A survey of hawaii optometrists: The optometric use of pharmaceutical agents

A mail survey was conducted on practicing optometrists in the state of Hawaii for their views on the optometric use of diagnostic pharmaceutical agents (DPA) and therapeutic pharmaceutical agents (TPA). Of ninety-eight questionnaires mailed, four were invalidated and seventy of the remaining ninety-four (74.5%) were completed and returned. Results indicated that 97.1% of the optometrists, significantly more than half, favored the use of DPA while 37.1%, significantly less than half, favored the use of TPA. Preferences for DPA and TPA use were unrelated to the optometrists\u27 mode of practice and professional school attended. The optometrists with fewer years in practice tended to favor DPA and TPA use more than those with more years in practice, but not significantly so. 97.1% of the optometrists performed tonometry on their patients and 64.3% had taken a course in pharmacology