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ASCRS casts pale eye toward Oklahoma ruling

Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, October 26, 2004

In most states, optometrists examine patients' eyes, assess any problems that might require surgical intervention, and refer the patient to the proper specialist. In Oklahoma, however, a new ruling was adopted October 4, by the Oklahoma Board of Examiners in Optometry, that is putting the scalpel right into the optometrist's hands-much to some doctors' dismay.

The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery issued a statement on October 11, expressing their opposition to the rule, which would allow optometrists to perform surgical procedures such as the removal of cancerous lesions on the lid and eye surface itself. The decision also allows optometrists to inject medication into the eye, and to inject Botox around the eye.

"Under this rule, optometrists who have no surgical training at an accredited school of medicine or osteopathy would be able to perform multiple surgical procedures," said ASCRS President Priscilla P. Arnold. "This rule sets a dangerous precedent for patient safety and undermines efforts to raise standards for quality of care."

The ASCRS's concerns stem from the difference in education between optometrists, who typically complete four-year programs of study and specialize in more mechanical procedures such as prescribing corrective lenses, and ophthalmologists, who complete eight years of schooling or more, and are fully trained in ocular surgery. Oklahoma is, to date, the only state in America granting such wide-ranging surgical privileges to optometrists.

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