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

This bill is a huge big deal. How often can the Liberals who run our nation find a group of Deep-red-state legislators confused enough to implement the left wing vision for America. Skip med school, penalize medical knowledge, and substitute the doctors out. Once they have the system the way they'd like then they can pass any regulation they want

Get your political views the shite out of here

MDs aren't too fond of the NPs either. PAs, they aren't too worried about because PAs fall under the medical board and they already control their scope of practice. NPs however, like optometry, have their own board who determines their scope of practice.

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Get your political views the shite out of here
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Nice one ... It's not just my political views. I know the details of EXACTLY how this was rammed down the throat of Louisiana & it stinks.

It's impossible to discuss Louisiana and healthcare without getting off on politics. There's a push right now to centralize the whole system in America and to replace doctors and we are just playing into their hand.

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Maybe the MDs need to buck up and let more people into medical school. The need is for more providers, but the current providers want the money.

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You can't let in more people into med school until there are 1) enough room for more people funding-wise and 2) have more residency positions so they have a job to train in a field when they graduate

The real need is for more residency positions. You can have all the med students graduating in the world but unless they have a place to do their residency, there won't be more providers

Yeah there is no point opening up spots for students if they cannot train after schooling. Plus you might want to talk to your State Legislature buddies about funding for the med school education.

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Probably not. But I often see an 'NP' or a 'PA' when I got to see an 'MD.' It seems like the DOs are getting to do some things the MDs used to have exclusively and the MDs are not happy about it. But the public can always chose to go to an MD if it's the best care for the money. If not, the DOs might do well with this.

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D.O. = Doctor of Osteopathy (same training and status as a MD with the addition of manipulative medicine)
O.D. = Optometrist



What the public generally does not understand is that paving the road to undereducated and/or inexperienced providers supplying care is a very slippery slope. There are provisions currently that force primary care providers to employ midlevels in certain situations now. The future of patient choice in healthcare is bleak. If the current changes spurred by the ACA have not convinced the public of this they are simply not paying attention. The idea of "choose to see the MD/DO if you want" instead of the midlevel or O.D. is rapidly disappearing. And that assumes that John Q. Public has been sufficiently educated on the topic to make differentiation and choice.

So when an optometrist gets sued for malpractice after a botched eye or lid surgery, will they have to go in front of a medical review panel like other surgeons?