You can’t buck the market as they say in business but can you choose which market you want to be in?
Whether you consider yourself a clinician or a retailer the Mecs vs Specs Question Time at Optrafair provided a few pointers. The choice of acronym (In Focus) was a minor victory given it’s the latest in a long line of terms which mean carrying out work currently done in hospitals.
Minor Eye Conditions Services (Mecs) has established itself among the terms of choice for those Enhanced Optical Services many practices offer to deliver shared care as part of Pathways to Community Services within the secondary sector.
From the discussions I have been party to, and that’s a lot, pretty much everyone agrees optometry is capable of carrying out minor procedures and post-op follow up at a reduced cost to the NHS and at the greater convenience of patients.
Why we are not doing it is moot. It’s popular in optics to say optometry isn’t doing more Mecs because of the dog in the manger attitude of ophthalmologists or the byzantine nature of NHS commissioning. However, there also the small matter that many optometrists are not accredited to carry out the work.
Optrafair also marked the signing of an agreement between the LOC Support Unit and Newmedica to create the framework for such work. This is significant and has largely been made possible because of Specsavers’ investment in ophthalmology provider Newmedica. The latest GOS fees freeze proves beyond doubt that optic’s future is in its own hands.
I would suggest the agreement came about through a sense of frustration from the lack of leadership and direction from both the profession and the NHS. The market is deciding.
By the way the debate ended as expected: the future will be Mecs and Specs so don’t choose a market – you are in both.