It’s Time for The New Optometrist

Optometrists, like most health professionals, have been through a lot in the last two years. COVID-19 has made healthcare waiting lists even longer, changed the way we access services, and accelerated the digitalization of our everyday life. In short, the pandemic has transformed the way we think about and deal with the health of ourselves and others. 

There are good points to this: increased access through remote patient consultations, more hygienic workspaces, strengthened supply chains, stricter professional practices. But the pandemic has also exacerbated a pre-existing eye health emergency – Cathy Yelf describes an incoming “tsunami of sight loss” and others speak of “glaucoma’s ticking time bomb.” 

Add to that a shifting regulatory and professional landscape in the UK – big changes in Wales and Scotland, the call for a national eye strategy in England – and there’s a lot for eye care professionals to get their heads around.

To help you, we’ve decided to take The New Optometrist to the next level – from its humble origins as a weekly newsletter to an accessible, dynamic website that showcases insightful interviews, forthright opinions, quirky articles, and honest reviews. We’ve already started the content wheels in motion to whet your appetite (feel free to have a browse) – but we’re here for the long haul and eager to tell more stories and share more views, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

We’re very proud of our new site, but we’re also lucky to have an influential sister brand in the form of The Ophthalmologist, which has been busy building its reputation in the global eye care space for the past decade. This strong link places The New Optometrist in a great position to tackle an area of growing importance (and sometimes controversy) – the joining-up of optometry and ophthalmology. Expect to see plenty of discussion around that hot topic in the not too distant future! 

So, welcome to our shiny new website – we hope to be seeing a lot of you in the months ahead. And if you want to stay updated, please subscribe to the newsletter (unless you’ve already done so) and/or find us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Happy reading!

Julian Upton, Editor.