• About
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Thursday, December 5, 2024
Newsletter
SUBSCRIBE
  • Latest News
  • All Sections
    • Ophthalmic insights
      • Policy & regulation
      • Company updates & acquisitions
      • Research
      • Clinical trials
      • Workforce
      • Product approvals
      • Conferences
      • Opinion
      • Indigenous eye health
      • Retail
    • Eye disease
      • Dry eye
      • Myopia
      • Cataract
      • Glaucoma
      • Macular disease – AMD
      • Diabetic eye disease
      • Inherited retinal disease
      • Corneal disease
      • Presbyopia
      • Eye infections
    • Ophthalmic Careers
      • New appointments
      • Industry profiles
      • Graduates
    • Ophthalmic organisations
      • Regulators
      • Optometry networks
      • Private ophthalmology clinics
      • Associations
      • Patient support bodies
      • Eye research institutions
      • Optometry schools
      • Optical Dispensing trainers
      • Medical schools
      • RANZCO
  • Features
    • Report
    • Soapbox
  • Ophthalmic education
    • CPD – Optometry
    • Optical Dispensing
    • Orthoptics Australia
    • Practice management
  • Products
    • Ophthalmic Treatments
      • Ophthalmic lenses
      • Lens treatments
      • Myopia interventions
      • Light-based therapy
      • Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS)
      • Gene therapy
      • Laser treatments
      • Supplements
      • Eyewear & frames
      • Behavioural optometry/vision training
      • Contact lenses
      • Anti-VEGF
      • Intraocular lenses (IOLs)
      • Pharmaceuticals & consumables
    • Ophthalmic equipment & diagnostics
      • Biometry – axial length
      • Perimetry & visual fields
      • OCT
      • Phoropter
      • Autorefractor
      • Tonometry
      • Topography
      • Multimodal imaging
      • Retinal imaging
      • Anterior segment imaging
      • Software & data management
      • Microscopes
      • Slit lamps
      • Lens edging
      • Stands, chairs and tables
      • Ultrasound
      • Dry eye diagnostics
      • Low vision aids
  • Research
  • Classifieds
No Results
View All Results
  • Latest News
  • All Sections
    • Ophthalmic insights
      • Policy & regulation
      • Company updates & acquisitions
      • Research
      • Clinical trials
      • Workforce
      • Product approvals
      • Conferences
      • Opinion
      • Indigenous eye health
      • Retail
    • Eye disease
      • Dry eye
      • Myopia
      • Cataract
      • Glaucoma
      • Macular disease – AMD
      • Diabetic eye disease
      • Inherited retinal disease
      • Corneal disease
      • Presbyopia
      • Eye infections
    • Ophthalmic Careers
      • New appointments
      • Industry profiles
      • Graduates
    • Ophthalmic organisations
      • Regulators
      • Optometry networks
      • Private ophthalmology clinics
      • Associations
      • Patient support bodies
      • Eye research institutions
      • Optometry schools
      • Optical Dispensing trainers
      • Medical schools
      • RANZCO
  • Features
    • Report
    • Soapbox
  • Ophthalmic education
    • CPD – Optometry
    • Optical Dispensing
    • Orthoptics Australia
    • Practice management
  • Products
    • Ophthalmic Treatments
      • Ophthalmic lenses
      • Lens treatments
      • Myopia interventions
      • Light-based therapy
      • Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS)
      • Gene therapy
      • Laser treatments
      • Supplements
      • Eyewear & frames
      • Behavioural optometry/vision training
      • Contact lenses
      • Anti-VEGF
      • Intraocular lenses (IOLs)
      • Pharmaceuticals & consumables
    • Ophthalmic equipment & diagnostics
      • Biometry – axial length
      • Perimetry & visual fields
      • OCT
      • Phoropter
      • Autorefractor
      • Tonometry
      • Topography
      • Multimodal imaging
      • Retinal imaging
      • Anterior segment imaging
      • Software & data management
      • Microscopes
      • Slit lamps
      • Lens edging
      • Stands, chairs and tables
      • Ultrasound
      • Dry eye diagnostics
      • Low vision aids
  • Research
  • Classifieds
No Results
View All Results
Home Ophthalmic organisations Associations

How Australian optometrists can expect to practise in 2040

by Myles Hume
May 28, 2024
in Associations, Local, News, Ophthalmic insights, Ophthalmic organisations, Policy & regulation, Workforce
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A
The way optometrists practise is constantly changing due to demographic, technology, economic, government and societal forces, OA says. Image: fizkes/Shutterstock.com

The way optometrists practise is constantly changing due to demographic, technology, economic, government and societal forces, OA says. Image: fizkes/Shutterstock.com

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

AI and real-time access to comprehensive eye health data, flexible working conditions, optometrists working as neurosensory specialists and alternative funding models to Medicare. These are some of the ways Optometry Australia (OA) envisages the profession to be working by 2040.

