Question
i told a co worker that an optometrist gives you a better eye glass prescription than an ophthalmologist. optometrist spent more time and measured refractive errors, etc. is this generally true? also he said that an optometrist cannot write a prescription. and must have it signed by an M.D. to make it legal. is that true?
Answer
I cannot imagine WHERE your co-worked got the idea that an Optometrist cannot write a prescription under his own license! As far as I know, that has never been true. Optometrists in the US can write prescriptions, not only for glasses and contact lenses but also for prescription drugs to treat eye infections and other eye diseases, including glaucoma in some states. Moreover, all OD's who have graduated since the 1970's are fully and properly trained to handle medical eye problems. The only thing an Optometrist cannot legally do that an Ophthalmologist can is surgery.
But I do in general agree with you about the OD being able to give you a more accurate and comfortable eye glass prescription. Where OD's spend four years studying vision functioning along with refraction, the Ophthalmologists only get a quick course in refraction because so much of their schooling centers around medicine and surgery. And, where an Optometrist's bread and butter income comes from is refracting, the Ophthalmologists generally do it only as a sideline, or delegate refraction to their technicians, so they can focus their energies on doing surgery.
