COVID-19 Optometry Urgent Visits and Emergencies

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries are still imposing lockdowns. The rest have reopened health care access and Optometrists began offering full eye examination. The range of vision care includes essential routine procedures, urgent care, and emergencies. Additional procedures -for those Optometrists who were prepared or implemented teleconference technology- included telemedicine and telehealth. Patients are scheduling appointments for regular visits as well as for urgent visits and emergencies.

Urgent visits may comprise conditions that remarkably affect the work the patient is performing these days. Those conditions may be of various types, they could be simple or serious, and they could be treated or need to be referred. But whatever the condition is, we all felt that urgent cases significantly increased since the hospitals and other facilities are still heavily preoccupied with treating COVID-19 patients. This activity is great in fighting to reduce the spread of the virus by reducing further rush on subjugated emergency rooms. A finding that has been equally demonstrated in the United States last year during the lockdown when Doctors of Optometry -where States allowed- diverted more than 206,000 patients away from emergency departments facing surging COVID-19 caseloads.

Now that Optometry clinics are opened to patients the same thing is happening and the situation imposes supplementary Optometry precautions to ensure everyone in the practice and patients are safe. Triaging urgent care was a necessity at the beginning of the pandemic and still is a necessity to limit the spread of the virus. Social distancing requirements dictate the number of people in the waiting room, at the reception, in the optical and retail space, as well as how close they are to each other. The diversion of care from emergency departments could have been even more significant if the Optometry scope of practice law has been updated.