In the face of increasingly disruptive change, Giles Edmonds will set out why optometry must continually improve and adapt prove its value to the NHS if it is to have any chance of surviving and thriving as a primary healthcare profession. Finally, Paul Morris will describe how data for patients and practitioners has been harnessed and shared in the UK – to improve professional development, clinical outcomes and governance and make a better case evidence to Government of the critical role of optometry in proving primary care within the NHS.