OPTICIANS

High Street and Online Opticians

High Street and Online Opticians

Introduction

Favourable economic, demographic and pricing trends will be tailwinds for the Eye Glasses and Contact Lens Stores industry in the five years to 2016. In contrast, the industry's mature nature and mounting external competition will likely restrain growth. Furthermore, mass merchandisers and internet-only retailers are positioned to take customers away from traditional brick-and-mortar outlets. This paper presents a brief analysis of changes in the opticians industry that has followed by regulations impact on

Problem Statement

A number of 'on-line optician' services have appeared on the internet offering prescription spectacles at prices which are lower than the High Street offerings. This research aims at examining is increased competition ensure a better outcome for consumers in this health related market from a legal perspective or not.

Discussion

In early 2010, UK government signed the final elements of healthcare reform into law for opticians. This legislation includes several provisions that affect vision and eye health (DOH, 2008). For the most part, more British people will gain access to insurance that covers vision care. One of the “Optometrists and Opticians Amendment Act 2011” provisions adds vision healthcare services to health clinics, high street opticians, and online opticians; another measure includes vision as an essential health benefit within opticians services (Davies, 2010). These provisions aim to bridge the gap in vision and eye healthcare for people in the United Kingdom (Wooton, 2003).

Under the new act, an estimated 32 million British Citizens will gain health protection coverage by the full implementation of the provisions (Davies, 2010). This coverage will enable these consumers to seek out specialized care that opticians provide, leading to increased demand. Other healthcare movements, such as the Healthy People 2010 initiative, which is co-led by the National Eye Institute, are targeting vision health as an area for improvement ...