This month, Dr. Scot Morris asks an important question: Is the vision care industry at the table or on the menu?
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As we wrap up “meeting season” and we start focusing on Q4, I have contemplated many of the stand-out technological innovations on display at this year’s industry meetings—especially in tandem with some of the fascinating and controversial lectures focused on the AI revolution. The net result of my observation is both awe and absolute concern!
The “AWE” some
I often think back to a decade ago when many of the technologies we have today were futuristic “somedays.” In many cases, even the most future-forward thinkers could not have imagined them. A few years ago, almost no one had heard of, much less contemplated, the term “oculomics.” We were all just happy in our lanes, focusing on eye care needs, with little focus on what was going on in the rest of the body.
Fast forward to 2025, and we are talking about diagnostics tests that can peer into the inner metabolic workings of the body. We’re having conversations about changing what we do from “which is better: one or two” to “we are here to screen for neurodegenerative diseases that might impact your life a decade from now.” Technologies like autonomous refracting systems, autonomous slit lamps, AI embedded OCT technologies and cross platform access tools all seem like a monumental leap from 25 years ago when we were just figuring out what an OCT was. The thought of using retinal screening technology or a digital refracting system was hypocrisy, and we believed that telemedicine was a phone call to a patient.
On the retail side of our industry, we are seeing just as many inspiring products. Everyone has AI embedded lens technology these days. The smart glasses 2.0 revolution started a decade ago with the failed Google Glass project. It has evolved to today where multiple companies have augmented reality (AR) and heads-up display (HUD) products that may change the way we interact with the world and the way the world interacts with us. The rate of change and the scope of innovation are truly awesome. BUT…let’s not pat ourselves on the back quite yet. We are but mere minnows in a very big ocean in many ways.
The Greatest Threat to the Status Quo
At a recent meeting I attended, a speaker put a quote on the screen that I cannot get out of my head. It said: In business, you are either “at the table or on the menu.” As I attended several meetings and listened to people talking in the halls, I started to be concerned about which position our industry is in. As humans, we often don’t want to face harsh truths. Our egos and other biases give us the false thought that we are at the head of the table…until it is too late and we realize are “on the menu.”
I think we are heading into dangerous territory fueled by comfortable apathy and pessimistic inaction. There is one thing that is true from an evolutionary standpoint: Change is inevitable. We as an industry need to keep our minds and eyes open. PE has changed the landscape of the eye care industry. With this change has come the loss of autonomy and decision-making on a local level. But I am not singling them out—they are bait fish in this big ocean of health care. The sharks are starting to enter the feeding frenzy.
Looking into the Future
Eye care is a small player in the health care stage, but minuscule compared to the consumer electronics and telecommunications world. There is a reason that Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta and many other players are investing billions in interactive eyewear, AI infrastructure and big data. I believe they see a world where humans are not tethered to a “heads down” phone or a “computer and keyboard.” They foresee a world where we all interact with the world, and it interacts with us via a heads-up display fueled by powerful AI. They see a fundamental shift in consumer behavior and acceptance that we have not seen since the invention of the internet and the iPhone.
As eye care providers, it will still be largely our domain to interact at a human level with people to help them see the world clearly. But…advances in telemedicine make me wonder where that interaction will take place. Innovations in diagnostic technologies and shared knowledge platforms make me curious about how these interactions will take place in the near future. Will it even remotely resemble the “care in the lane” model of today? Or will we look back a decade from now and see today’s model as antiquated as trial frames, keratometers, glass photo gray lined bifocals and RK are today?
Transformations in the retail space are changing where and how retail purchasing will occur and what the future of “optical” might look like. Imagine frames 3D-printed at home that fit our personalized lenses. Or will our opticals be more of a consumer electronics store where you get to pick which color and style of frame you want for your HUD interface? (Not unlike the ways we pick a mobile device protector case today!)
Collaboration for a Better Future
Do I have your attention and curiosity? Innovation tends to disrupt the status quo when the players get comfortable or become apathetic and distracted. I think as an industry we need to drop the politics of what the initials are behind our name, or what type of facility we work in, and start collaborating to shape our collective futures. We need to decide if we want to step up to the table…or be on the menu!
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