The optometrist's role in dry eye management

In an exclusive interview with Optometry Times, Jade Coats, OD, FAAO, reflected on how dramatically dry eye management has evolved over the past decade, contrasting the limited options available 10 years ago—essentially a single topical solution—with today’s expanded armamentarium of devices, technologies, and diagnostic tools. Against this backdrop, she argued that optometrists should “own” the dry eye category, positioning themselves as the primary clinicians responsible not only for identifying and treating the condition, but also for laying the groundwork that enables ophthalmologists to achieve the best possible surgical outcomes.

A central theme is that almost every aspect of visual performance and patient satisfaction is contingent on a healthy ocular surface. Coats linked effective dry eye management to the success of glasses, contact lenses, and especially multifocal and premium intraocular lenses. She stressed that no matter how advanced or expensive the lens technology, untreated dry eye will remain the limiting factor in vision clarity and comfort. This is framed for patients as a “help me help you help us” dynamic, in which addressing dry eye is a shared responsibility and a prerequisite for the results patients expect from premium interventions.

Coats also highlighted the growing role of AI and modern pre-operative tools, which are making it easier and more efficient to detect, monitor, and manage ocular surface disease within the optometric practice. However, she noted that preoperative and comanagement practices can vary widely by surgeon, region, and state. For that reason, she challenged optometrists to proactively reach out to their ophthalmology partners, ask how they perform surgery, and even arrange to shadow them. This kind of engagement fosters mutual understanding and reinforces the concept that everyone is on the same team.

Ultimately, the call to action is for optometrists to take ownership of pre-operative dry eye optimization. By priming and prepping the ocular surface before patients reach the surgeon, optometrists can improve surgical predictability, enhance patient satisfaction, and strengthen collaborative relationships with ophthalmologists who increasingly recognize the value of this front-line dry eye management.