The World Council of Optometry (WCO) Board of Directors have approved a resolution providing recommendations for the standard of care for myopia management by optometrists.
The resolution defines evidence-based standard of care as comprising of:
- Mitigation – optometrists educating and counselling parents and children, during early and regular eye exams, on lifestyle, dietary, and other factors to prevent or delay the onset of myopia.
- Measurement – optometrists evaluating the status of a patient during regular comprehensive vision and eye health exams, such as measuring refractive error and axial length whenever possible.
- Management – optometrists addressing patients’ needs of today by correcting myopia, while also providing evidence-based interventions (e.g., contact lenses, spectacles, pharmaceuticals) that slow the progression of myopia, for improved quality of life and better eye health today and into the future.
It also advises optometrists to incorporate within their practice the standard of care for myopia management, which shifts from simply correcting vision to managing the condition, and also
includes public education and early, frequent discussions with parents that explain:
- What myopia is.
- Lifestyle factors that may impact myopia.
- The increased risks to long-term ocular health that myopia brings.
- The available approaches that can be used to manage myopia and slow its progression.
To read the full statement from WCO, please visit worldcouncilofoptometry.info.
