Anual Practicing Certificate for Optometrist and Optician

Have you had the insecurity when you go into an optical outlet and wonder if the person that is serving you could not be a professional that he claims to be?

This is a common feeling nowadays by many patients of mine especially contact lens wearer that has been spooked with various negative press regarding the complications that may arise from improper contact lens care. Many of them would ask me if there is any way to identify if the person that is looking after you at the optical outlet is really licensed to do refraction on you.

If you are unsure of the difference between Optometrist and Optician, read here

Generally, there is 2 ways that you can identify if the outlet has a licensed practitioner either for eye refraction for glasses or for the dispense of contact lens or both.

Here i will be explaining on one of the ways (you need both to be absolutely sure).

The first method is via the Annual Practicing Certificate (APC) for Optometrist and Optician.

This is a certificate given out by the Malaysian Optic Council to all licensed practitioner and need to be renewed yearly. According to the Optical Act 1991, every practicing Optometrist and Optician needs to be registered with the Malaysian Optic Council to practice legally in Malaysia. This certificate needs to be displayed prominently at the practicing outlet as proof to the general public of the availability of a licensed practitioner in the outlet.

APC comes in two colour certification (blue colour APC for Optician and green colour APC for Optometrist). In the APC you will find the name of the practitioner along with his/her Mykad number, the date in which the certification is given and its expiration and the name and address of the premise in which he/she is practicing.

APC for Optometrist


APC for Optician (Juruoptik)

What can you as a consumer do if you do not see an APC in an Optical outlet?

You should ask for the APC to be shown to you, if they are not able to do so, then the outlet may be operating illegally. Even if it is shown to you, you must make sure that the person stated on the certification actually works in the outlet.

What if I suspect that the outlet is operating illegally? What is my right as a consumer?
The best way to handle this issue would be to lodge a complaint to the Tribunal of Consumer.


Next part i will talk about the Photo Name Certificate (PNC).

Gong Rumin winner of World Supermodel Contest 2010 China Leaked Nude Photo

Apparently this 26 year old Gong Rumin is a very popular model in China. She won the competition of World Super Model Contest 2010 China held in Hebei on 12/12/2010. This girl managed to beat 3000 other contestant all over China.

And can you guess what she did before she won the contest?? She took some naughty nude pictures (600+ to be exact).

It is said that the photos was taken when she was a beginner in the Model World.

The moral of the story - things you do from the past may come back and haunt you.

I stumbled upon an article recently while I was doing some research on Information Leaflets that I plan to do for work. Its an article by newsportal myMetro on Optometrist and Optician.

Although its in Bahasa Malaysia, its one of the few articles that one can find regarding this field.

Boleh jadi buta

Khamis, 10 Februari 2011

PETALING JAYA: Tindakan orang ramai yang terburu-buru membuat cermin mata di kedai tanpa merujuk kepada ahli optometri apabila penglihatan semakin kabur boleh memberi kesan buruk kepada mata termasuk berisiko menjadi buta.

Ini kerana jarak penglihatan yang semakin kurang jelas bukan sekadar disebabkan rabun, malah ia boleh berlaku disebabkan tanda awal penyakit seperti diabetes, tekanan darah tinggi, glukoma (masalah saraf optik mata) dan katarak.

Memburukkan keadaan, sebahagian juruoptik di kedai cermin mata tidak mempunyai tauliah pendidikan dalam bidang optometri tetapi sekadar mendapatkan sijil dikenali sebagai Fellow of the Association of Dispensing Opticians (Fado) dari luar negara dengan bayaran tertentu.

Dekan Fakulti Optometri Kolej Universiti Teknologi Antarabangsa Twintech (Twintech), Dr Nasuha Saabin berkata, jika mengikut etika, sijil Fado hanya melayakkan mereka memotong gelas membuat cermin mata saja bukan menjalankan pemeriksaan mata menggunakan sebarang peralatan termasuk menentukan tahap kekuatan kanta cermin mata.

“Jika mata sihat dan hanya mengalami masalah rabun tidak mengapa, namun jika penglihatan itu kabur disebabkan penyakit yang masih di peringkat awal maka ia membawa kesan buruk dalam jangka panjang.

