Confederation affirms cataract referral duty

Additional guidance on referring patients for cataract surgery has been issued by the Optical Confederation to ensure the maximum number of patients are considered for treatment.

Following last week's alarm over blanket visual acuity thresholds (News 17.08.12) the Confederation issued a supplement saying clinicians and practices had a professional duty to regard the circumstances of individual patients.

Practitioners were told it would not be sensible to refer a patient who was 'obviously outside locally agreed referral guidelines' unless there was an exceptional reason for intervention, but recommended to refer on the basis of 'functionality and impairment to tasks of daily living' and 'the patient's fitness and willingness for surgery'.