Assogruppi Ottica and Federottica state: “our professionals operate in accordance with the rules”

The reaction to statements on the SOI website Assogruppi Ottica and Federottica, the optics sector's two most representative associations for organized groups and optometrists, respectively, sent a letter of formal notice SOI (the Italian ophthalmological society) to remove from its website the article "Contrastare l'abusivismo: come procedere" (Fighting misconduct: how to proceed). The article states that "there are increasingly frequent cases of misconduct with regard to the work carried out by eye care professionals", who "very often behave and act in ways that violate the profession of ophthalmology and orthoptistry".   In a public area and therefore accessible to anyone, the statements - the letter reads - suggest that eye care professionals act in accordance with a consolidated practice of claiming skills they do not in fact possess. The statements do not in any way correspond to the reality of professionals who operate in accordance with the rules and with absolute correctness and which cast the category into disrepute.   The article's false statements are even more damaging, said Andrea Garagnani and Andrea Afragoli, because they come at a time when the two categories were at the same table and then, thanks to CDV, worked side by side in the operation "I Mesi della Vista" (vision health months) that provided free screenings for citizens. A collaboration that was made possible primarily by the determination of Assogruppi Ottica and Federottica, which demonstrated that they were open to various compromises by focusing their attention solely on the gift of eyesight and then using all available means to organize screenings in ten Italian cities.