“Disebabkan penglihatan tidak jelas pesakit hanya pergi membuat cermin mata manakala juru optik yang bertugas hanya menyiapkan cermin mata kerana mereka tidak tahu langkah yang perlu diambil untuk pemeriksaan kesihatan mata,” katanya. Dr Nasuha berkata, pesakit biasanya hanya menyedari penglihatannya terjejas akibat penyakit apabila keadaan semakin parah.

“Saya tidak tahu bagaimana proses sebenar mendapatkan Fado, mungkin mereka membayar untuk menjalani latihan, tetapi ia lebih kepada membuat cermin mata bukan menjalankan pemeriksaan penuh terhadap kesihatan mata yang berkait rapat dengan keadaan tubuh badan,” katanya ketika ditemui Harian Metro, baru-baru ini.

Beliau berkata, sudah sampai masanya kerajaan meneliti semula Akta Optik 1991 yang membenarkan juru optik yang tidak mempunyai latar belakang bidang optometri memberikan preskripsi cermin mata atau kanta sentuh.

“Perkara ini sudah lama berlarutan, sepatutnya pesakit mata perlu bertemu ahli optometri terlebih dulu, pakar optik itu kemudiannya akan mencadangkan kepada pesakit sama ada merujuk kepada pakar oftamologi yang terbabit dengan pembedahan mata atau sekadar perlu membuat cermin mata berdasarkan keputusan pemeriksaan yang dijalankan.

“Bagaimanapun perkara ini tidak berlaku, bukan saja di Malaysia tetapi banyak negara lain. Apabila penglihatan kian kabur kebiasaannya mereka terus membuat cermin mata sedangkan banyak sebab menjadi punca masalah itu,” katanya. Menurutnya, hanya terdapat 700 optometri di Malaysia berdasarkan kadar penduduk, negara memerlukan sekurang-kurang 3,000 optometri.

“Peluang kerjaya dalam bidang ini amat meluas tetapi disebabkan faktor tertentu tidak ramai anggota masyarakat yang mahu merujuk kepada mereka terlebih dulu jika menghadapi masalah penglihatan terutama rabun,” katanya.

Source : http://praya.hmetro.com.my/myMetro/articles/Bolehjadibuta/Article/index_html

OMG!! WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!~~

This was the first reaction in my mind when i read about this article on Malaysiakini. Apparently, without even a hint to the media or the general public at large, 6000 genetically modified mosquitoes was released at an inhabited site in Pahang. This hallmark scientific trial is suppose to be an experiment to combat dengue fever.

Below are excerpt from the Malaysiakini article

The Institute of Medical Research (IMR), which was tasked with carrying out the trial, said the experiment was conducted on Dec 21 to "study the dispersal and longevity of these mosquitoes in the field".

"The experiment was successfully concluded on January 5, 2011," the institute said in a statement today, adding that no further releases are planned until the trial results are analysed.

The insects in the experiment have been engineered so that their offspring quickly die, curbing the growth of the population in a technique researchers hope could eventually eradicate the dengue mosquito altogether.

Females of the Aedes species are responsible for spreading dengue, a deadly disease which killed at least 134 people last year in Malaysia alone.

Seriously speaking, are the government out of their minds?? Did hair suddenly grow out of their balls one day that they did not even try to implicate the ecological disaster that may happen from such an uncontrolled environment? I can more or less understand if they did this experiment in a huge controlled greenhouse like environment but NO, the iron ball scientist thought it would be safe to release this genetically modified, potentially mutating "insects" in an inhabited site. HELLOOO!!! MOZZIES CAN FLY LAH!!~~

Maybe its just me seeing too much horror movie but for the mosquito mutate and creating even more resistant mosquito may be possible right?

Maybe later in the years we will hear people falling sick in Pahang due to some mystery fever or flu. But by then it may just be the beginning of the end............


P.S I may have exaggerated a bit but GM animals be it insect or not should be handled with care. There is no guarantee of what the consequence this action may do. Only time will tell.

Abused Dog Video on Facebook

I was gobsmacked and totally restless today after watching a video on facebook on a dog being abused. The video shows a man trying to teach the toy poodle how to stand on 2 legs and bashing him continuously for not doing it right. There were even instances in which the guy threw the dog across the room. The girl that was filming the whole thing did nothing to stop her boyfriend.

