High street optical practices will need to give the public stronger reasons to enter its premises in the future, a £100,000 Foresight Project by optical bodies underlined this week.
Communication technology such as app-based disease monitoring was expected to further empower patients about their health.
Optical retailers would also need to adapt to growth within e-commerce, 3D printing and online refraction, while niche future opportunities might include contact lenses to stem myopia progression and gaming technology for amblyopia correction.
Alan Tinger (pictured right), chairman of the Foresight Project, said: ‘This report is only the start. It can only move from being a document of interest to be of serious benefit if it is widely read and debated by all parts of the sector including educators, regulators and beyond with a view to the future. What it will lead to is for readers and debaters to work on - knowledge is power.’
Foresight Project, addressing the potential impact of technology on the UK optical sector to 2030, was launched during an event in central London this week. It was commissioned by The Optical Confederation and The College of Optometrists and principally funded by The Central Optical Fund.
The ceremony included an address by MP Alistair Burt (left), the minister of state for community and social care at the Department of Health, who has responsibility for the optical sector.
‘The report provides valuable food for thought for all those interested in the future of eye health services in the UK, and sets out the challenges and opportunities generated by new technology in a rapidly changing world,’ Burt said.
The full report can be viewed at here.