re: Optometry: LA HB 1065/SB 568: What if your Louisiana Eye Surgeon is NOT an MD?

Hmm was unaware.
Tomorrow is the Senate H&W committee vote on the House Bill correct?

Some of the claims on here are wildly inaccurate. The majority of physicians are altruistic and legitimately want to care for their patients. To say anything otherwise, is just totally off-base. There is nothing wrong with advocating for patient safety, and there is nothing wrong with valuing ones education.

Medical school is incredibly rigorous, the training is extensive and is more than most people could handle. Come live through it and then talk. Doing surgery on someone is the job of a physician. Plain and simple. Safety is paramount.

So when can I schedule surgery?

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Some of the claims on here are wildly inaccurate. The majority of physicians are altruistic and legitimately want to care for their patients. To say anything otherwise, is just totally off-base. There is nothing wrong with advocating for patient safety, and there is nothing wrong with valuing ones education.

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Agree

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In the long run, this could actually benefit both groups if they'd work together. I could hire an optometrist and personally train him/her to do some of these procedures, then have the OD doing those while I focus on the surgery I like to do. It would be a win-win.

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See I don't understand why this isn't the approach being taken. Bitching that optometrists don't have the right training is just an easy way to shoot them down. If they have a strong background in the necessary core training, why not push for ways to allow them to get the proper training needed?

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Bitching that optometrists don't have the right training is just an easy way to shoot them down. If they have a strong background in the necessary core training, why not push for ways to allow them to get the proper training needed?

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It's really not bitching. It really is genuine concern. Here's an example: Not too long ago, I had a patient come into my office from an optometrist's office because he had a growth on his eyelid. It had been present for more than 3 years, and, in the patient's estimation, it had grown only very slightly in that time frame. The optometrist told him she thought it was a skin cancer. Given the appearance of the lesion and the history the patient gave me, I really doubted that diagnosis. I removed it, and it was benign. In the end, everything worked out great. This optometrist wasn't able to correctly assess the situation because she didn't have the necessary training or background to realize it was unlikely to be cancer based on the history and appearance of the lesion. Under this bill, the optometrist could go ahead and remove the growth, but if it does turn out to be cancer, then there's a completely different procedure that needs to be done that an optometrist won't be allowed to do under this legislation. That would mean the patient would have to undergo 2 procedures because of the optometrist's incorrect diagnosis. These types of issues can't be addressed easily...it takes a good bit of additional training to be able to learn these diagnostic skills.

I'm amazed at the vast difference between public opinion on this and the opinion of our politicians. How did we get to this point?

Ill tell you how we got to this point.....the chair of the Health & Welfare Committee & head of Senate is an optometrists & they are taking advantage of this in the legislature. They tried to sneak in through on both the House & Senate side & when there was resistance from the PUBLIC & medical community they strong-armed it through. Nothing to do with patient care.... And the optoms refuse to be under the LSBME like every other surgeon so they can self govern & expand their surgical scope every year. All this possible when you own the Senate- it's not about right & wrong or what's best for people

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It's really not bitching

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Then why not answer my question?

Why not advocate that they get the proper training to do the more basic procedures? If they got into professional school then they are not retarded. The only real difference is the residency process. I'd actually argue that optometrists get more formal focused training on the eyes prior to the residency.

The only reason why I cared about this thread is because my brother is in optometry school.

He readily admits that he will never get the proper training to perform much more complicated surgeries. However, he is planning on practicing in New Hampshire where he will have the opportunity to do more.

Systemic pathology presents in the eye. You cannot just separate a piece of the body out and learn one part and call it a day to be a comprehensive authority on the 1 part. Why do you think that urologists, neurologist, cardiologists, orthopaedists, and dermatologists go through the same 4 year degree?

That's the whole point..