The Physician With Visual Impairment or Blindness

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Abstract
In 1950, Arthur and Virginia Keeney published an article entitled "Blindness Among Practicing Physicians,"1in which they reviewed the careers of 19 blind physicians and concluded that, while visual loss imposed considerable difficulties for the affected physician, it was not incompatible with continued medical practice. Much has changed for ophthalmology and its patients in the ensuing 35 years. New treatment techniques have brought hope to previously hopeless clinical situations. Modern technology has produced devices such as the optical-tactile converters, reading machines with voice synthesizers and electronic mobility aids (Optacon), the Kurzweil reading machine, and the laser cane, which have revolutionized the rehabilitation of patients with low vision or legal blindness. The passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 USC § 701, which expressed the civil rights of the disabled for the first time, has given impetus to the Independent Living Movement2and a wave of political activism

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