Dispensing

Kirsteen is mid-presentation from a lectern at a conference

Opportunities for DOs

OT spoke with Kirsteen Newman, head of dispensing advancement at Specsavers, about how the role of a dispensing optician is evolving

Practitioner stories

22 Oct

Simon Raw stands beside vehicle

The cover story

In the balance

Practitioner stories

02 Oct 15 min read

Dispensing diaries

Martyn Howlett: “We can display so many aspects of our skillset within this role”

Domiciliary

02 Oct 7 min read

A large presentation screen of a green powerpoint slide announcing the title of the session on the importance of interactions

Communication lessons in practice

On the High Street

22 Sep

A graphic design of a lens in a deep blue digital environment. Purple hexagons on a patch of the lens infer intelligent design, while pixellated waves of dots and squares indicate artificial intelligence and data

Dynamic approach introduced for Varilux XR series design

Products

17 Sep

A patient sits patiently while a dispensing optician marks up measurements on a pair of lenses

Specsavers launches #LoveDOWeek

Practice team

14 Sep 1

Pierre Gasly, racing driver for BWT Alpine Formula One Team

From Formula One to the digital frontier

Products

09 Sep 7 min read

A woman wearing spectacles in a home environment – the lenses have minimal reflections

Essilor introduces new anti-reflective coating

Products

03 Sep

Crowd at Specsavers PAC 2026

Specsavers to celebrate 100 years of the dispensing profession at PAC

On the High Street

27 Aug

A young woman lifts a pair of spectacles from the display

Specsavers programme receives Princess Royal Training Award recognition

Practice team

27 Aug

A woman wearing glasses stops on the stairs of an underground train station

Ashton Riley Lenses launched for independent practices

Products

18 Aug

Professional head-and-shoulders portrait of a smiling woman with shoulder-length brown hair and fringe, wearing black rectangular glasses. She faces the camera whilst sitting at a table

Dispensing diaries

Sarah White: “The patient experience is everything”

Business and practice management

07 Aug 6 min read

An infant boy looks shyly at the camera. He wears pale green glasses that sit snugly around his face

What’s happening in...

The perfect fit

Products

07 Aug 5 min read

Tanya is standing in front of shelving displaying six award recognitions, including a certificate and a trophy for Heart of the Practice. Tanya has her brown hair tied back, wearing a green plaid top with a navy blazer

Dream team

A peek inside... Eglinton Eyecare

Practice team

07 Aug 6 min read

A mother embraces her daughter, who is wearing a graduation gown and cap

In focus

A century of optometry at Aston University

Practitioner stories

07 Aug 10 min read

An illustration in an abstract watercolour style of silhouettes of people, with speech bubbles in muticoloured shapes

In focus

Five factors shaping practice

AOP

06 Aug 10 min read

The interior of Cubitts Manchester

Cubitts opens first Manchester outlet in former Affleck & Brown department store

On the High Street

04 Aug

An open display book of photochromic lenses each displaying the colour they turn after exposure to UV

Rodenstock showcases photochromic family

Products

03 Aug

A laughing man stands in front of a light wall with a rainbow of spectacle frames, lenses and cases displayed

Jai Kudo Lenses present Signature varifocals

Products

30 Jul

Claire Gorman, Claire Wright, Debbie Chatten-Smith, Dean Dunning, Leanne Smewing at the University of Plymouth in hard hats and high vis coats

ABDO partners with the University of Plymouth to launch new DO apprenticeship

Students and pre-regs

01 Jul

An illustration in black, white and blue of three people arranging together large puzzles pieces in an interpretation of teamwork

Practice team digest

The patient journey: “We work as a family team”

On the High Street

28 Jun 6 min read

100% Optical

A young boy in a wheelchair smiles as an eye care practitioner shows him a pair of spectacles

Adapting an eye test in a special school setting

Patients

18 Jun

Two women photographed against a brilliant blue sunny sky in a classic country garden with stone vases and topiary. The women are dressed in yellow and lavender wrap dresses, hair slicked back into buns, and both wear oversized frames with thick sides in a marbled pink acetate

What’s happening in...

Fun in the sun

Products

05 Jun

Woman holding a pair of spectacles an arms length away from her

At the dispensing desk

Managing frame choice for high prescriptions

Practice team

05 Jun 4 mins

An unidentified child sits on the sofa eating potato chips and a hamburger

Study finds obesity increases risk of astigmatism in young people

Research

02 Jun

A girl is lifted by a woman to look at a display of glasses on a shelf

ABDO releases white paper on children’s vision

Research

02 Jun

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Most popular across OT

An older man stands looking out a window

Tadalafil use associated with higher risk of glaucoma

Research

18 Aug

Kevin Thompson

Obituary: Kevin Thompson

AOP

03 Sep

A woman smiles while wearing solar eclipse glasses

Moorfields Eye Hospital surgeon gives tips on staying safe during the solar eclipse

Patients

10 Aug 1

Sameer and Hannah pose during a sight test. Sameer has turned to the camera. With one hand he holds the control for a slit lamp, and with the other he holds a volk lens up to Hannah’s eye

An optometrist saved my life

Hannah Mockler: “I could have been left with permanent damage to my vision”

Practitioner stories

16 Oct

A toddler leans against a sofa holding a toy truck. One of his eyes is glowing with a white circle

An optometrist saved my life

“I knew straightaway that this was something that needed to be seen urgently”

Patients

20 Aug 5 min read

Most popular across Dispensing

A woman wearing spectacles in a home environment – the lenses have minimal reflections

Essilor introduces new anti-reflective coating

Products

03 Sep

A mother embraces her daughter, who is wearing a graduation gown and cap

In focus

A century of optometry at Aston University

Practitioner stories

07 Aug 10 min read

Pierre Gasly, racing driver for BWT Alpine Formula One Team

From Formula One to the digital frontier

Products

09 Sep 7 min read

Simon Raw stands beside vehicle

The cover story

In the balance

Practitioner stories

02 Oct 15 min read

An illustration in an abstract watercolour style of silhouettes of people, with speech bubbles in muticoloured shapes

In focus

Five factors shaping practice

AOP

06 Aug 10 min read

Chosen for you

100% Optical

A handful of people are seated at a circle table in an event, each wearing glowing green earphones. A microphone is handed to one delegate

100% Optical 2027: first look at CPD programme

AOP

14 Oct

A woman in her 40s at a desk holds her smartphone away from her and squints

Using eye drops to manage presbyopia

Research

12 Oct

OT October/November 2026 edition pages

October/November 2026

The Flexibility matters edition

02 Oct

Two scientists work in a laboratory. One holds a clipboard while the other holds a pipette over test tubes

New insight on genetics of retinitis pigmentosa

Research

19 Oct