I just got new glasses -- without going to an optometrist. Posted on 09/06/2017 5:45:07 AM PDT by Kaslin
I just got new glasses -- without going to an optometrist.
It's another innovation made possible by the internet.
Going to an optometrist can be a pain. You have to leave work, get to an optometrist's office, sit in a waiting room and then pay an average of $95 (in my town). But I got a prescription for just $50 -- without leaving my computer.
This is possible thanks to a company called Opternative ("optometry alternative"). The company claims its online test is just as good as an in-person eye exam.
I was skeptical. It's over the internet! How can a computer replicate what optometrists do in their offices with impressive-looking machines?
"This is the beauty of technology," answered Dick Carpenter, director of strategic research for the libertarian law firm the Institute for Justice.
Carpenter researched Opternative's test and concludes that it is just as good as an in-person exam. "Sometimes better, some research has indicated."
Here's how it works: First, you answer some medical questions.
Then, while holding your cellphone, you follow prompts on the phone while looking at your computer screen, selecting which lines look sharper, or which numbers you see.
One day later, they send you a prescription. Mine exactly matched the prescription I got from my ophthalmologist, a medical doctor who charges much more.
Fast, cheap, and easy.
So naturally, optometrists want this alternative banned. "This is really foolhardy and really dangerous," said former American Optometric Association president Andrea Thau on "Good Morning America."
She wouldn't do an interview with me. Nor would anyone else from her Association -- despite our sending them emails for a month.
I assume they knew I'd mock them for trying to ban the competition. Which they are trying to do. They wrote the FDA that the at-home test "should be taken off the market."
What they're really saying is that patients should not have the right to make any choices in their own vision care.
The optometrists are bottleneckers. "Bottleneckers: Gaming the Government for Power and Private Profit" is the title of Dick Carpenter's new book. He studies how established professionals use government to limit competition.
Cosmetologists get laws passed that force hair-braiders to spend $5,000 on useless courses and tests. Restaurants limit food trucks. Established florists ban newcomers. Optometrists want to ban Opternative's test.
Bottleneckers like them have clout in legislatures because their lobbyists give politicians money. They persuaded 13 states to draft bills that would ban at-home tests.
In South Carolina, then-Governor Nikki Haley vetoed the ban, correctly calling it anti-competitive. But the legislators were beholden to the optometrists' lobby; they overrode her veto.
The optometrists say that a home test is too risky because no doctor is there to look for diseases. I confronted Opternative's spokesman about that. He said the test's questionnaire filters out sick people by asking questions like: "Any health conditions? ... pregnancy, nursing, diabetes ... Any medication that affects your vision? ... Sertraline, Amitriptyline...?"
Obviously, a questionnaire is not as good as a doctor. But it does screen out some people. Opternative rejected me the first time I tried. I then lied about my age to test their service.
I don't recommend lying on medical forms. But a cheap internet prescription is not much of a threat to public health.
Barbers claim an unlicensed barber might give you a bad haircut or cut you.
Florists say an unlicensed flower arranger might spoil your wedding.
The optometrists at least have a better argument: The at-home eye test might miss a disease.
But I say we consumers should get to choose what risks we take.
I choose to go to an ophthalmologist because I can afford it, and at my age, I want a glaucoma test.
But many young people don't want to spend that money. And many people just don't have time. That's probably why lots of Americans never go to any eye doctor, ever. Opternative at least gives them an alternative -- a way to get a prescription without going to a doctor.
It's good to have a choice.
You can get glasses in Japan for $50 without a prescription. It’s awesome.
How does it determine the amount of correction needed for myopic or presbyopic patients? How can this be done without putting lenses in front of your eyes and noting the effect? How can looking at a computer screen at 18 inches help determine what correction is needed for distance viewing?
I will not use this service.
I buy reading glasses at the Dollar Store. They work fine.
Interesting points. I just had cataract surgery and paid the $4,000 out of pocket to have corrective lenses put in my eye so I do not need glasses or contacts. Can see now when I wake up. First time since the 4th grade. It is worth the out of packet expense. I still need readers though. If you do not do that, then you get a clear lens put in and you still need contacts or glasses.
One question. Does it work for people that have Astigmatism?
A few years ago, I bought two pair of glasses at the same time from a chain eyeglass place. One was fine, the other pair I couldn’t see out of for the blur.
The guy actually argued with me that they were fine. It wasn’t until I started getting in his face and getting a little loud that he capitulated and made me a new pair of lenses.
I wasn’t at all upset when I walked in, mistakes happen, but after that mis-treatment, I’ll never darken the doors of America’s Best again. Oops, I mentioned their name.
Been using Zenni Optical since 0bamacare ate the optical portion of my insurance, and much more.
Been happy with their glasses, but they are glasses only, a prescription is needed.
I’m due for a new pair and will look into this service.
No..... I have astigmatism and was advised not to get lens implants, even astigmatic corrected lenses. I still wear trifocals but the blur is gone
You’ll put your eye out...
For some folks, this might work.
Now, for those that suffer single eye astigmatism, it might not.
Also, since your diagnosis comes through a computer program, where do you have to turn when your diagnosis is incorrect??
Dollar store is the way I go as well.
Wally World already has glasses for about $75, including the eye exam.
“One question. Does it work for people that have Astigmatism?”
I have horrible astigmatism. They told me my vision was at least 20/400, and probably worse. I wore glasses and/or contacts since 4th grade. At cataract surgery I opted for the upgraded lenses, and don’t have to wear glasses or contacts. Perfect vision — except that I do have to wear reading glasses.
There is one step higher in lenses, I believe, that will take care of the reading issue.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Contour-Mens-Prescription-Glasses-FM12001-Dark-Silver/23607134
$38 bucks!!
Will have to look into this.
You can go to discount optometrist services in lots of areas. They give you a free eye exam if you buy the glasses from them.
I take my whole family to the optometrist and get their prescription. I then go to the discount place and buy them two sets of glasses for under $100 and get them insured for another 30 or so.
My six year old twins break glasses like nothing. One has had four pair this year alone. The other has had three.
The regular optometrist sells glasses that look identical and cost five or even six times as much. For my multi-focus extra thin lightweight difficult prescription glasses the optometrist wants around $500 for a cheap set of frames and lenses, significantly more for “designer” frames. This is WITH optical insurance!The discount glasses cost me under $450 for TWO pair and I get reimbursed for much of that from the insurance company by filing claim.
I have also used my prescription to buy glasses online. That works pretty good as well.
Will the app diagnose early stage cataracts or suspicious looking optic nerve portals that are an early sign of glaucoma?
Will it measure internal eye pressure?
No, thanks. The prescription is only one part of the visit. Unless you are willing to bet your future of being able to SEE on the app, pay the $100 and be seen by a trained optometrist.
By the way, I am not opposed to saving money on new glasses. My last three pair (2 bifocals and 1 computer) cost $1200. I can afford it but that doesn’t mean I liked it.
Audiologists and the hearing aid industry are another bunch of “bottleneckers.” My hearing aids cost me $6,000 for the pair, and they aren’t covered by insurance. There’s no way, in this age of cheap electronics, that the technology and materials in hearing aids are worth multiples over what a smartphone costs. Hearing tests at home should be even simpler than eye exams, and probably more reliable. I see that the hearing aid/audiologist bottleneck is starting to erode, and it can’t come soon enough.
Or will it diagnose Macular degeneration in your eye? My husband has it in his right eye
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