Away from the headlines, Optometry Australia is racking up wins for its members, writes Skye Cappuccio.
It’s always a delight to celebrate the big wins for the profession with our members, such as the announcement of a new Medicare Benefits Schedule item, enhancements to a state-subsidised spectacle scheme, or the launch of an Advanced Practice Recognition program in optometry. Yet, as a professional association, much of what we do to support members and advocate for the profession doesn’t always attract a headline or provide a photo opportunity. Often, it’s the services that receive the least spotlight that have the greatest impact on our members.
For instance, over the years, we have consistently offered one-to-one professional support to members. We have a team of experienced optometrists well-versed in the profession’s nuances, who provide personalised advice to members on a breadth of professional issues, and support member access to legal advice on more complex employment matters.
In 2023 alone, we assisted with over 1,300 unique queries of a professional nature. Members reach out with questions ranging from Medicare billing and Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) regulations, to challenging relationships with colleagues or patient complaints, practising overseas, career options, driving assessment forms, and everything in between. Some members have straightforward questions, while others encounter key professional challenges, like working through the anxiety of a Medicare audit, a notification to Ahpra, or adjusting to a redundancy. All are handled with confidentiality and without judgement.
Some members are semi-regular callers. Some reach out for the first time when they encounter a hurdle in their professional career. Increasingly, members initially seek one-to-one support when considering their first employment contract as an optometrist.
The support we provide varies; sometimes it’s simply information, other times it’s more akin to mentorship, career counselling, individual advocacy, reassurance, or a supportive shoulder to cry on. No matter the need, we make sure there is always someone in the member’s corner, ready to help.
PLAYING THE LONG GAME
Much of our representation and advocacy work occurs quietly and away from the spotlight. While it might be intriguing to imagine secret meetings behind closed doors and negotiations in the shadows, the reality is more mundane. Advocacy is often a long game and involves making the same points over-and-over, building relationships, and helping the window of opportunity to arise.
While our representation and advocacy covers critical issues like Medicare rebates and scope of practice enhancements, it just as often looks like submissions to ensure the optometry voice is heard in the continual review of Ahpra regulations and guidelines, or in stakeholder discussions on digital health, or government consultations on allied health workforce strategy.
The Australian Government’s current Scope of Practice Review is a good example. Officially termed the ‘Unleashing the Potential of our Health Workforce Review’, this piece of work is intended to provide guidance on how to remove barriers to, and facilitate, primary health care practitioners practising at their full clinical scope. Optometry Australia has embraced the opportunity to participate in two written submissions and multiple in-person consultation workshops. Palpable at these consultations are both the frustration at systems that limit practitioners from practising to their fullness of scope, and the hope that the review will help pave the way for change.
Many of the key changes our allied health colleagues are pursuing are already well-established for optometry, including Medicare rebates for direct patient-access, the right to refer to specialists, and to prescribe medications.
For Optometry Australia, our focus is on building on the successes of the past, securing further scope of practice enhancements, and enabling funding flexibility to better support full scope practice and collaboration between primary and tertiary eye care. We have a key role in responding to emerging broader recommendations, such as those to facilitate better multi-disciplinary care for patients with chronic conditions, to ensure effective consideration of eye health and optometric care.
REACH OUT
In this ‘quiet work’, behind the scenes, we are grateful for the support of members who lend their expertise on working and advisory groups.
For Optometry Australia members, if you haven’t engaged with our professional advisors, please feel free to call or email, and if you wish to speak to the Optometry Advancement team about issues we are currently pursuing, reach out. We work hard for our members and appreciate your input.
Skye Cappuccio is the Chief Executive Officer of Optometry Australia.
