Optometry requires a bac +5, but in France, optometrists practice the profession of optician-eyewear in the same way as orthoptists, trained to bac +3. They can renew glasses or lentilsfor 3 to 5 years, but face to the waiting period to see an ophthalmologist, which can take up to several months, they requested permission from the government to also be able to check patients’ eyesight.
An unrecognized profession
Even if optometrists are “eye and visual health professionals” who can establish corrections as well as detect pathologies, they are currently not recognized in France and the profession is not regulated. “How can we justify under-exploiting these skills and leaving them in an unsuitable framework, given the catastrophic prospects for access to healthcare in France over the next few years? », Explains on its site the Association of optometrists of France (AOF). Indeed, Yannick Dyant, president of the AOF, affirmed in a press release that it was “urgent to reform the organization of the visual industry”, because within 5 years, the number of ophthalmos should decrease by 10 at 15%.
The National Union of ophthalmologists de France (SNOF) strongly opposes their request. According to him, optometry is not the solution to compensate for the lack of ophthalmologists. We can read on their site that “the examples, coming from abroad, do not encourage the presence of optometrists on French soil”. In question, an “anarchic proliferation of their installation” with the absence of Order in the profession or the “possibility of advertising” what is prohibited in the medical professions.
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