Standards of Practice

In emergency or urgent situations, it may be impractical to obtain all clinical information at the first visit. In such cases, specific assessment is appropriate (OPR 4.6). The practitioner may advise the patient to seek a full comprehensive eye exam within a reasonable time frame or may send a report to their primary optometrist for continuation of care.

Wet AMD was added to acute conditions that pose an immediate threat to the health and/or vision of the patient requiring a prompt referral.

A statement was added to the section, stating optometrists should follow the recommendations of their local public health units regarding infection control in the optometric office.

A section was added regarding intra-professional collaborative practice among optometrists. An optometrist may refer to another optometrist for specific assessment and treatment. The primary, referring optometrist, must communicate to the patient what their role will be during the referral process and protocol for further follow up. A requisition from the referring optometrist must include pertinent clinical information. The optometrist who accepts the requisition must communicate to the patient the nature of their role, including which elements of care they are responsible for and the anticipated duration of care. The optometrist must maintain a patient health record including the requisition information and results. Any new symptoms or concerns should be referred back to the primary optometrist as they are responsible for the components of a comprehensive eye examination.

Anterior segment examination was amended so that documentation of sclera findings is required only when clinically indicated.

If optometrists do not have the required instrumentation, arrangements must be in place whereby the appropriate testing will be performed elsewhere in a timely fashion. Several paragraphs on intra-professional care were removed from this section. Members are now encouraged to review the recently updated OPR 4.8 Collaboration and Shared Care for further guidance.

The terminology “Learning Disability” was changed to “Learning Disorders.” Recommendations were added for assessment, counselling and referral when providing care to patients with suspected or recognized learning disorders.

The terminology from “myopia control” was changed to “myopia management.” Clarification was provided to state optometrists must present a realistic prognosis when offering Orthokeratology, especially as it pertains to the amount of myopia reduction and/or the realistic myopia management prognosis for patients. Parent, in addition to guardian, was added as a substitute decision maker if a patient is unable to consent to treatment.

Recognizing that myopia management has advanced to include specialty contact lenses, specialty spectacle lenses and pharmaceutical treatment, a new standard was created: OPR 7.14 Myopia Management.