ADOA Report Nov 2011

The ADOA Report

Murray O'Brien

The ADOA NSW and Victoria are calling for expressions of interest from dedicated and passionate qualified optical dispensers to form an ADOA national committee. We require representatives from Queensland, WA, SA, NT, ACT and Tasmania. If you would like to contribute to the future of optical dispensing in Australia, please email info@adoa.org.au

ADOA Victoria

ADOA Victoria held its final continuing education evening for 2011 on Monday 10 October at Coopers Inn on Exhibition St, Melbourne. The speaker was Glenn Bartlett from Leading Edge Displays. Glenn has been dressing optical windows for more than 20 years and is very well known within the industry.
His presentation was very helpful in helping us 'amateur' merchandisers get a grasp of the basics. Thank you Glenn, it was a great night and your information was incredibly helpful.

Are Glasses that Bad?

As a dedicated optical dispenser it is often disappointing to hear some ophthalmologists' views on lifestyle spectacle dispensing. I'm sure I'm not alone in my opinion on this one - many dispensers and optometrists will agree.

The situation to which I refer is the post cataract surgery patient who, on their final visit to the eye surgeon, is told that they don't need glasses anymore and a pair of ready made readers from the supermarket will suffice!

Many of my patients have been told this even though they have a reasonably significant distance and or astigmatic correction. Often, they have expressed a desire to wear glasses full time and they're not quite sure why the ophthalmologist won't 'let' them. Never the less, they take the ophthalmologists' word as gospel and toss away their much-loved specs.

But as eye care professionals, don't we have a duty to listen to our clients' wishes and provide them with the opportunity to obtain optimum vision in a way that suits their lifestyle?

Many senior people threw away their inconvenient single vision readers decades ago in favour of progressive power lenses or some other type of multi-focal along with a photochromatic tint or other lifestyle add-on. Since then, they have experienced the pleasure of getting up in the morning and putting on a nice pair of glasses that can be worn throughout the day until they retire for the evening. They've seen whatever they want, whenever they want in complete clarity with absolute convenience.

So why change?

Properly fitted modern spectacles are comfortable, stylish and offer a level of protection from foreign bodies and UV radiation. They remain the most reliable, accurate, safe and healthy way to correct most peoples' vision. So, it stands to reason that if we have our clients' best interests at heart, we really must advise them of the positive aspects of constant spectacle wear. 

Murray O'Brien is the President of ADOA Victoria and writes the ADOA report on behalf of all ADOA State divisions. He is the Company Principal of Designed Eyes, an optical practice in Rosebud, Victoria.