the good doctor on: The Virtual Eye Exam?
Blog Vol.2, # 11. The Virtual Eye Exam?
It is finally here, the on-line eye exam. In the convenience of your own home you can download an app that will perform an on-line eye test on you. In order to cover the legalities of this, the companies involved have included screening questions for eye health conditions. While this could provide an adequate prescription, few people would be well served by the stay-at-home prescription check.
From the perspective of eye care professionals, this is far from adequate eye care. If a patient cannot get out, or does not have access to an eye care professional, on-line care is better than nothing in a pinch (though there are in-home eye care options). There is no substitute for a person-to-person, real reality eye exam. The eye health and overall health of the patient are reviewed, as well as the interaction between the prescription of the eyes and how well they work together. The eye care professional takes a history of overall and eye health and does a thorough examination of the structures of the eye. Preventive care is a priority. We frequently discuss healthy life habits.
It is very surreal that we are even having this discussion. My guess is that people have gotten used to on-line shopping and on-line family get-togethers and on-line everything, so why not on-line eye exams? There is no doubt that there have been undocumented casualties during Covid due to the reliance on on-line medical care, diagnosing and treating patients without actually seeing them is not ideal. There is serious risk of misdiagnosis. If there is no other way, then we must carry on virtually, but accessibility, at least at Burlington Eyecare, has not been a problem, except for a couple of months at the beginning of the pandemic when we were only able to see emergencies, though this was still in person.
My fear is that people will have their eyes tested on-line, thinking that they have had their eyes checked, when that has not happened. There is risk of undiagnosed, treatable conditions with long-term consequences, not to mention I know we can do a better job with the prescription in a real-life eye exam. Preventive care is key; the health system works best when we are doing our part to live healthily. This includes regular eye exams and education on underlying conditions, risk factors, and what to do about it.
Feel free to contact us and start a conversation in your ongoing pursuit of a healthy life.
Til next week,
the good doctor, Dr. Mark Germain, Burlington Optometrist