The organisation has launched its Refreshing Optometry 2040 report. It’s an update to its Optometry 2040 project released in 2018 that identified plausible, and the preferred, futures for optometry, optometrists and community eye health.

Skye Cappuccio. Image: Optometry Australia.

OA undertook the work after recognising some assumptions had progressed faster than expected, while others were slower or hadn’t budged at all. To reassess and refresh its scenarios, it enlisted experts Professor Niki Ellis and Ms Jane Palmer, of Niki Ellis and Associates, to lead the project, with futurist Professor Sohail Inayatullah reviewing at key points.

Practising as an optometrist in 2040

According to OA, in 2040, it’s hoped optometrists are an integral part of a multidisciplinary, collaborative health care system that provides patients with seamless access to services.

AI – coupled with real-time access to comprehensive health data – will enable optometrists to predict future patient health issues and work with them as active participants in decisions about their care.

“This scenario sees optometry as a multi-tiered profession with several specialisations, including as neurosensory specialists utilising diagnostic retinal imaging for a range of neurological conditions, and postgraduate professional paths that variously meet the complex eyecare needs of geographically and culturally diverse populations,” OA stated.

“Supported by regulatory reform, optometry expands in scope to include a greater role in disease management and intervention. Optometrists work across a wide range of modalities, and are embedded in a network of primary care, specialist and other support services (including GPs, ophthalmologists and disability services) with support from AI, real-time data, and technologies such as implantable eye health monitors.”

According to OA, the work of optometrists could be conducted virtually, face-to-face, remotely or highly localised, at home, in health kiosks such as pharmacies, in multidisciplinary primary care clinics, or in legacy retail businesses.

“The range of delivery modalities means that optometrists have flexible working hours and a networked capacity to share/distribute service delivery, reducing workforce turnover and increasing work-life balance,” OA stated.

With a substantial rise in chronic and complex health conditions, OA expects the community to accept governments cannot fully fund healthcare. This could spur public-private partnerships with community businesses and industry, and a greater financial contribution from consumers and health insurers. Medicare fee-for-service funding may be largely replaced by funding of health services based on “packaging of services for each patient” (capitation) or on patient outcomes. New and improved communications and data transfer systems to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of interprofessional practice would also be established.

Meanwhile, “horizontally integrated health services” could see optometry incorporated into small centres such as pharmacies, through to larger multidisciplinary urban and regional health hubs. It’s believed glasses and contact lenses will easily be obtained online, while consumers continue to refer to optometrists with any concerns, and for ongoing management of eye health conditions.

“[In 2040] public education and awareness programs have raised consumer understanding of the broader role of optometrists in holistic and preventive health care, and provide consumers with guidelines on eyecare, at-home digital ocular services and how to decide when to contact an eyecare professional,” OA said.

For optometry training and education, there will be a new emphasis on teamwork, leadership and collaboration, says OA. Education opportunities would be shared with other health professions, including training placements. Optometrists would also receive ongoing training in culturally safe practice, while a digital health transformation and the use of big data will require ongoing education in advanced technologies such as AI and cybersecurity.

“[In 2040] optometry practice is now fully responsive to social and regulatory demands for sustainability to limit the impacts of climate change, and overall, CPD programs are continuously reviewed to respond to new technologies, government policy changes and evolving community needs,” OA stated.

Collectively shaping optometry’s future

The work done on the Refreshing Optometry 2040 project will feed into OA’s strategic plan for 2024.

“Optometry is constantly changing due to demographic, technology, economic, government and societal forces,” OA CEO Ms Skye Cappuccio said.

“Optometry 2040 is about taking control of our future, so it was clear that more work needed to be done to support the ongoing evolution of optometry in Australia, to take advantage of the opportunities of new technology, big data and a growing workforce, and increase access to eye care for all Australians.”

