] regarding the sale of ready-made reading spectacles in September 2006. These regulations require that these spectacles may not exceed the power range of 1-3 D, are moulded lenses of equal powers in the right and left eye and be accompanied by a warning that: “Diseases causing blindness can only be detected by having a regular, professional eye examination. These reading glasses are only for short term use by persons over the age of 40 years and are not suitable for driving purposes.”[1]
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