The Optometry Act (驗光人員法) was among the raft of bills passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday night, stipulating that eye examinations must be performed by certified optometrists and eye examinations for children between the age of six and 15 must be performed under the supervision of an ophthalmologist.
The act stipulates that children younger than 15 must be diagnosed with myopia — not pseudomyopia — by an ophthalmologist before eyeglasses can be prescribed, while barring optometrists from performing eye examinations on children younger than six.
Optometrists who perform eye examinations on children younger than 15 without the supervision of an ophthalmologist are to face fines up to NT$100,000 and might have their licenses revoked, while people who perform eye examinations without an optometrist’s license are to face a fine of between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000, according to the act.
People who have university degrees in related fields and have performed eye examinations for more than three years, and people who graduated from general or vocational high schools and have performed eye examinations for more than six years are allowed to register for an optometrist certification test, the act stipulates.
Optometrist certification tests are to be held annually in the five years following the act’s ratification; those who fail to pass the test in this period would no longer be allowed to perform eye examinations, according to the act.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said that there are 11 university departments that teach optometry skills and that about 1,000 students graduate from these departments each year.
Optometry students, along with 8,000 graduates and more than 15,000 people who have been performing the examinations without related educational background would be allowed to take the certification tests, the ministry said.
According to the Ministry of Education’s statistics from last year, 46.06 percent of elementary- school students and 73.32 percent of junior high school students have a form of visual impairment.
In response to an increasing number of students with myopia and considering the rising demand for prescription eyeglasses, the act was passed to improve the management of eye examinations and the prescription of eyeglasses, as well as to maintain the quality of eye examinations, to protect the profession of optometry and ensure the public’s health.
Also, about 4,000 optic shops that perform eye examinations and prescribe eyeglasses would no longer be able to do so 10 years after the ratification of the act.
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