A Guide To Establishing A Low Vision Practice.

Low vision rehabilitation is an area of optometry that is in great need of expansion. In 1994, there were approximately 10 million visually impaired people in the United States. The U.S. Census projects 15.7 million people will be partially and/or completely blind by the year 2050.
The process of low vision rehabilitation is far more than a single entity. Many individuals make up a team to fully assist the low vision patient. These include physicians, nurses, educators, blind rehabilitation teacher, counselors, orientation and mobility instructors, psychologists, social workers, care givers, public and private rehabilitation agencies, residential administrations, and family members. The optometrist must work in synergy with the whole team to provide the proper care to the patient. The optometrist must diagnose, treat, and make the proper medical referrals. They must perform a complete analysis and evaluation of the visual system, assessing the ocular disease state and future visual abilities. Low vision devices are prescribed to enhance the visual performance. In addition, referrals are to be made to the proper low vision rehabilitation team member. The following pages offer information to consider in establishing a low vision practice. In order to make the suggestions more complete, a survey addressing various aspects of low vision care was sent to all Low Vision Certified optometrists in the state of Michigan. Results of this survey are included.