Thailand prepares tighter rules for optical shops under health law
A draft ministerial regulation would require eye-testing and spectacles-fitting services to seek licences, register providers and meet legal standards.
- Thailand's Ministry of Public Health is introducing a new regulation to classify "eyesight-testing and spectacles-fitting businesses" under the Health Business Establishment Act.
- The new rules aim to raise service standards and increase public safety by addressing optical shops that do not comply with correct professional principles.
- Once the law is effective, optical shop operators must obtain a business license, and their staff must register as service providers.
- Regulated services will be limited to testing for refractive errors in clients aged 12 and older, with younger individuals or those with complex issues being referred to medical specialists.
At present, there are many optical shops or service establishments providing eyesight tests for spectacles fitting in operation.
Some provide eyesight-testing and spectacles-fitting services that do not comply with standards or correct professional principles, which may endanger service users.
To ensure these businesses, or optical shops, meet proper standards, the Ministry of Public Health is preparing to issue a ministerial regulation designating “eyesight-testing and spectacles-fitting businesses” as one type of business under the Health Business Establishment Act, to raise service standards and increase safety for people using eyesight-testing and spectacles-fitting services.
When will the Ministry of Public Health issue rules to tighten controls on optical shops
The draft ministerial regulation states that it will take effect 180 days after publication in the Government Gazette.
Operators already in business before the law takes effect will be given 180 days to apply for a licence or registration.
While their applications are under consideration, they will still be able to operate and provide services until a relevant agency issues an order refusing permission or registration.
Will optical shops and operators need to obtain licences
Once the ministerial regulation takes effect, eyesight-testing and spectacles-fitting businesses will be officially designated as “other businesses in health establishments”.
Therefore, optical-shop operators providing eyesight-testing services, as well as related service providers, will be required to take the following steps:
- Apply for a business operating licence
- Register as service providers
- Comply with the standards required by law
What should people know about optical shops, eye sight-testing, and spectacles-fitting businesses
According to the draft ministerial regulation, “eyesight-testing and spectacles-fitting businesses” means the provision of eyesight-testing services using specified instruments or equipment to identify vision abnormalities caused by refraction, such as:
- Myopia
- Hyperopia
- Astigmatism
- Presbyopia
Services may be provided only to users aged 12 and above, and must not include examination of the eye-muscle system.
If a user is under 12 or has eye-muscle problems, the service must be carried out at a medical facility or by a specialist doctor.
What will the public gain if the new ministerial regulation is approved
Consumers or members of the public using optical shops will have greater confidence because those conducting eyesight tests will have completed a specific training course and be properly registered under the law, under the supervision of the Ministry of Public Health.
Optical shops providing the service will also be quality-standard establishments regulated under the Health Establishment Law.
In addition, members of the public, consumers or operators interested in completing a questionnaire on tighter controls for optical shops can complete the questionnaire and view project details and the public hearing through the “draft ministerial regulation designating eyesight-testing and spectacles-fitting businesses”.
