Practitioners’ opinions on the presentation of ocular pathology and ametropia in patients wearing ready-made reading spectacles

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

Keywords

• Ametropia
• anisometropia
• cataract
• diabetic retinopathy
• glaucoma
• hypertensive retinopathy
• ocular pathology
• presbyopia
• ready-made readers.