Optometry regulation at work in Australia, 2014/15

08 Apr 2016

The Optometry Board of Australia (the Board) has released its report for 2014/15.

During 2014/15 the Board revised its guidelines for the use of scheduled medicines which were published in December 2014 (these were a revised version of guidelines published in 2013). These guidelines enable optometrists to diagnose, initiate, treat and monitor chronic glaucoma patients. The revised guidelines enhance the early diagnosis and treatment of chronic glaucoma in the best interest of the public, and clarify the timelines for information exchange between treating optometrists and ophthalmologists.

The Board’s registration standard for general registration for initial applicants came into effect on 1 December 2014, which acknowledges that the current undergraduates from Board approved programs leading to general registration incorporates ocular therapeutics as part of their undergraduate degree and enables those graduates to be automatically eligible for the scheduled medicines endorsement upon application for registration.

Highlights

• 4,915 registered optometrists in Australia on 30 June 2015. 
• 33% of optometrists aged under 35. 
• 55 notifications received about optometrists (1.1% of the registrant base). 
• 63% of notifications closed in 2014/15 (excluding New South Wales) were closed following assessment. 
• 16 registered optometrists under active monitoring, 56% due to suitability/eligibility. 
• Revised guideline for the use of scheduled medicines that now enables optometrists to diagnose, initiate, treat and monitor chronic glaucoma patients and requires a referral to an ophthalmologist within four months for ophthalmological assessment and advice from when treatment commenced.

Download a copy of the report below:

Optometry regulation at work in Australia - 2014/15 (37.5 KB,PDF),Word version (40.7 KB,DOCX)