Eye care is equally important to health care. Eye care is a profession and is handled by professionally qualified group of people specializing in their own areas of service to the consumers. The 3 types of eye care providers (vary in level of training and expertise) are the Ophthalmologists, Optometrists and opticians.
Ophthalmologists :
- Medical or osteopathic doctors.
- Specialize in eye and vision care.
- Differ from optometrists and opticians in their levels of training and in what they can diagnose and treat.
- Licensed to practice medicine and surgery.
- Diagnose and treat all eye diseases, perform eye surgery and prescribe and fit eyeglasses and contact lenses to correct vision problems.
- Many ophthalmologists are also involved in scientific research on the causes and cures for eye diseases and vision disorders.
Optometrists :
- Primary eye care providers who specialize in performing eye examinations.
- An optometrist is not a medical doctor.
- They are licensed to practice optometry, which primarily involves performing :
- Perform refraction on patients who are adults, children or adolescents.
- Prescribe optical appliances such as glasses and contact lenses to correct vision problems such as short-sightedness, long-sightedness and astigmatism.
- Perform visual examination on patients and refer them to other healthcare practitioners such as ophthalmologist for further management if any eye abnormalities/diseases are detected.
- Perform any other type of practice of eye care which is part of the practice of opticianry (eg. dispensing and fitting of glasses and contact lenses)
Opticians :
- 3 different categories of opticians in Singapore.
- All of them are equipped with the skills to dispense and fit glasses based on prescriptions from optometrists or ophthalmologists.
- The 3 categories are :
Category 1
Opticians (Dispensing Only) – this category of opticians are only qualified to dispense and fit glasses.
Category 2
Opticians (Refraction and Dispensing) – This category of opticians are qualified to :
- Perform refraction on patients who are 8 years of age or older.
- Dispense and fit glasses to correct vision problems such as short-sightedness, long-sightedness and astigmatism.
Category 3
Opticians (Contact Lens Practice) – this category of opticians are qualified to:
- Perform refraction on patients who are 8 years of age or older.
- Dispense and fit glasses and contact lenses to correct vision problems such as short-sightedness, long-sightedness and astigmatism.
- Provide aftercare to patients, including monitoring to detect, prevent and manage problems or complications arising from the use of contact lenses.
