Optometry
Optometry is a healthcare profession concerned with the eyes and related structures, as well as vision, visual systems, and vision information processing in humans. Optometrists are trained to prescribe and fit lenses to improve vision, and in some countries are trained to diagnose and treat various eye diseases.
In the United States, Canada, and Ghana, optometrists are known as doctors of optometry (abbreviated as OD), and are held to the same legal standards as physicians, whereas optometrists in the United Kingdom (also known as ophthalmic opticians) are regulated by the General Optical Council under the Opticians Act 1989 and distinguished from medical practitioners. The National Health Service provides for the medical, ophthalmic (covering optometry), dental and other ancillary needs of every person in the UK.
In all U.S. states, optometrists are doctors (optometric physicians) practicing optometric medicine (medical optometry). They are licensed to diagnose and treat diseases of the eye through topical, diagnostic, and therapeutic drugs. They can prescribe oral drugs and perform injections. Doctors of optometry are also able to perform certain types of laser surgery in three states, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Louisiana. In countries where the practice of optometry is statutorily regulated, patients are referred, if and when necessary, to family physicians and medical specialists such as ophthalmologists, neurologists and others for further investigation and treatment.