Bionic Eye

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Internet sale of contact lenses and more latterly of eyeglasses continues to be a thorn in the side of opticians. Almost
every week we hear from an optician who has just had a client ask for his/her contact lens specifications in order to make
an Internet purchase and is angry at the loss of sales and the apparent double standard that is used by their regulatory
body for registered opticians compared with Internet sellers of product. And now these same Internet sellers are offering
eyeglass purchases to consumers. Out of frustration, our callers want to know what we are going to do about it.
Internet selling is both a regulatory and a marketing
issue. But to be clear, unless the company selling the
eyeglasses or contact lenses is registered in a Canadian
province AND unless the provincial opticians’ legislation/
regulation supports a legal challenge there is no
immediate ‘fix’ via regulatory channels. We have written
previously in Vision Magazine about ways to compete
with Internet sellers. The most recent article is posted for
your interest on the OAC website at:
www.opticians.ca/professionals/communications
Recently the College of Opticians of British Columbia
challenged in court an Internet seller registered in BC
(most Internet sellers are located off-shore) and lost that
case based on the judge’s interpretation of the text of
the opticians’ regulation. Even if the College had won the
case, all the seller would have to do is relocate
operations to a different country and provincial law would
not apply unless there was a reciprocal agreement with
the other country.
Opticians have an ethical as well as a legal imperative
to meet the provincial Standard of Practice. The courts
will offer only a literal interpretation of the text of
legislation/regulation.
This doesn’t mean that opticians can’t be proactive
about exploring the marketing issues that drive Internet
sales. We understand the profit motive for Internet
sellers. What we need to understand more fully is the
purchasing motive for Internet buyers. Studies reveal that
fast access to product, greater availability of goods,
exclusivity (innovative products) and control over
shopping hours are few of the incentives. Retail
dispensaries can compete in all of those areas with some
innovative thinking. But where we often get shortchanged
is in the way we promote our products and services.
Internet sellers are so ‘in your face’. If you Google the
words eyeglasses and contact lenses on Canadian pages,
does your dispensary come up high in the rankings?
Probably not. Does the Internet provide us with a challenge
or an opportunity?
Internet selling is only one of the issues facing
opticians as we move through the 21st Century. The
specter of deregulation has cropped up many times since
the first Opticians’ Act was promulgated. Although
provincial governments have re-affirmed their intention
to retain opticians’ legislation/regulation, the signs indicate
VISION | jul_aug | 2008 | The Opticians Association of Canada |
Internet Selling:
Threat
or Opportunity?
By Mary Field
that it will take on a different shape. For example, it may
broaden the break down of dispensing duties into
various categories of regulated and non-regulated
personnel. Draft legislation in British Columbia provides
for a category called a “certified non-registrant”, defined
as a non-registrant to whom registrants of a college may
delegate aspects of practice or who may be authorized to
provide or perform aspects of practice in accordance with a
bylaw of the college. There have always been non-registrants
who perform under delegation. Students in optical
training programs come to mind. But could there be
further definition of a ‘certified non-registrant’? Certification
implies some minimum standard of training. We know
that other than those who are registered opticians and
those who are students there is an uneven level of
education amongst other personnel who work in optical
dispensaries. Does this represent a challenge or an
opportunity?
The trend is for governments to reduce barriers to
entry-to-practice in order to increase the number of health
care professionals available and provide the public with
safe choices. You can see this tendency in draft legislation
in B.C., Alberta, Manitoba and Nova Scotia. Opticians
have always had a love/hate relationship with their
legislation. They love it when it protects them and hate
it when it hampers them. In this case you can see the
glass either half full or half empty. Certainly there is
employment competition from a wider selection of
professionals but as a group we can gain strength from
greater numbers.
One of the reasons opticians see issues like Internet
sale of eyeglasses and contact lenses, and delegation to
‘certified non-registrants’ as a threat is that most
marketing of dispensaries has been narrowly focused on
style and price. So that is now the perception consumers
have of our profession. They don’t look to us for other
services and don’t value the intellectual input available
through opticians. As a profession and as individuals we
lack brand marketing. Yes, we need to do our best to
make sure we are vigilant and that we use our political
skills to balance the benefit to the public with advocacy
for opticians but we would be foolhardy to assume we
will always prevail and the status quo will remain
unchanged. We need to do a better job of becoming the
brand people think of when they consider their vision
needs. ‘We’ means all of us together. ISI