Is 2026 the Year of the Optician? Part III

For opticianry, 2026 is shaping up to be a potential turning point.

With Phernell Walker chairing the American Board of Opticianry (ABO) and Gwen Cooper leading the United Opticians Association (UOA), the profession has new momentum behind a larger goal: building a better trained, more consistently certified workforce. With rising patient demand due to an aging population, can opticians become a more integral part of the broader eye care team and further support optometrists and ophthalmologists?

Andrew S. Bruce, LDO, ABOM, NCLEM, FCLSA, a Washington state licensed dispensing optician and contact lens fitting specialist with a master’s in both ophthalmic optics and contact lens technology, believes they can thanks to an unprecedented level of evolution in the profession.

 “The recognition that we are getting as eyewear experts, as opticians, is fantastic,” he says. “I think doctors and consumers alike are realizing the role that opticians have in the eye care team.”

Certification as the Starting Point

For many, certification of opticians is becoming a priority. Requirements for opticians vary widely across the country, with more than half of states not requiring certification or licensure. For the UOA, certification is the first step toward consistent expectations nationwide, Cooper says. Her goal for entry into the field: get certified and stay certified.

“When you think about a field that is so critically important to the health and welfare of individuals, because our sight is critically important to everything that we do in our life, to have a profession that is not regulated and does not even demand regulation was surprising to me coming into the field,” Cooper says.

Bruce agrees that education and training are vitally important for opticians. Doctors and opticians alike, he says, are realizing the increased value of having trained and knowledgeable opticians on staff. Certification and licensing helps opticians gain the skill set and the knowledge needed to provide appropriate care in today’s environment. Plus, it can help practices stand out at a time when patients have more options, including online purchasing.

“There has to be a reason for the patient to drive to come to the office,” Bruce says. “You have to have some way of differentiating the services that you provide.”

A Larger Role in Patient Care

The push for certification is not only about credentials. It is a foundation to prepare opticians to take on a larger role in a team-based vision care system.

As optometrists and ophthalmologists manage more medical eye care, surgical care, and complex cases, Walker believes opticians can help support patient care more effectively if they are properly trained.

One example is refraction. Walker emphasizes that he is not calling for opticians to independently write final prescriptions. However, he notes that refraction is already part of opticianry education, and trained opticians could potentially support doctors by beginning a manifest refraction or helping with the workup before the doctor completes the exam.

Contact lenses represent another potential opportunity for increased responsibility. Recent Contact Lens Institute research surveyed both consumers and opticians about the optician’s role in contact lens care. According to the research, 56% of opticians indicated they were interested in getting more involved in contact lens-related patient care.

“The benefit of that would be that it would take away some of the time that the doctors were spending answering questions and providing aftercare, not necessarily fitting the contacts depending on state policies and scope of practice,” Bruce says.

Opticians, he says, could also play a larger role in patient education, including answering questions about products, maintenance, and insertion and removal training. The CLI research found that 84% of contact lens users’ interactions with opticians made them more confident about wear and care.

“The consumer definitely sees the optician as a vital team member in terms of providing contact lens care,” Bruce says. “But of course, this needs training. They have to have the training to be able to do that. They have to have the knowledge.”

Technology Is Raising the Bar

At the same time, optical technology is becoming more complex. Advanced progressive lenses, myopia management spectacle lenses, premium lens designs, smart eyewear, and AI-enabled frames all require more expertise.

While opticians may not prescribe all of these tools, Bruce says they play a critical role in educating families and ensuring that eyewear with myopia management lenses, for example, is properly fit, ordered, and dispensed.

While AI and automated technologies are changing the way opticians take measurements for eyewear, Bruce does not believe this technology will replace opticians.

“Technology, I don’t believe, can ever replace the optician,” Bruce says. “The optician is the one that provides that personalized care and attention.”

What Comes Next

If 2026 is the year of the optician, will this momentum lead to lasting change?

Cooper says that consistent certification, stronger training, and broader roles for opticians will require collaboration across the profession, though that may take time and effort.“ Nothing is going to happen solo,” says Cooper. “I’ve worked in policy making for 26 years, and you have to build consensus.”

Patients, practices, and opticians all have the same goal: skilled professionals who can provide excellent care. This goal can be accomplished with a strong eye care team that is prepared to meet growing patient demand.

“I see and am hopeful that we see increased scope of practice in the field of opticianry,” Bruce says. “Hopefully opticians will be able to do more rather than being limited to what we can currently do in certain states.”

For opticians, 2026 is the start of an opportunity to define the profession’s future.