The Optometrists Network began in 1996 when its flagship web site vision3d.com was published on the Web. One month after its launch, vision3d.com won the Internet Medical Site of the Week Award and was receiving over 10,000 visitors a month. Visitor traffic has continued to grow ever since.
In 1997, our on-line Directories with interactive
forms were launched and the public began receiving
free, immediate referrals to optometrists
over the Internet. In our first year, referrals
were actually executed via hand-typed email messages,
so our automated system has allowed us to give
free referrals to many more people! Our system
now processes over 1500 referrals per week!
Some members and visitors still know us as vision3d.com
or vision3d, yet -- as a result of years of research
and development -- we have grown into a large
network of interconnected patient advocacy and
optometric web sites. The Optometrists Network,
which educates the public about visual health
and spreads the word about unique aspects of optometric
care, has been free from vendor advertising from
its inception. Referrals and patient education
are always free to the public.
Optometrists Network was founded by Rachel Cooper. As a child, Rachel Cooper was diagnosed with untreatable lazy eye. As an adult, she discovered a visual health care choice called vision therapy and, under the care of an optometrist, gained normal vision!
Optometrists Network aims to:
- Help people find eye
doctors who can help them.
- Provide useful patient education -- free to the public -- no registration required -- no vendor advertising, no cookies, no adware, etc.
- Inform the public about their visual health care choices.
- Connect optometrists with the people they serve.
- Increase communication and collaboration between optometrists, teachers, and
therapists in the best interests of the patient
and/or student.
- Increase communication within the profession of optometry.
- Encourage cooperation between ophthalmologists and developmental optometrists in the best interests of the patient (i.e., similar to the cooperation between orthopedic surgeons and physical therapists)
To further our goals, we develop, maintain,
and deliver advertising-free public health education
content. Every year we add on new patient education
links and web pages to address the information
needs of patients served by optometric care.
Content providers to the Optometrists Network may include:
- Optometric associations, colleges, societies
- Government agencies (e.g., National Information
Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities,
National Institutes of Health, National Eye
Institute)
- Publishers of "Licensed Content" (e.g., from a for-profit medical publisher)
- Other private, non-profit organizations
- Private Health Care Providers
- Educators
- Patients and Patient Advocates
- Parents
Content providers to Optometrists Network are made aware that no vendor advertising or cookies are part of our user interface. All information is free to the public and no registration is required.
