Why there’s a shortage of eye doctors and how it impacts eye health
The looming U.S. eye doctor shortage
The U.S. health care system is experiencing a doctor shortage in a number of areas, including pediatrics, family medicine, cardiology, geriatrics and ophthalmology.
By 2028, there will only be enough physicians to fill 89% of the projected demand for health care. And the supply of ophthalmologists is projected to meet only about 72% of the total patient population by 2038.
What’s behind this doctor shortage? One factor is our aging population in the U.S.
By 2030, about 71 million Americans — or 20% of our population — will be 65 and older.
An increasing older adult population creates a large number of retiring doctors for both the eye care industry and health care as a whole. It’s likely as well that more people will need specialized care for age-related vision issues.
Additionally, as our society continues to become attached to screens, like TVs, computers, phones, tablets and video games, adults and kids may find themselves in greater need of eye care.
Past research has found a link between digital screen time and risk of myopia (nearsightedness) in children. One study reports that every additional hour of daily digital screen time is associated with a 21% higher risk of developing myopia.
This means more people will need to see an eye care professional for treatment of their myopia. Treatments for myopia include standard eyeglasses, contact lenses or surgical procedures like laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK). Myopia-management options, such as myopia-control glasses and contact lenses along with orthokeratology, are available too.
It’s a reality that as our population’s demand for vision care rises, the U.S. is facing a shortage of eye care providers.
All About Vision (AAV) spoke with experts to find out more about why there’s an eye care provider shortage looming, what can be done to help fix it and how this might impact your eye health.
Is there a shortage of ophthalmologists and optometrists?
Experts agree that the number of ophthalmologists in the U.S. is on the decline.
A study published in February 2024 reports that from 2020 to 2035, the total number of available ophthalmologists is expected to decrease by 2,650 full-time equivalent (FTE) ophthalmologists, a 12% decline.
At the same time, demand for ophthalmologists is projected to increase by 5,150 FTE ophthalmologists, a 24% increase.
Author and industry lecturer Richard Edlow, OD, commonly known as “The Eyeconomist,” says one factor causing the ophthalmologist shortage relates to a study published in the 1990s indicating that there was an oversupply of ophthalmologists relative to demand.
“And as a result of that, many of the ophthalmology residency spots were reduced in the U.S.,” Dr. Edlow said. “Most of it was federally funded. And then as the baby boomers started aging and these residency spots were cut, the supply of ophthalmologists basically flatlined at around 500 new ophthalmologists a year.”
“While there are 500 new ophthalmologists a year, there are well over 600 a year exiting the profession. So, in the foreseeable future, there’s going to be no change in that dynamic. And so, we have this shortage of ophthalmologists,” Dr. Edlow added.
When looking at optometry, Dr. Edlow says, based on his research, that there is about a 1% increase in the number of ODs every year.
“That’s all well and good,” he said. “But it’s not going to come anywhere close to meeting the increase in demand, especially the increase in demand for the aging population.”
Dr. Edlow reports already seeing signs of a shortage. As of late May 2026, while there were approximately 2,500 job openings for optometrists in the U.S., there were only about 1,600 that graduate each year, he says.
“Assuming they graduate and pass boards, you’ve got that,” he said. “Plus, you’ve got another 1,100 optometrists exiting the field each year from retirement, death or disability. So, the workforce supply is definitely challenging.”
LEARN MORE: Optometrist vs. ophthalmologist: How to choose an eye doctor
Other reasons causing an eye care shortage
In addition to an increasing population of aging baby boomers and kids and teens who may need eye care, there are some other reasons for the ongoing eye doctor shortage.
Tom Rainey is the associate vice president of enrollment and admissions for Marshall B. Ketchum University (MBKU), which includes the Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO). He says since the recession in 2007, birth rates have been dropping. This results in fewer people going to college.
“There is just this shortage of students and that ripples into all industries,” he said. “And on the back end, it can ripple into a shortage of providers in the long run.”
As the dean of the Arizona College of Optometry at Midwestern University, Alicia Feis, OD, FAAO, says she sees a definite shortage in eye care professionals. She notes that more and more companies are wishing they could almost accelerate students through their programs so they could start treating patients.
