Éditorial CJO SM24

T he continuing efforts of the provincial, territorial and federal governments to solve the health care crisis comes as optometry in several provinces negotiate to expand scope of practice and retain or expand coverage of optometric services in provincial health care plans.They coincide with the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) in diagnostic systems that are claimed to meet or exceed the performance of experienced clinicians in many health disciplines.Given that many AI diagnostic systems are intended to be used by multidisciplinary teams in larger clinical settings or hospitals, one has to wonder if the days of the solo health care practitioner may be coming to an end.Family medical practices are being supplanted by corporate group medical practices.Individual practitioners in many fields, including optometry, are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit associates.The technology and personnel requirements are rapidly making independent solo practice financially unsustainable.