There are threats to Safe eye Care that you need to know about…
Shortcuts can be a good thing.
But rarely when it comes to health care.
And never when it comes to surgery.
Shouldn’t the person holding that needle have gone to medical school, internship, and surgical residency in Ophthalmology? Would taking a shortcut on that education and training be OK? Hard to believe but that’s what’s at risk!
State legislatures are responsible for the laws regulating professional licensure including the practice of Medicine and Optometry. Year after year, in states across the country optometry special interest groups and their lobbyists work on influencing state legislators to expand the scope of practice of optometrists to include eye surgery using scalpels and lasers, without the necessary education and training. Optometrists are important members of the eye care team, but they are not medical doctors and have not gone to medical school. They have not completed medical internships. And they have not completed residency training in eye surgery. Bills have been introduced, allowing optometrists to perform delicate surgery on patient’s eyes without the necessary education and training. This is a very serious threat to patient safety. There are currently dangerous active bills in Virginia, Utah, West Virginia, and Alabama. Other states, including Colorado could see bills introduced soon. Frighteningly, such bills have passed recently in Wyoming and Mississippi!
Only ophthalmologists, who have completed medical school, internships and ophthalmic surgery residencies are qualified to perform eye surgery. Patients are not asking to have surgery performed by anyone with less education and training. Special interest organizations representing optometrists are the only ones asking legislators for these changes to the law. Safe Eyes America is educating patients on the need to contact their legislators to tell them that they don’t need or want these changes to the law.