Glasses online? B.C. optometrists take a dim view

B.C.’s new eyewear regulations will come into sharp focus on May 1, changing how B.C.ers get their glasses and contacts.

Opticians will be allowed to do their own sight tests, and dispense eyewear without an optometrist being involved. And online eyewear retailers will be able to sell to customers without getting a copy of their prescription.

Optometrists, opticians and Internet retailers don’t see eye to eye over the new regulations.

For B.C. Association of Optometrists president Antoinette Dumalo, it amounts to deregulation of the province’s consumer eye-care products and services.

“I never thought my Liberal government would put the vision and lives of British Columbians at risk,” Dumalo said Thursday.

“A consumer can go online and order any product without consulting an eye-care practitioner. It opens the door for all kinds of unhealthy practices.”

B.C.’s 500 optometrists are also unhappy that patients between 19 and 65 will be able to get their sight tested by an optician, using an automated machine.

“It eliminates a comprehensive exam,” she said. “Patients who choose to use this service may be misled that because they can see, they may think that they don’t have underlying disease.”

The CNIB has written a letter of concern to B.C. Health Minister Kevin Falcon about the proposed changes.

“We’re very concerned this new legislation would allow people to purchase contact lenses or glasses over the Internet without a prescription, which results in fewer B.C. residents getting their regular eye exam, by a certified professional,” said CNIB’s B.C. executive director John Mulka.

Diseases like glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy may go undetected, he said.

“Patients can lose a significant amount of their sight before symptoms become apparent.”

It can cost between $60 and $120 for an eye exam by an optometrist, and opticians usually charge around $50 for a sight-test, or give it free of charge, if you also buy their glasses.

“This issue has been a very contentious issue,” said Dumalo. “There’s been absolutely no consultation.”

Sara Moshurchak, a Granville Island optician who advocates for B.C.’s 1,200 opticians, said one in four opticians currently do sight-tests, but they have to be verified by an ophthalmologist.

“We’re just not going to force you to have a full eye exam when the medical evidence doesn’t suggest that that is necessary,” she said.

Falcon said he’s trying to bring eyewear

regulations into the 21st century.

“We think the public should be able to purchase their glasses and contacts from whichever source they believe provides them with the best value,” said Falcon.