Eyeworld

EW NEWS & OPINION 3 plasty and capsulotomy, YAG capsu- lotomies, LASEK, and laser "only" clear-lens extraction. The bill will also allow optometrists to perform some scalpel procedures and admin- ister pharmaceutical agents, includ- ing by injection into the vitreous. "The law is dangerous, expen- sive, and will allow optometrists to perform surgery on unsuspecting pa- tients who don't know the differ- ence between ophthalmologists and optometrists," said Woodford Van Meter, M.D., president, Kentucky Academy of Eye Physicians and Sur- geons, and professor of ophthalmol- ogy, University of Kentucky, Lexington. "Optometrists have lim- ited surgical experience, and this leg- islation unfortunately grants surgical March 2011 by Jena Passut EyeWorld Staff Writer Kentucky governor signs law to expand optometric scope of practice A controversial bill that al- lows optometrists in Kentucky to perform laser and scalpel procedures as well as injections has been signed into law by Gov. Steve Beshear, despite fierce opposition from the state's top ophthalmolo- gists. The governor said he signed the bill to give Kentuckians greater ac- cess to eyecare. "I believe this new law will mean more Kentuckians can get the eyecare they need," Gov. Beshear said in a prepared statement. Senate Bill 110 grants op- tometrists authority to perform laser procedures, including laser trabecu- loplasty, peripheral iridotomy, irido- privileges in front of training and education, the reverse of what usu- ally happens. Another problem is that optometrists have not asked to perform specific procedures but to perform all procedures except for certain exclusions." SB 110 also includes the cre- ation of an independent optometric board that would solely decide scope of practice for the profession. "No other board or state agency will have any authority to question what constitutes the practice of op- tometry," Dr. Van Meter said. "There's no national optometric standardized test to determine com- petency. This board could expand the optometric practice as it solely determines, outside the influence of the Kentucky Board of Medical Li- censure." SB 110 moved at warp speed through both the state Senate and House. It was introduced on Feb. 7, passed the state Senate 33-3 on Feb. 11, and passed the state House on Feb. 18 by a vote of 81-14. SB 110 easily cleared the House, after being discussed in the committee on li- censing and occupations. "That was a little bit suspi- cious," Dr. Van Meter said about the committee choice. "That committee deals with air conditioning regula- tions and fishing licenses." The timing of the Senate and House votes also caused some to question the influence of monetary contributions to the state's legisla- Optometry school breaks ground on surgery center T he University of Houston recently broke ground on an ambulatory sur- gery center (ASC) for its College of Optometry as part of the Univer- sity's new Health and Biomedical Sciences Center. Construction on the facility, which will be a center for outpatient ophthalmic procedures and LASIK, began in late fall and is expected to be completed by 2013. The ASC, or Vision Institute, will be located next to the UH J. Armistead College of Op- tometry. According to the Vision Institute website, "the primary goal of UHCO is to prepare graduates to provide all diagnostic and treatment services by charac- terizing the general practice of optometry. By extending their competencies, we pave the way for expanding our profession. The proposed ambulatory surgical center is essential to our educational mission, our service responsibilities and our vision of the future of optometry." Texas optometrists are not allowed by law to perform surgical procedures. GLAUCOMA Thomas W. Samuelson, MD (Chair) Reay H. Brown, MD Garry P. Condon, MD Herbert P. Fechter, MD Paul Harasymowycz, MD Douglas J. Rhee, MD Steven Sarkisian, MD Barb Smit, MD GLAUCOMA PROGRAMMING SUBCOMMITTEE Thomas W. Samuelson, MD (Chair) Garry P. Condon, MD Douglas J. Rhee, MD Barb Smit, MD PRACTICE MANAGEMENT James A. Davison, MD (Chair) Bradley D. Britton, MD Philip C. Borker, MPA Robert Cherewich, MPS, CMPE, COE John L. Swan, MD Robert F. Melendez, MD, MBA Larry E. Patterson, MD Candace S. Simerson, CMPE, COE CATARACT Mark Packer, MD (Chair) David F. Chang, MD Steven H. Dewey, MD Brian C. Little, MD Nick Mamalis, MD (Advisory) Thomas A. Oetting, MD Audrey Talley-Rostov, MD Sonia H. Yoo, MD REFRACTIVE Elizabeth A. Davis, MD (Chair) Joseph Colin, MD John F. Doane, MD Richard L. Lindstrom, MD (Advisory) Parag A. Majmudar, MD Karl Stonecipher, MD R. Doyle Stulting, MD, PhD William Trattler, MD John A. Vukich, MD Helen K. Wu, MD PEDIATRIC M. Edward Wilson Jr, MD (Chair) Erick D. Bothun, MD Edward G. Buckley, MD Scott R. Lambert, MD Michael O'Keeffe, MD David A. Plager, MD Rupal H. Trivedi, MD Abhay R. Vasavada, MD YOUNG PHYSICIANS AND RESIDENTS Sherman W. Reeves, MD, MPH (Chair) Thomas M. Harvey, MD Paul C. Kang, MD J. Bradley Randleman, MD Leejee Suh, MD Elizabeth Yeu, MD CORNEA Terry Kim, MD (Chair) Eric D. Donnenfeld, MD (Advisory) José L. Güell, MD A. John Kanellopoulos, MD Francis S. Mah, MD J. Bradley Randleman, MD Stephen V. Scoper, MD RETINA Julia A. Haller, MD (Chair) David S. Boyer, MD Tarek S. Hassan, MD Jeffrey S. Heier, MD Allen C. Ho, MD William F. Mieler, MD Timothy W. Olsen, MD Keith A. Warren, MD COMPREHENSIVE OPHTHALMOLOGY Bernard A. Milstein, MD (Chair) Arthur Benjamin, MD Emmett F. Carpel, MD Alan S. Crandall, MD (EC Liaison) Uday Devgan, MD Gary Foster, MD Bonnie An Henderson, MD Michael F. Oats, MD John D. Polansky, MD Bhavna Sheth, MD BOARD MEMBERS Robert Cionni, M.D. David Coats, M.D. Elizabeth Davis, M.D. Robert Fechtner, M.D. I. Howard Fine, M.D. Jose Guell, M.D., Ph.D. Terry Kim, M.D. Karen Krzmarzick, C.A.E. Francis S. Mah, M.D. Marguerite B. McDonald, M.D. Louis D. Nichamin, M.D. Terrence P. O'Brien, M.D. Mark Packer, M.D. Tony Realini, M.D. Alan Robin, M.D. Steven C. Schallhorn, M.D. Bradford J. Shingleton, M.D. Michael Snyder, M.D. Robert Stegmann, M.D. R. Doyle Stulting, M.D., Ph.D. Kazuo Tsubota, M.D. R. Bruce Wallace III, M.D. Liliana Werner, M.D., Ph.D. M. Edward Wilson, M.D. A S C R S C L I N I C A L C O M M I T T E E S E Y E W O R L D E D I T O R I A L   B O A R D CHIEF MEDICAL EDITORS Edward J. Holland, M.D. Stephen S. Lane, M.D. Stephen A. Obstbaum, M.D. continued on page 13 Woodford Van Meter, M.D. Ben Mackey, M.D.

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