A claim that optometrists are making too many unnecessary referrals to doctors has sparked reaction from throughout the eye care community.
In an opinion article published by BMJ last week, ophthalmologist Michael Clarke of Newcastle University expressed his belief that ‘the NHS must find a solution to the waste generated by unnecessary referrals from unregulated, scattergun screening of patients attending for NHS sight tests’. Eye healthcare was described as ‘bad medicine’.
Clarke said ophthalmology received more NHS outpatient referrals than any other specialty apart from trauma and orthopaedics, claiming the Opticians Act was being interpreted to mean an optometrist had a responsibility to refer any patient with an ocular abnormality.
He said although patients stood to benefit from the early detection of eye conditions, that there ‘were many false positive referrals’ – amounting to 30 per cent of all new ophthalmology referrals in latest studies.
The criticism drew reaction from The College of Optometrists, The Royal College of Ophthalmologists, Association of Optometrists and Association for Independent Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians.
New College president David Parkins said: ‘The College of Optometrists does not support Mr Clarke’s personal view and we welcome the response from the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.’
Clarke had noted that optometrists themselves had little to gain in the current system, saying it made little sense for practitioners to buy expensive equipment for additional testing while the sight test fee had been unchanged for some years. He added that many ophthalmologists doubted whether the enhanced services solutions set up by new Eye Health Networks would actually save money.
Parkins added: ‘With their specialist training and equipment, optometrists are the best placed primary care professionals to triage patients. Mr Clarke will not see the millions of patients who get the help and assurance they need without being referred.’
See further reaction here.