Bill Harvey: The US-UK divide

All too often it is assumed that the States leads the way and the UK follows. This has certainly been the case in the last few decades regarding the introduction of retinal photography, firstly analogue then digital, and the use of OCT in optometric practice.

US optometrists were using OCT when many in the UK still considered the technique as ‘ophthalmology only.’ Indeed the very term ‘optometry’ was a US import to replace the description of ‘ophthalmic optician’ still used by some of our elderly patients. This pattern has not always been the model, however.

Firstly, we should never forget the fact that US optometry often cites the legal access to drugs such as mydriatics, topical anaesthetics and cycloplegics in the UK as an early source inspiration for US optometrists to establish their profession, often against strong resistance from US ophthalmology.