I’ve just taken an eye exam — not in a spiffy doctor’s office with fancy contraptions, but in my living room with my smartphone and laptop.我刚拒绝接受了一次视力检查——不是在医生办公室里，也没用什么便宜高级的不可思议玩意儿，整个检查就在我的起居室里展开，用于的是我的智能手机和笔记本电脑。A new site called Opternative promises the high-tech, hands-off equivalent of a refraction test — one of the exams performed by an eye doctor to measure a prescription for eyeglasses or contact lenses — in the comfort of your own home.一般来说，眼科医生通过验光（即屈光检查）来为患者进配镜（普通或隐形眼镜）处方。如今，一个取名为Opternative的新网站允诺，他们的新技术可以让人们舒舒服服地在自己家里已完成类似于的检查过程。

To do the test, you need to have smartphone, a computer and at least 12 feet of space. You also have to be between the ages of 18 and 40. Unfortunately, I don’t make the cut, but for the purpose of experiencing this service first hand, I shaved an even 10 years off of my real age and did the test anyway. What’s a little white lie for science?要展开这项检测，必须有一部智能手机、一台电脑和最少12英尺（约合3.65米）的空间。此外，受试者的年龄需在18岁至40岁之间。意外的是，我并不合乎这个拒绝，但为了亲身体验这项服务，我把自己的现实年龄乘以了10岁。出于探究科学的目的，马利亚个愿意的小谎应当不要紧吧？The actual exam is simple. You start by stepping 10 feet away from your computer — which Opternative calibrates and walks you through using a credit card and your own shoe size. Once you are set up, it’s an easy dive into the D.I.Y. exam. The test includes a series of visual tests, some with one eye covered, looking at various shapes, patterns, numbers and letters on the screen. You’re guided through the process with audio and video prompts, and respond to questions by clicking through multiple-choice questions using your smartphone as a remote control for the test.实际的检测过程非常简单。

首先，你必须回头到距离电脑10英尺（约合3.0米）处——Opternative不会利用信用卡和你自己的鞋码指导你精确做到这一距离。搞定这步之后，就可以精彩转入这一自助式(D.I.Y.)视力检查的其余步骤了。整个测试还包括一系列的视力检测（有的拒绝你遮盖一只眼睛），电脑屏幕上将经常出现各种各样有所不同的形状、图案、数字和字母，你将在口述和书面提醒的全程指导下，用于智能手机作为遥控器，页面多项选择题的选项来问问题。

At the end of the test, it asks you to fill out your medical and eye history, choose glasses or contacts ($40), or both ($60), and then wait for an ophthalmologist licensed in your state to review the exam and issue a prescription. Easy right? You’ll have a digital eye prescription within 24 hours.在测试完结后，它不会拒绝你填上你的病史和眼科病史，并自由选择想配上普通眼镜还是隐形眼镜（须要缴纳40美元），又或者两者均要（须要缴纳60美元）。之后，你只要等着你所在州的持证执业眼科医生审查检查结果，并班车处方就行了。很更容易对不该？24小时之内，一张数字化的眼科处方就拿回了。

Except, that’s not what happened to me.只不过，我的经历却并非如此。Shortly after finishing the exam, I received a series of emails from someone at Opternative support, advising me to go see an eye doctor in person. The company promptly refunded my $40 and offered to help me find a trusted doctor in my area. They also helpfully recommended that I pick up a pair of +1.50 reading glasses.在已完成检查后旋即，我接到Opternative发去的多封电子邮件，劝说我特地去造访一下眼科医生。公司很快归还了我那40美元，并明确提出不愿协助我在我所在地区去找一个有一点信赖的医生。

此外，他们还坦诚地建议我配上一副屈光度为+1.50 D（150度）的老花镜。Wait. Rejection. What happened?等等！先别整天。这是怎么返事情？With my permission, Aaron Dallek, the company’s co-founder, spoke with the California-based ophthalmologist who reviewed my exam to find out why he chose not to issue a prescription. There were apparently a few red flags from my medical history that kept me from fooling the system.经我容许后，Opternative公司的牵头创始人阿龙·约莱克(Aaron Dallek)与派驻加州的一位眼科医生展开了交流，告知他为什么在审查我的检查结果后自由选择不开具处方。原本，是我的病史中不存在危险性信号(red flag)，祸我未能顺利糊弄过这个系统。

First, I hadn’t ever seen an eye doctor in person, other than doing regular eye checks with my family physician. Second, I had mentioned some fuzziness around lights while driving at night, and some reading issues when my eyes are tired. While those symptoms are perfectly common for a 44-year-old (my real age), they are cause for concern for someone who reports their age as 34, which is what I did.首先，除了拒绝接受家庭医生的定期眼部检查之外，我根本没特地造访过眼科医生。第二，我曾提及在夜间驾车时实在灯光周围有一圈模糊不清，当我眼睛疲惫时读者也不会经常出现问题。

