Paris (AFP)
Ophthalmologists are increasingly working in teams with orthoptists, nurses or opticians, which has helped treat "3.1 million additional patients in 4 years," said Friday the main union of the profession.
At the moment when the first "medical assistants" arrive at other doctors, the ophthalmologists give an overview of the effects of "assisted work" in their specialty.
These task delegations have "an already visible impact on the number of patients in care," said in a statement Thierry Bour, president of the National Union of ophthalmologists of France (Snof).
From the beginning of 2015 to the end of 2018, the liberal ophthalmos have examined nearly 3.1 million additional people, and even 3.7 million going back to 2013, according to the data of the Health Insurance.
Over the last fifteen years, "the number of acts has almost doubled", despite "a constant number" of practitioners, between 4,000 and 5,000 according to the College of Physicians.
The number of glasses sold also "significantly increased": + 63% in 10 years, with 14 million pairs sold in 2018.
Appointment deadlines are also "sharply decreasing", with 55 days of waiting on average this year, against 80 days 3 years ago, according to surveys commissioned by Snof.
"This visual care organization has a proven track record," Bour said, adding that "assisted work" is still "only 45% of its potential".
To do better, he is demanding more ophthalmology interns, higher financial support for orthoptists and new protocols "to enable the development of telemedicine".
© 2019 AFP