I. PHILOSOPHY OF PUBLIC HEALTH

A. History of Public Health

1. vital statistics
2. disease control
3. health planning

B. Public Health Optometry

1. epidemiology of vision disorders
2. manpower projections
3. health planning
4. third-party reimbursement mechanisms

II. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A. Biostatistics

1. application

a. descriptive
b. inferential

2. hypothesis testing

a. confidence intervals
b. population sampling
c. role of chance

3. bias

a. information
b. measurement
c. selection

B. Epidemiology

1. descriptive studies
2. analytical studies

a. case-control
b. cross-sectional
c. cohort (prospective and retrospective)

3. experimental studies
4. evaluative studies
5. ecological studies

6. rates and ratios

a. disease frequency
b. disease outcome
c. incidence
d. prevalence
e. morbidity
f. mortality
g. indices of health

7. clinical data

a. measurement
b. comparability
c. reliability
d. validity

8. screening concepts and principles

a. sensitivity
b. specificity
d. predictive value
e. yield

9. association and causation

C. Application of Epidemiology to Optometry

1. assessing community health care needs and resources
2. assessing community utilization of health services
3. assessing risk factors of specific health problems
4. assessing outcomes

D. Demography

1. research methods
2. utilization of data
3. application to health planning

III. HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

A. Organization of Health Services

1. primary care

a. ambulatory services
b. office practices
c. scope and role of optometry

2. secondary care

a. intermediate care facilities
b. hospital services
c. scope and relationship to optometry

3. tertiary care

a. acute care facilities
b. referral centers
c. scope and relationship to optometry

B. Planning of Health Services

1. purpose and scope of health planning activities

a. managed care
b. regional medical programs
c. role of consumers
d. role of optometrists

C. Health Economics

1. escalation of health care and eye care costs
2. impact of financing on accessibility and utilization of health services
3. role of the third-party payors
4. supply and demand in the health care market
5. issues and methods of cost containment
6. reimbursement and payment systems

a. fee for service
b. capitation
c. prospective reimbursement
d. retrospective reimbursement
e. resource based relative value systems

7. health care reform

D. Health Workforce

1. provider groups

a. interaction among primary, secondary and tertiary providers
b. regulation and licensure
c. supply
d. distribution
e. utilization
f. productivity

2. policy issues
3. methods of analysis
4. optometric impact on national and community resource distribution

E. Third-Party Involvement in Financing of Health Services

1. government (public)

a. Medicare (Title XIII)
b. Medicaid (Title XIX and EPSDT)
c. maternal and child health (Title V) - crippled children and head start
d. education of handicapped children (PL 94-142)
e. vocational rehabilitation

2. non-government (private)

a. Blue Cross and Blue Shield
b. group prepaid health plans
c. union health plans
d. medical and vision service panels

IV. DELIVERY OF HEALTH AND VISION CARE SERVICES

A. Types of Practice

1. solo/private practice
2. group practice
3. multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary practice

a. public and private hospitals
b. ambulatory care centers
c. military hospitals and clinics
d. VA hospitals and clinics
e. PHS hospitals and clinics
f. city, county and state health departments

B. Concepts of Service Delivery

1. alternative delivery and managed care systems

a. HMOs
b. IPAs
c. PPOs
d. VSPs

V. PATIENT CARE SERVICES

A. Level of Care

1. primary
2. secondary
3. tertiary

B. Levels of Prevention

1. primary
2. secondary
3. tertiary

C. Diagnosis
D. Treatment
E. Rehabilitation

VI. QUALITY ASSURANCE

A. Monitoring and Evaluation

1. structure
2. process
3. outcome

B. Peer Review

1. retrospective
2. concurrent
3. prospective

C. Practice Guidelines
D. Third Party Panels
E. Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH)

VII. HEALTH EDUCATION

A. Health Belief Model
B. Behavior Modification
C. National Campaigns

1. Save Your Vision Week
2. Glaucoma Awareness Month
3. National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP)

VIII. ENVIRONMENTAL OPTOMETRY

A. General Concepts
B. Occupational Safety and Health Act
C. Visual Performance and the Environment

1. vision as it relates to occupation
2. vision as it relates to avocation
3. use of ophthalmic materials and procedures to improve visual performance
4. ophthalmic material and standards (i.e., frames, lenses, contact lenses)
a. verification of materials
b. eye injuries and protection devices
5. visual performance and the environment

D. ANSI standards

1. Z-80 ANSI standards
2. Z-87 ANSI standards

E. Task Analysis for Visual Requirements

1. driving
2. flying
3. welding
4. VDT use

F. Principles of Occupational Health Hygiene

1. nutritional therapy
2. UV exposure prevention
3. laser protection

XII. Legal Aspects

A. Employee Retirement and Income Security Act (ERISA)
B. Malpractice
C. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
D. Duty to Warn

X. Ethical Aspects

A. Patient Confidentiality vs. the Public's Health
B. Clinical Ethics
C. Informed Consent