[Prioritizing the development of clinical low vision rehabilitation institutions]

Low vision rehabilitation is an indispensable and integral part of the national eye health initiative, and it is directly related to the quality of life of tens of millions of people with visual impairment in China. Currently, the global prevalence of low vision continues to rise, and China has a large patient base of low vision. However, the accessibility of rehabilitation services remains severely inadequate, and the vast majority of people with visual disability cannot receive standardized visual rehabilition services. Based on the development history and current challenges of low vision rehabilitation globally and in China, this editorial clearly points out that clinical medical institutions are the first gateway of the low vision rehabilitation system, emphasizes the core role of ophthalmologists in the referral system and the superior efficacy and value of multidisciplinary team care, and proposes a patient-centered rehabilitation paradigm integrating science and humanity based on functional visual assessment. Meanwhile, it puts forward specific suggestions on strengthening grassroots referral coordination, accelerating the training of specialized professionals, and promoting the translation and application of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, aiming to provide practical guidance for the high-quality development of low vision rehabilitation in China.