Dr. Tiffany Sum Optometry PC

03/30/2021

As your local optometrists, we’re sorry to say that we are being forced to withdraw all OHIP services effective September 1, 2021.

The Ontario government’s inaction the past 30 years has resulted in 96% of Optometrists in Ontario voting to do this in order to fight for a sustainable eyecare solution.

Government compensation for our eye-care has not meaningfully increased in 30 years and we have not been given a chance to negotiate any part of it. The government had a chance to address this issue in the 2021 Ontario Budget last week but failed to do so.

Currently, OHIP is only covering less than half the cost that it takes to provide an eye exam, forcing ALL offices to absorb the rest as a loss. Around 80% of eye exams in Ontario are OHIP exams, and that number is steadily rising as our population continues to age.

This eye care model, as it is, is unsustainable.

We can no longer afford to pay the costs the Ontario government is neglecting to pay. We hope our neighbours, friends, and fellow Ontarians will understand that we will not be able to continue OHIP exams until our government is willing to properly fund OHIP exams.

We want the government to publicly commit to Optometrists through legally-binding, formal negotiations, that optometrists will not have to subsidize the cost of eye care in Ontario any longer.

We ask all patients to share this message with other Ontario residents and to call/email your MPP to let them know that OHIP insured eye care in Ontario is not something that should be lost.

We will be providing all patients with the attached letter with your MPP info at the end of your OHIP insured eye exam. If you receive one it means that your future Optometry provided eye care services are in jeopardy. This affects children, seniors and anyone with diabetes, glaucoma or numerous other conditions. Take the time to share and voice your opinion.

This issue affects EVERY Ontarian. Some of us have children. We all have parents who will age. We will also age. Please help us protect eye care for this and future generations.

02/21/2021

Wearing a mask to keep yourself safe is so critical in a pandemic but it can also cause your glasses to fog up. How annoying, right!? The FogBlocker Dry Wipes is the solution you are looking for. One application can keep your glasses fog-free for 24+ hours and each wipe can be used 500+ times. It is available for purchase & curb-side pick up at our office.

02/12/2021

Wishing everyone Health, Happiness & Harmony in the Year of the Ox!! Happy Lunar New Year!! 🧧🎋🧧🍊🧧❤️

11/11/2020

Lest we forget ❤️❤️.

07/17/2020

Wearing a mask shows you care. 😷😷

Our clinic policy: No mask = no entry.

Keep safe everyone and have a great weekend.

07/03/2020

😢

Eye health in Ontario is at serious risk. COVID-19 has highlighted the gaps and strained the system for Ontarians’ eye health even further.

Change is critical to protect our eye health. Learn more at https://saveeyecare.ca/.

07/01/2020

Happy 153 birthday Canada!! Proud to be Canadian! 👀❤️🇨🇦!!

06/19/2020

Who remembers owning this card?

Please help Ontarians by signing & sharing with your friends.

www.saveeyecare.ca/

06/15/2020

Dear patients, thank you in advance for reading this post and for your support.

Today Ontario optometrists (2700 of us) are launching a Job Action to get the attention of the Government of Ontario.

For more than 30 (THIRTY) years, for every OHIP funded eye exam, optometrists are subsidizing more than 50% of the cost of delivering the eye exam, from their own pocket. It costs us more to provide that service than what OHIP pays us.

And we have been forced to do this for 30+ years. Our association has lobbied & tried negotiating with successive governments year after year but it has gotten us nowhere. At one point they called us “terrorists”. It is obvious our government feels your eye health is not worth investing in.

Add to the funding problem over the last 30+ years, is an increase to optometry’s scope of practice, and the technology we are expected to have has also increased.

During the pandemic many optometrists were treating patients with emergency eye problems with NO REMUNERATION!! We helped because we want to keep patients out of the hospital emergency rooms during the pandemic. Nice, polite Canadians we are. When we asked the government to pay us for our time, their reply was that these patients don’t need optometrists, they can go to their family doctor or see a nurse practitioner for emergency eye care. Seriously? Family doctors & nurse practitioners don’t have the equipment to examine the eyes!!

Optometry and the OHIP system was broken before COVID-19, and we are now in a crisis. Since our office has reopened we have invested in additional PPE and disinfection protocols to keep everyone safe. However the additional cost means we are losing even more $$ each time we see an OHIP patient. It is not sustainable and optometrist simply cannot do that anymore.

Our Job Action was going to start before COVID, but it was delayed. We have no choice but to start emergency action now. Unfortunately part of this action means we will not be bringing patients into our offices to provide care but recommending you seek care in other places such as your family doctor, your nurse practitioner, and the hospital emergency room.

Optometrists have a very unique relationship with their patients. Having practised for 25 years, I have come to know many of you so well. We love our patients and therefore this is not easy for us to do. We are not targeting or denying care to the most vulnerable, including children and the elderly. The government has put us in this situation.

Please help all Ontarians by signing and sharing the petition at www.saveeyecare.ca. We also encourage you to write to your MPP.

Without a significant funding change, we may not be here and the health & safety of Ontarians will be in jeopardy.

We need your help!

06/09/2020

First day back!! (posted with permission)

06/06/2020

Today is an exciting day for optometrists because it only happens once in a life time!! 😎🤓