At the moment, there seem to be a witch hunt for the guy in the video. Many FB'er's are frantically trying to identify the abuser and it seems that they may have found the culprit based on clues from the video. For certain, the culprit is from Malaysia.

I hope the authorities finds out about this and do something.

However, i am doubtful if the authorities would do anything in regards to dog abuse.

You can see the video here

Please be warned that this are really disturbing scenes in my opinion.

Inspiration

I am sitting in my office right now inspired by a piece of article i read on Malaysiakini.

I am sure many of you like me are sick and tired reading political bigamy that is spewed out by mainstream as well as alternative media nowadays from both the political divide. There is just too much hate, all talk and no tangible work being done. However from time to time, we do see service being done above politics and this article is definitely one of them.

If every politician irregardless of their alignment are like this then we would all be living in a better country.

Below are a cut and paste of the article i just read.

A BN vote bank is aided by Pakatan

Terence Netto
Jan 22, 11
10:59am

The Temiar of Sungai Siput have long been a reliable vote bank for the BN, something like 9,000 of them domiciled on the banks of tributaries of the Sungai Perak that crisscross the constituency, giving the ruling coalition 99 percent of the vote in the general election of 1999, 96 percent in 2004, and 90 percent in 2008.

In all that time, the recipient of this largesse, MIC's S Samy Vellu, confined reciprocation to the giving out of presents to headmen while the Orang Asli Department (JHEOA) periodically supplemented the trickle with handouts.

Apparently, from whom a lot is given little is required.

A rather bleak situation, one might say, to a prospective MP trying to break the cycle of servitude in which the Temiar are immured.

But Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj of the Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), since 1999 a rival claimant to S Samy Vellu for the allegiance of Sungai Siput's voters, decided that even if naught is to be had for service to the Temiar by an opposition politician, service must still be rendered.

Thus when the 400 Temiar of some 50 households in Kampong Perje in Pos Legap needed money in 2009 to buy new cables to secure a rickety bridge over the Sungai Pelus, used by them to ferry the latex they tapped from rubber trees off the banks, they approached their newly elected MP.

“We decided that because their conditions were wretched, their needs overrode other considerations such as their solid support for the BN,” said Jeyakumar, who was elected in March 2008 on a wave for the opposition that year.

“Also, representatives of Kampong Perje continued to attend meetings we held to discuss Orang Asli needs even after the fall of the Pakatan state government in February 2009,” he said. “Reps from other Orang Asli villages kept away out of fear,” he added.

Popularly known as 'Dr Kumar', the PSM activist had made forays into Orang Asli villages deep in the interior of Sungai Siput even when he was not their elected MP prior to 2008, to see what could done for them.

“They are a terribly marginalised group and they needed all the help they can get,” he rationalized.

So when Pos Legap's Temiar wanted new cables for a dilapidated bridge, Dr Kumar and his crew of PSM stalwarts in Sungai Siput decided that it would be better to build a new bridge a kilometer away from the site of the old one.

“The old one was too rickety,” he said. “There was little point in shoring it up with new cables.”

But where to get the money for the new bridge, given that opposition MPs are deprived by the federal government of constituency allocations rendered to the tune of RM2 million a year to BN legislators?

PAS leader steps in to help

Dr Kumar, who was elected on a PKR ticket because PSM were no yet a registered political party in March 2008, asked help from his Pakatan Rakyat cohort in Sungai Siput.

The PAS leader in the constituency, Ahmad Mazlan Othman, a retired army engineer who had been a candidate for the Lintang state seat in the 1999 and 2004 elections, was instrumental in getting his party to contribute RM5,000 to the overall cost of the new bridge which was estimated at RM70,000.

The rest of the budget was raised from the MP allowances for Dr Kumar (RM35,000), from sundry friends of his (RM20,000) and from two Catholic groups (RM10,000).

In short, the money for the new bridge came out of a Pakatan-like collaborative effort by assorted groups. From whom much is deprived, not a little can be got.

Construction of the bridge, which was supervised at every stage by Ahmad Mazlan, began in August 2009.

A squad of PAS volunteers helped out at every stage of the construction. PSM activists M Sukumaran, M Augustine, S Nagentiran and Alexis Paulraj did turns helping out with the technical and other inputs.

Jointly and severally, this motley crew pooled their slender resources which Ahmad, with his professional expertise, ably marshaled to bring the bridge to near completion.

