# can ophtalmologist or technician involved in prescribing glasses be fully automated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 5, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-ophtalmologist-or-technician-involved-in-prescribing-glasses-be-fully-automated/559531 "2010-11-05T01:39:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-ophtalmologist-or-technician-involved-in-prescribing-glasses-be-fully-automated/559531/1 "2010-11-05T01:39:07Z")
from my experience, the test that is used to write the prescription for eyeglasses is pretty much a bunch of multiple choice questions in response to various images plus a few instructions about which eye to close and where to look. Even if the patient were suspected of efforts to deliberately subvert accuracy of the test, I think correct actions could be enforced technologically if needed. So, what’s the point in having the highly paid human medical professional who works 9 to 5 there in the first place? Why not setup an arcade type machine that runs you through the test and then generates the prescription? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-ophtalmologist-or-technician-involved-in-prescribing-glasses-be-fully-automated/559531/2 "2010-11-05T01:52:45Z")
Optometrist. Ophthalmologists can do that but usually treat diseases of the eye. They don’t just give you a prescription, but also decide what type of vision you have, whether you can do things like wear contacts, and can diagnose and treat diseases such as glaucoma. If an automated system screwed up, you could cause damage to your eyes, particularly with contact lenses, which is why opticians and manufacturers need a copy of your prescription per US law in order to give you lenses. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-ophtalmologist-or-technician-involved-in-prescribing-glasses-be-fully-automated/559531/3 "2010-11-05T13:16:57Z")
> [@code\_grey](#): > > So, what’s the point in having the highly paid human medical professional who works 9 to 5 there in the first place? Why not setup an arcade type machine that runs you through the test and then generates the prescription? Well, you’d first need to have paid, human medical professionals _approve_ the process. Let’s just say that it’s _not_ the automobile assembly line hourly workers who first thought of and then lobbied for their replacement by robots. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-ophtalmologist-or-technician-involved-in-prescribing-glasses-be-fully-automated/559531/4 "2010-11-05T14:11:55Z")
The professionals are there to take care of the exceptions to the routine as well as the routine. And they never know when the exceptions are going to occur. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-ophtalmologist-or-technician-involved-in-prescribing-glasses-be-fully-automated/559531/5 "2010-11-05T14:59:07Z")
while a machine might accept yes or no a person can process, “i’m not sure if a or b was better” ot “it is sort of better”. a person could adjust the test to come to the correct solution. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-ophtalmologist-or-technician-involved-in-prescribing-glasses-be-fully-automated/559531/6 "2010-11-05T16:49:07Z")
I’ve asked my optometrist friend this. She replied that there is as much art as science involved. I’m one of those “problem patients” whose real prescription doesn’t work for me. She knows how to adjust the “scientific” prescription to get one that does work for me. More detail: I have both astigmatism and, well, I’m not sure of the term. Apparently one of my eyes actually points a few degrees below the other. She tried giving me lenses that compensated for this mis-aiming and my brain just couldn’t adjust to it. So now we leave that off my prescription. J.