Bill Harvey: Rage against the machine

I was just finishing the final points of a lecture to give at this year’s European Academy of Optometry and Optics (EAOO) meeting at the weekend when news hit about a global cyber-attack affecting operating systems in 42 countries worldwide. This included our own NHS, with many hospitals and clinical services reduced to using paper-based systems and cancelling sometimes vital services.

The irony of this situation was that a key theme running throughout this increasingly important conference has been the evolution of technology in eye care. Lectures have included the development of amblyopia management strategies in paediatric optometry, the use of apps and online resources in education and the role of electronic apps in triage decision-making and diagnosis. As long as there is care with regulation of the use of those technologies that exert medical influence directly, I cannot see why we should not welcome the flexibility, adaptability, portability and, yes, security offered by such improved technology.