ODMA CEO Amanda Trotman relishing the buzz at O=Mega23

O=Mega23/WCO4’s organisers, the Australian Optical Distributors and Manufacturers Association (ODMA) and Optometry Victoria South Australia (OV/SA), reported a record-breaking 3,500+ visitors attended this year’s event, including approximately 1,250 conference attendees, 2,000 trade fair attendees and more than 400 industry representatives.

Australia accounted for the lion’s share of attendees, with New Zealand next in line with 60 attendees, while others travelled from as far afield as the US, Canada, Singapore, China, South Africa, India, Europe and Sri Lanka. Most were optometrists (30%), practice managers/owners (17%) or dispensers (15%), with academics, suppliers and the inescapable ‘other’ making up the rest.

ODMA CEO Amanda Trotman said all in all it was a great achievement, with the numbers proving how much live events are still valued. “There was huge interest in seeing the products and services in the trade fair. I care so much about this because the suppliers make a huge investment and shows are not possible without their support, so it was such a positive experience to hear so many good comments from the exhibitors.”

Conference CPD disappointment

Though most New Zealand delegates questioned agreed with Trotman about the positive trade floor vibe and rated the optometry clinical conference – the largest ever in the Southern Hemisphere with more than 80 presentations and 90 posters across three days – there were some grumblings about the lack of CPD-accreditation for New Zealand eyecare practitioners.

Unlike its Australian counterpart the Optometry Board of Australia (OBA), which moved to an hours-based CPD system from 2021, the Optometry and Dispensing Opticians Board (ODOB) requires CPD accreditation for each session attended. This was introduced following the advent of Covid-19 and the introduction of online and now, more-often than not, hybrid conferences giving people the flexibility to attend the whole conference or just a few sessions.

“The current ODOB accreditation process unfortunately makes it untenable for us to get every session accredited, due to the resourcing that would be required at our end,” said Ilsa Hampton, CEO of OV/SA. “We have reached out to the ODOB about our concerns and are hoping with their assistance there may be a way to get more of the O=Mega23/WCO4 programme (post event) fully accredited.” Optometry Australia (OA) is also open to collaborating with the ODOB to make it easier for Australian CPD events to be recognised for New Zealand optometrists, she said. “Our university degrees are recognised in New Zealand and we remain hopeful that our CPD, that has been quality-assured by OA, could be treated in the same way.”

The ODOB requires accreditation for each session (or groups of sessions) to ensure there’s confidence in the quality and relevance of these sessions to meet recertification requirements in New Zealand, said ODOB chair Kristine Hammond, noting that many conferences are accredited this way today. “Those (conference organisers) who do struggle sometimes didn’t plan their CPD accreditation processes in time. We have a 20-working-day turnaround time on each application.” This is particularly true for some non-New Zealand conference organisers who understandably focus on their own country’s CPD requirements rather than others, she said. “Australian CPD is accredited according to different standards and criteria. Even though the countries are the same, they are very unique, and their models of care and treatment permissions are different.”

Hammond said the ODOB has not yet heard from conference organisers about post-event CPD for O=Mega23/WCO; however, it is trying to help New Zealand practitioners. “While the information we have will not completely satisfy the board’s standards, we have attempted to assist them ourselves and will try and get this accredited before the end of October 2023, so this could count towards the CPD for optometrists at least.”

The CPD accreditation process is reviewed regularly, she said, with the board agreeing to continue with the current arrangement at the last review in August 2023.