MADRID 14 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Permanent Board of the Spanish Society of Ophthalmology (SEO) has completely rejected the official ophthalmic prescription put in place by the General Council of Colleges of Opticians-Optometrists (CGCOO), by which, according to this body, “the members practicing in “The entire national territory will be able to carry out the optional prescription of health products related to visual health digitally and at no cost.”
Thus, the SEO has reminded the CGCOO that “opticians are neither medical personnel nor can they prescribe health products,” because “who prescribes does not sell, and who sells does not prescribe.” For this reason, the SEO highlights that the sale of glasses, contact lenses and other types of optical aids is common practice in commercial establishments called opticians and, therefore, the prescription of prescriptions in these stores is an illegal practice.
On the other hand, the SEO understands that this recipe does not comply with the objective of Royal Decree 954/2015, of October 23, and violates the regulatory framework of the medical profession and the interprofessional agreements agreed upon both in its preparation and in the treatment of the information that is subsequently disseminated. Thus, “we must remind the Administration and society as a whole that diagnosis and treatment are an exclusive competence of the medical profession and that it represents a guarantee for patient safety and quality of care,” he adds.
In this way, the Society affirms that the prescription of medicines and health products is a medical act for which six years of training in the Degree in Medicine and four or five years of specialization are required, after having passed a MIR exam at the level national. In this sense, remember that both European and Spanish legislation “reserve exclusively to doctors, dentists or podiatrists, within the scope of their respective powers, the power to establish treatments with medications and/or health products subject to medical prescription.” and all this based on protecting and guaranteeing the quality of care and patient safety.”
Likewise, it defends that the prescription of medications and health products is the final result of a process that begins with the anamnesis, physical examination and clinical tests, which continue with a diagnostic approach and finally a therapeutic plan, among which is choosing the most appropriate medicine or health product. “This process must be understood as a clinical-care continuum, where each step is understood as an integral part of a whole and cannot be separated from each other,” adds the Society.
Therefore, it emphasizes that this care process is the exclusive responsibility of the doctor, who is, in the current legal framework, “the only professional who has the appropriate clinical skills to perform this function with quality and safety, resulting from his university training and postgraduate, as stated in article 6 of Law 44/2003 on the Regulation of Health Professions”.
Likewise, he insists on “the importance of using the terminology around competencies and functions correctly and responsibly so as not to confuse patients and the population in general. Indication is not the same as prescription.”
