Individual Canadian patients have been held hostage for too long by optometrists. Optometrists typically offer access to checkups for conditions like glaucoma, cataracts and macular degeneration. But their convenience doesn’t come at the price of patient rights.
Optometrists should be accountable to patients, not the government.
Optometrists should be accountable to patients, not the government. They provide regular doctor-patient contacts, along with services that are less expensive than those rendered by a general practitioner. Optometrists also coordinate the health services of their patients, providing them with access to individuals with specific, specialized medical needs, and form consultations with patients to deal with chronic conditions.
But the optometrists’ ultimate power is in their ability to ban or restrict what patients can see, buy or do. They issue long lists of “sick eye-restricting eyewear,” along with the cost of the eyewear. When a patient pays for items on the list, the optometrist holds the patient hostage, saying, “No, I won’t let you see that doctor you want.”
The Optometrists’ College of Ontario (OCO) charges optometrists $5,000 for consultations, plus $3,000 for a medical certification. In addition, the college allows optometrists to acquire indemnity insurance for up to $50,000, so it will be every patient’s burden to find their own coverage if the optometrist can’t find coverage on their own. There is no right for patients to expect fair treatment.
If you have eye conditions like glaucoma or macular degeneration, and optometrists insist you need expensive, specialized eyewear, you could be locked into an expensive, caustic health care system – one that will be ultimately paid for by you.
Instead, optometrists should be accountable to patients, not the government. Optometrists should be accountable to patients, not the government. They provide regular doctor-patient contacts, along with services that are less expensive than those rendered by a general practitioner. Optometrists also coordinate the health services of their patients, providing them with access to individuals with specific, specialized medical needs, and form consultations with patients to deal with chronic conditions.
OPP Deputy Commissioner Norm Rhodes said, “The OPD is frustrated with this irrational and unwarranted cap. We are concerned for both our patients and optometrists. We urge the OCOP to immediately rescind their restriction, and provide optometrists with a fair evaluation of its cost-effectiveness.”
According to the OPP, Canadians are paying approximately $7 billion every year for eyewear that could have been provided by optometrists. Optometrists should be offering their service without receiving profit, just like general practitioners.
Optometrists should be compensated fairly and justly. Optometrists should be accountable to patients, not the government.
Ontario’s optometrists should be remunerated for their services, just like other health professionals.
Ontario’s ophthalmologists should be investigated to find out what their wages are, just like optometrists. The Ontario ombudsman should investigate whether optometrists have treated patients unfairly, just like ophthalmologists.
A wise health care system would be fair, simple and reliable. It should provide holistic health care to all patients, instead of forcing them to pay out of pocket for costly, indirect, duplicative and out-of-date services.
Ontario’s optometrists should be remunerated fairly and justly. Optometrists should be accountable to patients, not the government.
This is a healthcare issue that affects all Ontario residents. Only a fair, transparent, trustworthy and impartial government health care system will provide for quality health care.
Dr. Lisa Pham is a doctor of ophthalmology at H.I.S. Eye Research Institute. She practices in Toronto and Odessa, OH.