She said by embracing the updated preferred future for optometry, the sector could collectively shape a future where eye health is accessible and equitable for all Australians, and optometrists are used to their fullest clinical scope.

Read the full Refreshing Optometry 2040 report here, and access a summary report here.

more reading

Medicare turns 40 – but Optometry Australia asks whether it’s time for a check up?

Optometry Australia program to recognise clinical expertise

Optometry Australia commissions sustainability roadmap

Related Posts

A new WA clinic will give Aboriginal communities and others greater access to eyecare. Image: Sawoon/stock.adobe.com

New clinic will help address inequities in Aboriginal eyecare

by Staff Writer
December 5, 2024

A new eye clinic aims to make a significant impact in transforming eyecare for Aboriginal communities in Western Australia. A...

Or lack of it, depending on where you live, is the concern of the CPMC and others. Image: BJP7images/stock.adobe.com.

Health ministers warned that fast-track changes could bring ‘postcode’ health care

by Staff Writer
December 5, 2024

Australia’s state health ministers have been warned that the proposed fast-track registration of Specialist International Medical Graduates (SIMGs) risks exacerbating...

Alcon has confirmed its new Unity systems are now registered in Australia, and will be commercially available in 2025. Image: Konektus Photo/Shutterstock.com.

All-new Alcon Unity vitreoretinal and cataract systems approved in Australia

by Myles Hume
December 4, 2024

Alcon has revealed its “highly anticipated” Unity Vitreoretinal Cataract System and Unity Cataract System have been included on the Australian...

Join our newsletter

Insight has been the leading industry publication in Australia for more than 40 years. This longevity is largely due to our ability to consistently deliver accurate and independent news relevant to all ophthalmic professionals and their supporting industry.

Subscribe to our newsletter

About Insight

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Collection Notice
  • Privacy Policy

Popular Topics

  • Business
  • Feature
  • Research
  • Technology
  • Therapies
  • Classifieds

© 2024 All Rights Reserved. All content published on this site is the property of Prime Creative Media. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited

No Results
View All Results
NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE
  • Latest News
  • All Sections
    • Ophthalmic insights
      • Policy & regulation
      • Company updates & acquisitions
      • Research
      • Clinical trials
      • Workforce
      • Product approvals
      • Conferences
      • Opinion
      • Indigenous eye health
      • Retail
    • Eye disease
      • Dry eye
      • Myopia
      • Cataract
      • Glaucoma
      • Macular disease – AMD
      • Diabetic eye disease
      • Inherited retinal disease
      • Corneal disease
      • Presbyopia
      • Eye infections
    • Ophthalmic Careers
      • New appointments
      • Industry profiles
      • Graduates
    • Ophthalmic organisations
      • Regulators
      • Optometry networks
      • Private ophthalmology clinics
      • Associations
      • Patient support bodies
      • Eye research institutions
      • Optometry schools
      • Optical Dispensing trainers
      • Medical schools
      • RANZCO
  • Features
    • Report
    • Soapbox
  • Ophthalmic education
    • CPD – Optometry
    • Optical Dispensing
    • Orthoptics Australia
    • Practice management
  • Products
    • Ophthalmic Treatments
      • Ophthalmic lenses
      • Lens treatments
      • Myopia interventions
      • Light-based therapy
      • Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS)
      • Gene therapy
      • Laser treatments
      • Supplements
      • Eyewear & frames
      • Behavioural optometry/vision training
      • Contact lenses
      • Anti-VEGF
      • Intraocular lenses (IOLs)
      • Pharmaceuticals & consumables
    • Ophthalmic equipment & diagnostics
      • Biometry – axial length
      • Perimetry & visual fields
      • OCT
      • Phoropter
      • Autorefractor
      • Tonometry
      • Topography
      • Multimodal imaging
      • Retinal imaging
      • Anterior segment imaging
      • Software & data management
      • Microscopes
      • Slit lamps
      • Lens edging
      • Stands, chairs and tables
      • Ultrasound
      • Dry eye diagnostics
      • Low vision aids
  • Research
  • Classifieds
  • About Us
  • Advertise with Insight
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Insight

© 2024 All Rights Reserved. All content published on this site is the property of Prime Creative Media. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited