Which medical professional is responsible for measuring visual acuity?

The ophthalmic medical technologist is specifically trained to perform various diagnostic tests related to eye health, which includes measuring visual acuity. Visual acuity testing is a crucial procedure that helps assess how well a person can see at different distances, and this is typically within the scope of practice for an ophthalmic medical technologist who operates under the supervision of an ophthalmologist.

While opticians, ophthalmologists, and scribes have distinct roles in the eye care field, they focus on different aspects of patient care. Opticians primarily work with lenses and eyewear, fitting glasses or contact lenses based on prescriptions. Ophthalmologists are medical doctors who perform eye surgeries and treat eye diseases; they do assess visual acuity but typically after the initial testing is done. Scribes assist healthcare providers by documenting patient encounters but do not perform clinical tests like measuring visual acuity. Therefore, the responsibility of taking visual acuity measurements clearly falls under the expertise of the ophthalmic medical technologist.