虽然对于一个44岁（我的实际年龄）的人来说，这些症状非常少见，可经常出现在一个34岁（我虚报的年龄）的人身上，就不该医生不会担忧了。Even though I fooled no one, in my quest to test Opternative, I still found the process to be straightforward and relatively hassle-free. Opternative is best suited for the person who finds themselves between eye exams and simply needs a new pair of glasses or wants to try a new brand of contact lenses. And the firm says it plans to expand its test to the over-40 crowd next year.不过，我的原意只是想要体验一下opternative，所以虽然没有能蒙混过关，我依然感觉这个检查十分精彩非常简单。Opternative最合适那些想配副新眼镜，或想要尝试下某个新的品牌的隐形眼镜，正要正赶上两次眼科检查的中间时段的人。该公司称之为，他们计划明年将该检查的适合受试者不断扩大到40岁以上人群。

Now some bad news. You’ll need 25 uninterrupted minutes to take the test. Unfortunately, it’s also not covered by insurance, and it’s only available in 30 states so far. Most important, it’s not a comprehensive eye exam so it’s not a good option for people who have an unusual symptom or are worried about their eye health, including diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts and diabetes.现在，我们再行来说一些坏消息。这项检查必须倒数展开25分钟。而且，意外的是，目前只有30个州可以享用这项服务，费用还无法从医保里缺席。最重要的是，它并非全面的眼科检查，如果不存在出现异常症状或者担忧自己患上青光眼、白内障或糖尿病等眼部疾病，它毕竟你的明智自由选择。

Even so, for people who are candidates for the service, the company says the results are statistically equivalent to a traditional in-person exam. The firm says data from a clinical trial showed that participants achieved at least 20/25 vision with the prescription generated by the Opternative self-test. Those results are statistically equivalent to a traditional in-person exam.即便如此，该公司回应，对于适合的受试者，检查结果的准确性在统计资料上与传统的当面检查不相上下。他们还称之为，临床试验的数据表明，参与者使用Opternative自助验光分解的处方后，矫正视力最少可以超过20/25。

从统计资料上来说，这些结果与传统的面对面检查非常。Opternative does have a disclaimer at the bottom of its homepage: “Opternative’s service does not include any type of eye health exam. Our service only provides patients with a refractive eye exam, which measures a person’s prescription for glasses or contact lenses.”Opternative还在其主页底部作出了如下声明：“Opternative的服务不还包括任何类型的眼部健康检查。我们仅有为患者获取验光服务，以及依循出示的提炼普通眼镜或隐形眼镜的处方。

”Even so, the American Optometric Association does not support online eye exams. The A.O.A. president, Dr. Steven Loomis, has said he’s concerned that eye patients may try to skip in-person appointments entirely once they get a taste of digital convenience.即便如此，美国视光协会(American Optometric Association, A.O.A.)并不反对在线的眼科检查。A.O.A.的主席史蒂文·卢米斯(Steven Loomis)博士回应，他担忧一旦眼疾患者尝到了数字化检查的便利之处，就不会几乎跳过致电正规化眼科医生当面看诊的“困难”。“Opternative knows it’s not offering anyone an eye exam, yet they claim that they are,” Dr. Loomis said in an email. “We actively oppose inferior and outright bad patient care, and instances when technology can be abused in a way that leaves patients misled, misinformed or confused about the state of their own health.”“Opternative坚称自己无法为任何人获取眼科检查，却声称自己做到获得。”卢米斯博士在一封电子邮件中说道。

“我们反感杯葛水平粗劣的患者医护，赞成欺诈技术误导患者，以致令其他们搞不清自己的健康状况。”Adding to the criticism from the optometry community is a lawsuit alleging one of Opternative’s co-founders used proprietary information from the National Board of Examiners in Optometry for a different website business. The complaint, which isn’t related to Opternative’s online eye exams and has been settled, does seem to have created a public relations challenge for the firm.除了上述来自眼科学界的抨击之外，还有人驳回诉讼，起诉Opternative的创始人之一在另一项网站业务中用于了美国国家视力测量法术考核委员会(National Board of Examiners in Optometry)的专有信息。

该滋扰虽与Opternative的在线视力检查牵涉到，且早已达成协议了庭外和解，但它显然对该公司的公关能力明确提出了众多挑战。What does all of that have to do with the convenience of getting a prescription for glasses or contacts? Nothing for me. Heeding Opternative’s advice, I made an appointment with an eye doctor, and spent two hours in his office and more than $500 to end up back where I started: With a pair of reading glasses and the knowledge that my eyesight just isn’t what it used to be.但相比可以便利地取得普通或隐形眼镜处方，上述种种又有什么大不了的？当真我是实在没什么关系。

我征询Opternative的建议致电了眼科医生，在他的办公室待了两个小时还花上了500多美元，最后的结果也不过是返回了原地：配上一副老花镜，并否认自己的视力早已不如以往。I personally did not feel misled by my online eye exam experience, but I am not surprised that eye doctors are wary about online services. Other medical professionals have expressed similar reservations about telemedicine, but a number of new digital services are now delivering online consultations anyway. It was only a matter of time before the eyes have it too.我个人实在并没被这次的在线验光误导，不过眼科医生对在线服务所持慎重态度也并不令其我深感吃惊。

其他的医学专业人士也对远程医疗回应了类似于的保留意见，但无论如何，目前有若干个新兴的数字服务在获取在线咨询。眼科经常出现此类服务只是个时间恐怕的问题。

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