Dr. Satya B. Verma

Dr. Satya B. Verma, director of Community Eye Care at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Philadelphia, says India has huge eye care problems, not least of all is the lack of standardization in care. And in the U.S., he said patients, especially diabetics, must be educated on getting regular checkups to avoid blindness.

Dr. Verma, who was born in Multan, now part of Pakistan, and whose parents moved to Haryana, used to help his physician father take care of patients as a child. That perked his interest in eye care and he went on to study optometry, serving later at the Willingdon Hospital (later renamed as Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital) in New Delhi.

“India has vast problems –– the biggest being that optometry as a profession is not regulated –– anybody can examine the eyes,” he told News India-Times. But, he said, things are getting better. “I was in India in November 2002 for the World Council on Optometry meeting where I was sent as the presidential envoy,” he recalled. “Part of my role was to assess the situation in India and come up with a plan to help the country.”

He visited many centers of eye care around the country. Seeing the many schools of optometry, each with a different curriculum, one of the first things, Dr. Verma suggested was to bring some standardization.

“There’s no standardization though some are trying to follow the American system; I wanted them to come together as a single organization, and we managed to bring them all together this March (2003) and formed two national level organizations,” he said. “It was also meant to ask the Government of India to start regulating the process.”

With his experience in policy areas, it was no surprise when last year in January, he was selected as the only optometrist for a Primary Health Care Policy Fellowship by the Department of Health and Human Services.

“In this country, the profession of Optometry is the best in the world,” said Dr. Verma, but “even though we have the best profession, I am sure there are some people whose vision needs are not being met in this country,” he qualifies. “I say that because I served on the National Eye Institute ---- Eye Health Education Program, and found still more could be done.” He said educating people, especially diabetics, on how to take care of their eyes, was essential. “Education is the hardest part to do.”

“A lot of Indians have diabetes and it affects the eyes and can lead to blindness. It is very important to have regular checkups. A number of my patients here are Indians and I tell them about getting regular checkups.” Dr. Verma came to the U.S. in 1970, having served as the Secretary of the Indian Optometry Association. He was invited by the dean of the Optometry Department at Berkeley “to come over and further my education.”

He then moved on a year later to be on the faculty of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Philadelphia, in 1971.

Dr. Verma was recommended for the Health and Human Services Fellowship by his own profession and is only the 3rd optometrist ever to receive it.

“The Fellowship is meant to give us leadership skills and looking at health issues from a policy perspective and how to improve things,” he said. As part of one of the groups that had to make recommendations at the close of the fellowship last June, Dr. Verma’s group suggested making physicians’ handwriting more readable. “A lot of medical errors are due to poor writing,” Dr. Verma told News India-Times. “We understood from the Secretary of Health that some of the changes we suggested are already in the pipeline and may be implemented in one form or another.”

He has been selected to co-chair the upcoming Joint Conference of National Council on Aging and the American Society on Aging to be held in Philadelphia. “I have done that in the past as well,” he said. Dr. Verma has received numerous awards and recognitions for his work in linking various professional organizations. He has been on the board of National Council on Aging for the last 12 years. He teaches and deals with issues of geriatrics and low vision patients.