Deregulation puts eye health at risk, says WCO

The World Council of Optometry (WCO) has expressed serious concern about deregulation of the optical market due to take effect in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) this week.

The new regulations remove restrictions that permit only optometrists, opticians or those supervised by them, to dispense spectacles or contact lenses, and allow online sales without an eye examination or an optometrist's prescription or specification (News 26.03.10).

The WCO, whose secretariat is hosted by the College of Optometrists, has written to the BC Premier and health minister saying that the changes 'fundamentally undermine the existing high standards of practice and public protection by optometrists'.