“There is only a little more work left to be finished,” said Dr Kumar, “which Ahmad says would be completed this weekend or over the next.”

There will be no opening ceremony for this bridge that a Pakatan-like 'gotong royong' has almost brought to pass for the Temiar of Pos Legap and no plaques to honour the selfless band involved in its conception and construction.

Whether the bridge would shift the Temiar's voting allegiance is a question of some irrelevance to Dr Kumar.

“The wretched must inherit the earth,” said Dr Kumar in typically socialistic, Franz Fanon-like, style.




(source : Malaysiakini)

Malaysia Today : Optometry Now

I have been asked many question about the eyecare industry and how it would shape up in Malaysia in the next 5-10 years.

Most common question by most aspiring eye care professionals would be :-

Should I study to become an Optometrist or an Optician??


If you are unsure what is an Optometrist compared to an Optician, read here

My answer would be take your Optometry course now and forget about the latter.


My reason is based mainly on a 3 factors :-

1) There is currently 6 (if i am still correct) Universities offering Optometry course in Malaysia. That means in the next 2-4 years, we would be churning out 200-300 optometrist per year. In the next 5-10 years numbers of Optometrist may well be at par with number of registered Opticians if not more.

2) As you know, the government are now discouraging the public to take up medicine that have been experiencing a glut in recent years. At the moment, the ratio of Houseman to Tutors are way off the charts resulting in the fear that the profession is suffering from a deterioration in quality. This will inevitably cause prospective student to look at other health related fields in Malaysia and Optometry is definitely up there. This may result in more universities offering Optometry courses and resulting in more Optometrist in the general market.

3) There is now a better awareness among the public between what is an Optometrist as compared with an Optician. This awareness will only increase as the years go by.

This 3 factors alone will propel Optometrist as the main eye care practitioner in the Optical Industry.

This in 7-10 years would result in the government to amend the Optical Act to make it compulsory for every optical outlet to have a registered Optometrist (like in Pharmacist to a Pharmacy). Many people are skeptic when i tell them this but i really beg to differ.

Furthermore, even before the act is amended, public awareness on the role of Optometrist as compared to an Optician is already on the rise. Not too long from now, i am sure most consumer may even insist that they have their eyes refracted by an Optometrist rather then an Optician.

This will also see the government tighten the already existing legislature on contact lens sales. At the moment all optical outlet are selling contact lens but the Optical Act states that only Optician with Pink Form and Registered Optometrist can dispense them to the general public. This may constitute to less then 50% (25% is my gut feeling if you include rural areas) of the optical outlets out there. An alarming figure indeed. As more Optometrist come out in the open market, pressure will be on the relevant department to enforce the already existing legislature.

For Opticians that have already been practicing in this industry, there will be challenging days ahead with the slowly but surely revolution of the industry. They will eventually have to work with Optometrist to ensure there is a more comprehensive approach in eye health care (if not also for their own livelihood). In UK, Optometrist are normally confined to their sight test room and sales are done by Opticians. This may be a good way forward.

One thing for sure, the change is coming and it is for the betterment of not just the industry which at the moment are degraded into somewhat a "pasar malam" culture but also to the consumer at large.

Focus Point admits mistake, offers IPO exit option

Finally, an official announcement from Focus Point (From Business Times).
So that means even after this fiasco, Focus point will only equipt 30 of its outlet with professionals that can dispense contact lens legally.

Makes you wonder about the other optical chains in Malaysia.

The below abstract can be found here



Focus Point admits mistake, offers IPO exit option


Focus Point Holdings Bhd has admitted that 38 of its stores have broken the law on contact lens prescription and it has offered investors the chance to get their money back.

The country's largest professional eyecare chain said 38 outlets were found to have dispensed contact lenses without the presence of a qualified optometrist or optician.

Although over-the-counter sales of disposable contact lenses is a common industry practice, this is against the Optical Act 1991. Focus Point said it has ceased doing so from yesterday, it said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia.

The group had to postpone its listing on the stock market at the eleventh hour on July 27 following an anonymous allegation about its business. One of the complaints is that there were instances when contact lenses were prescribed by unqualified staff.

