OCTOBER, 2019 | The HEALTH Xtra
WORLD SIGHT DAY 2019
Dr Fazira shows the intraocular lenses
(IOLs). They are medical devices that
are implanted inside the eye to replace
the eye’s natural lens when it is removed
during cataract surgery.
“Plus some of the patients prefer to see
them fi rst. Th erefore they must be prepared
with the correct knowledge and instruments
if they want to be delivering primary eye care
service. At the same time, we can help them
by providing proper training.” — Th e Health
Xtra
Nor Azizah performing a routine eye
checkup.
of their vision, and only worry when the
condition is severe.” She added that Selangor
has already launched the Retinal Disease
Awareness Program, where the MOH will
meet with the public, and conduct massive
screening, especially in remote areas. — Th e
Health Xtra
Xtra
05
Collaborating
for success
Community made out of optometrists and ophthalmologists
may just be answer to better eye care
T
RADITIONALLY, eye disease
patients are mainly managed
by an ophthalmologist, but the
times have certainly changed.
With the ageing population
to signifi cantly increase in the
coming years, optometrists and ophthalmolo-
gists may need to combine forces to deliver
better eye care.
To address this topic, the Association of
Malaysian Optometrists (AMO), the Depart-
ment of Ophthalmology (MSO), Revon
Media, College of Ophthalmologists, Acad-
emy of Medicine Malaysia, and the Malaysian
Optical Council for the fi rst time will join
hands to celebrate World Sight Day on Oct 11.
Th is eff ort marks the fi rst-ever large-scale,
organised eff ort within the optometry and
ophthalmology professions in support of joint
educational initiatives.
We speak to Woon Pak Seong, President of
AMO and Co-Chairman for World Sight Day
Lecture Series 2019, on how this collabora-
tion will benefi t the eye care industry.
“This year’s World Sight Day is special
because this would be the first co-joined
seminar between the ophthalmologists and
optometrists. Last time, there were only
ophthalmologists and opticians,” said Woon.
“So everyone who had eye pain and blurry
vision will go see eye specialists, and that will
crowd the hospitals as there are not many eye
specialists around.”
There are only 600 ophthalmologists,
2,300 optometrists, and about 3,000 opti-
cians in Malaysia.
How can optometrist improve the eye
care sector?
“By engaging with the optometrists, one can
relieve the burden of eye care in hospitals.
Imagine this, if everyone who has an eye
problem comes to us fi rst, we can check and
see if it’s serious enough - referring them to
the ophthalmologist if needed.
“This World Sight Day is special for us
because we are doing something of this scale
where half of the attendance and speakers
are eye specialists and the other half is
optometrist. We want to use this conference
to educate each other and how we can help
each other,” adds Woon.
Woon says communication between
optometrists and ophthalmologists has not
been a smooth sailing situation, but there
are ways to connect the dots and have better
communication overall.
“I personally work with ophthalmologists a
lot. In fact, when the optometrist does glasses
and so on, we also screen for eye diseases. Th at
means we catch eye problems early. When
they come to us and do their glasses, we can
make things easier for the ophthalmologist.”
Your future, our focus
“Th is year’s theme is ‘Your Future, Our Focus’
is really apt. I’m very thankful to Revon
Media’s monthly AMO column because we
don’t only seek to educate the public on eye
health but it also serves as a medium for us
to reach out to doctors. As doctors pick up
the newspaper, they can understand our work
better.”
Th ere are two associations for ophthal-
mologists in Malaysia, the Malaysian Society
of Ophthalmology (MSO) and the College of
Ophthalmologists, Academy of Medicine,
Malaysia. Th e College of Ophthalmologists
is the academic and research arm and will be
speaking at World Sight Day. Meanwhile, the
optometrists are represented by Association
of Malaysian Optometrists (AMO).
Woon has much hope for the event.
“I believe the conference is a good way to
kick things off . So far, we have done a couple
of CSR projects together. We hope to have
more activities together.”
You can catch Woon’s talk on Sept 11 (Oct
11?). He will be talking on how ophthalmolo-
gists and optometrists can work together to
develop better eye care. — Th e Health Xtra
Woon has hopes this conference will kick-
start ophthalmologists and optometrists
working together.