Doctors unwilling or unable to work in rural areas is another issue contributing to the eye doctor shortage, Dr. Feis says. Potential students worry about the expense of medical and optometry school along with the future uncertainty brought on by AI. They may be less inclined to hang a shingle in a small town than a more populated area. Others may worry about the increase in private equity, where investment firms buy independent optometry and ophthalmology practices.
The gap is starkest outside cities: ophthalmology supply is projected to meet just 29% of demand in non-metro areas by 2035, versus 77% in metro areas. Across all physician specialties, non-metro adequacy is projected at about 42% by 2038.
Being able to make decisions as a doctor, Dr. Feis explains, can sometimes be different when working in a practice owned by a private equity firm. “There are a lot more people that are making health care decisions that might affect the experience that people have in health care, and I think that negatively impacts people wanting to go into the profession,” she adds.
What’s being done to help?
Both optometry and ophthalmology schools are doing what they can to increase students’ awareness of these professions.
For instance, the Harvard Ophthalmology Research Scholars Program — along with the EYE Can Program — is being used to help attract potential ophthalmology students, says Rishi Singh, MD, FASRS, chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at Mass General Brigham and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts.
“We start off all the way back into elementary and high school kids, where we start to encourage STEM education,” he explained. “EYE Can then goes into even undergraduate opportunities to expose them to health care-related careers. And then, eventually, goes into medical school, where we actually do ophthalmology-specific items.”
Dr. Singh says they particularly focus on potential students from underserved populations. “We invite them to come and spend some time with us and spend summer internships,” he added.
At SCCO, Rainey says they highlight the benefits of optometry through undergraduate pre-optometry clubs. And they also provide opportunities for students to shadow optometrists in many different specialties. “It’s very easy for a student who may be unsure where they want to take their career to know, ‘Oh yes, I go to my optometry appointment once a year,’” he said. “But there’s so much more to the profession than that. So, I think that’s been our greatest strength is opening up these types of shadowing opportunities so students can just sign up and get hands-on experience.”
Dr. Feis says that the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) first noticed a decline in optometry applicants around 2017. Since then, they have made it a strategic priority to promote the profession. ASCO is currently using a marketing team knowledgeable about how and where today’s young adults are learning about career opportunities.
“You have Reddit, Instagram and Snapchat, and you have all of these other things that are constantly changing,” Dr. Feis explained. “So, we partnered with a firm and have constantly been updating our marketing and promotional products to hopefully be able to target STEM majors and figure out how we can promote the profession to those particular people.”
Beyond recruiting more providers, telemedicine and AI-assisted screening are helping the current workforce reach farther. Remote clinics can capture eye images for specialist review and flag conditions such as diabetic retinopathy earlier, particularly in underserved and rural communities.
How will this affect my eye health?
Having fewer doctors in your local area may result in barriers to health care, such as longer wait times for an appointment. Right now, scheduling an appointment to see an eye specialist can stretch to a month or more. In one 2024 study of new-patient scheduling in a large U.S. city, the median wait to book with an ophthalmologist was about 30 days, and the average was roughly 50 days.
If this eye doctor shortage continues, Dr. Singh says this could place patients at risk. “The population is growing,” he explained. “We obviously need more eye care providers and coordinated care among eye care professionals. And I think that ultimately in the next few years, we hope that continues to flourish and we have more opportunities to help take care of large populations of patients, especially those at highest risk of progression to severe disease.”
With AI causing uncertainty in certain job markets, Rainey says that there seems to be growing interest in health care fields, as providers will always need to be there.
“There are a lot of fears about AI taking over a lot of jobs and the uncertainties of different fields seemingly disappearing overnight,” he continued. “People are starting to realize that the health care provider is a great path forward, and then once you get granular with that, eye care does pop out for that need as well.”
Optometrists are currently allowed to perform certain medical procedures, depending on the state where they’re licensed. Dr. Edlow believes that optometrists’ scope of practice will likely need to continue to increase to fill the void left by too few ophthalmologists. “And that’s where optometry can step up to the plate,” he continued. “But it needs to be done in a manner where the scope of practice allows optometry to cover that overload of clinical care.”
Dr. Feis stresses the importance of continuing to recruit more qualified people into the profession of eye care to take better care of the eye health needs of our aging population. “And it’s important for optometrists to be well prepared for what may be coming so that we can take care of every patient that ends up in our chair,” she added.