"Prior to this cessation, as at December 31 last year, 38 of the group's 64 eye care centres were found to have been dispensing contact lenses over the counter without a qualified optometrist or optician," the company said.

There were instances where certain outlets dispensed contact lenses without the physical presence of these qualified personnel.

Focus Point said its remaining outlets were serviced by 13 optometrists and three opticians qualified to prescribe and dispense contact lenses. It currently has 144 outlets nationwide.

President and chief executive officer Datuk Liaw Choong Liang in a press statement issued later in the evening said the company has given its full cooperation to the regulators.

Focus Point said it has extended an exit option to investors who have subscribed for its shares under the public issue.

"Investors can exit, should they, for any reason wish to do so," the company said. Its new listing date is on August 23 2010.

Focus Point plans to have either an optometrist or optician qualified to prescribe and dispense contact lenses at each of its top 30 professional eye care centres

Contact Lens : Are optical outlet selling them legally in Malaysia?

I am encouraged to write this new post by a few of my friends as they have been reading about the Focus Point incident lately in the papers. (latest update can be read here)

The main question that was thrown to me was :

When I buy contact lenses in an optical outlet, how do I know the person selling me the contact lenses are legally allowed to do so (as in only registered pharmacist can dispense prescribed medication)?

Answer : I will explain the answer in 2 parts.

Firstly, in Malaysia, only 2 group of people are allowed to prescribe and dispense contact lenses to the public

1) Optometrist - This group of people holds a degree in Optometry and are fully equipped with expertise to examine your eye for any eye defects as well as dispense contact lens to you

2) Qualified Optician with "Pink Form" - This group of people holds a "Fellow of British Dispensing Optician" after finishing a year and a half course at Axismatic College after their SPM. On top of that they will also need to take a contact lens qualification exam certified by the Ministry of Health. Once qualified, they are given a pink form stating that they are qualified to dispense contact lenses. This "pink form" must be displayed prominently at the optical outlet.


So, how do we identify this 2 group of people when we enter an optical outlet?

The answer lies on the certification that is given out by the Malaysian Optic Council (MOC) that is the regulatory body of the optical industry.

Optometrist is certified with a green coloured form stating his name and qualification

Optician / Juru Optik is certified with a blue coloured form stating his name and qualification and IF he is qualified to dispence contact lenses, he will have another pink coloured certification stating that he is qualified to dispense contact lenses.

The regulatory body in Malaysia (MOC) has also in the past few years issued photo certification to be prominently displayed in optical outlet. This yellow coloured certification contains the photo of the Optometrist / Optician (Juru Optik) that is working in the outlet as well as his name and also what services that can be provided. Optometrist and Optician (Juru Optik) with pink form will have 2 sections, the first stating that he is allowed to prescribed and dispense opthalmic lenses (prescription spectacle) and 2nd section stating that he/she are allowed to prescribe and dispense contact lenses. If an Optician (Juru Optik) do not have a pink form, his photo certificate will only have one column stating he can prescribe and dispense ophthalmic lenses and frames ONLY.

To summarize, ALL Optometrist can dispense contact lenses BUT only Optician with a pink form are allowed to dispense contact lenses.

And how do we confirm that the person is either of the above?

Ask or look for the photo certification or at the least see if the outlet contain a green or a pink cert with the name of the person that is serving you.


Hope this clears the air.

If you want to know more about Optometrist and Optician, you can read my previous blog here

Doodling

Its been a long hiatus since my last blog entree.

I am busy but honestly not to the point that I do not have time to blog. Its actually lack of inspiration and I have seem to have lost the passion to write.

Everytime i click on the "compose" button, my mind goes blank and I can't seem to be able to put things into words. Probably age catching up or just that my braincells have reached critical cut off point. I think i remember my biology teacher telling me that brain cells do not regenerate but keeps degenerating as you age. Thats the reason why you tend to be more forgetful as you get older. Geez.... i am already bloody forgetfull as I am. I'll be surprised that I would even be able to get to the toilet from my room by the time I hit 90 (if i live that long that is).

Oh yeah, recently I have been into finance megazines. Been subscribing Personal Money and SME Malaysia for the past few month. With the current economic conditions, i reckon that its good to understand more of your own finance and plan for the future. There are always good opportunities lying in a downturn.

Oh well, that's me done doodling.

Hope to be writing more in the future perhaps