The new agreement for orthoptists provides that they can request the renewal of prescriptions for glasses from general practitioners.
85 days. It is the average time, in France, to obtain an appointment with the ophthalmologist. In some regions, you even have to wait more than a year! An untenable situation that the previous government tried to resolve by changing the conditions for issuing prescriptions for glasses and contact lenses.
The last orthoptists’ convention, published in the Official Journal on June 23, brings a new major reform: at the request of orthoptists, general practitioners will now be able to renew prescriptions for optical corrections, without going through the ophthalmologist.
Experimentation
“A specific organization will then have to be set up for the transmission to the patient, in need of it, of the prescription of glasses established by the general practitioner mentioning the new measure of the correction from the examinations carried out by the orthoptist”, specifies the text. of the convention.
For the moment, this is an experiment over time, which will take place in multidisciplinary health centers, even if general practitioners can apply it outside these structures.
It aims to improve access to devices for patients who only need glasses replacement. Since last October, orthoptists can already redo glasses in the event of an emergency – breakage or loss – if no medical recourse is possible.
Angry ophthalmos
But these decisions do not please ophthalmologists at all, who have not been consulted. “The renewal of prescriptions for glasses by a general practitioner is a mistake,” said Dr Thierry Bour, president of the National Union of Ophthalmologists of France (SNOF). This is not in the best interests of the patients, and increases the risk of delayed diagnosis. The ophthalmologist remains the only competent doctor to carry out a complete visual assessment. “
In a press release, the SNOF recalls these risks: more than a third (36%) of people who consult an ophthalmologist for a prescription or renewal of corrective devices are diagnosed with another medical problem.
AMD and glaucoma
“The signing of a renewal prescription by a general practitioner is problematic, because it compromises the good follow-up of the patient by extending the time initially planned, without performing the necessary screenings,” continues Dr. Bour. If we have put in place a period of validity of the prescription, it is in order to be able to carry out a complete visual examination at regular expiration. “
In particular, they rely on these visits to screen for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and glaucoma, which can remain asymptomatic for many years.
The SNOF therefore asks to be heard, and that the experiment, which must come into effect on 1er January 2018.
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