The Ophthalmic Imaging Associating (OIA) will propose and publish a volume of refined standards for Ophthalmic and Vision Science. These will be reviewed by the OIA membership at its annual conference in November 2025 and released thereafter.
The OIA is one of four professional bodies that make up the International Conference of Ophthalmic Photographers (ICOP), in collaboration with the Ophthalmic Photographer’s Society (OPS, USA), Oogheelkundige Fotographie Nederland (OFN, NL), and the Australian Institute of Medical and Biological Illustration (AIMBI, AUS). The OIA expects its new standards to represent and support the activity of all grades of staff working within Ophthalmic and Vision Science (OVS). And contribute to a framework of OVS that reflects the clinical landscape.
The Royal College of Ophthalmology report on Optimum Workforce Composition suggests Imaging and associated diagnostic techniques are essential in >81% of the reported sub-specialties [1].
Historically, photography has been central to the diagnosis and monitoring of ocular diseases. Ophthalmic photography requires skill, adept technique, and discipline. Perhaps this is why many employers entrust their imaging to registered clinical photography practitioners. Or, because of the growing emphasis on technology, those performing imaging are sometimes designated as technicians.
Imagers, more generally, increasingly perform and report on structural and functional measures of the eye and assist in the diagnosis and surveillance of patients with known, suspected or anticipated sight loss. Specialist techniques – like angiography and ultrasonography, perimetry and biometry – require proficiency, scientific method, and patient-centred care. Registered practitioners in healthcare science, similarly, reliably apply their proficiencies and professionalism to complete specialist techniques and investigations – and sometimes therapies – for patients [2].
The OIA celebrates the influential roles that healthcare science associates, practitioners and clinical scientists in OVS currently have in the most attended treatment specialties in the NHS [3]. In bringing clarity to the skillsets and responsibilities of Imagers in the OVS workforce, the OIA’s Standards will also celebrate their cohesion with physiological science colleagues, and enhance the clinical efficacy of their roles in supporting patients.
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