Optometry in South-East Asia

The World Council of Optometry (WCO) defines optometry as a healthcare profession that is autonomous, educated, and regulated (licensed/registered). Optometrists are the primary healthcare practitioners of the eye and visual system, who provide comprehensive eye and vision care that includes refraction and spectacle dispensing, detection/diagnosis and management of diseases of the eye, and the rehabilitation of conditions of the visual system [1]. Despite this definition, there is great variation in training and scope of practice for optometrists across the world; South-East Asia is no exception. The WCO has recognized these variations and developed a competency model to identify the level at which the optometrists practice in different situations. There are four categories of optometrists based on the scope of practice and competencies [2] (Fig. 18.1) (Table 18.1).