Oklahoma

[rotty1021]

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Dr. Doan,
Has the OK governor vetoed/signed the bill passed regarding Optometric surgery, or is that coming up in the future? Thanks.

 

[Andrew_Doan]

Dr. Doan,
Has the OK governor vetoed/signed the bill passed regarding Optometric surgery, or is that coming up in the future? Thanks.

It is signed, and it is law. I believe they are now working to clarify the language of the bill and determine what optometry can and cannot do based on the 'law'.

 

[rotty1021]

Thanks.

 

[Mirror Form]

I sent an extremely nasty letter to the governor of oklahoma awhile ago and surprisingly I got a response in the mail today. It said a bunch of stuff, but one paragraph stated:

"Before he approved the legislation, the governor reached an agreement with optometrists, ophthalmologists and osteopathic physicians to work together during the rule-making phase of the Oklahoma Board of Examiners in Optometry to ensure that as a result of HB 2321 there will be no expansion or contraction in the procedures that optometrists were allowed to perform under Oklahoma law as it existed prior to the attorney general's opinion."

So, does that mean in Oklahoma there will be no changes in the scope of optometrists practice? I.e., does that mean optometrists can't do any real surgical stuff still? Or is this letter BS?

 

[Tony.]

It is signed, and it is law. I believe they are now working to clarify the language of the bill and determine what optometry can and cannot do based on the 'law'.

one argument that was made for this 'law' was that there is not enough OMD's in OK and by broadening the scope of OD's, patients would have easier access to treatment. reminder:
there are 14,000 OMD's compared to 40,000 OD's . I think this shift in balance influenced the OK bill. And as far as the 'language' goes:
I have a feeling this will drag out for a long time as there has always been this 'grey' area b/w the two professions and a simple 'bill' wont become the majic answer overnight.....
🙄 we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

 

[mdkurt]

one argument that was made for this 'law' was that there is not enough OMD's in OK and by broadening the scope of OD's, patients would have easier access to treatment. reminder:
there are 14,000 OMD's compared to 40,000 OD's.

This is a tough one to educate the public about. As much as I would like to sit and do ALTs and LPIs all day long, there just isn't that much of a need and patients aren't beating down my door. Certainly, access to primary eye care is an issue in Oklahoma, but for the small minority of patients requiring surgical intervention I don't think it's asking a lot that they travel to an MD for treatment. On this issue, I think the governor and people of Oklahoma have been misled.

 

[J.opt]

...does that mean in Oklahoma there will be no changes in the scope of optometrists practice?

That is right, as far as I?m concerned there were no changes regarding scope of practice.

 

[Andrew_Doan]

I sent an extremely nasty letter to the governor of oklahoma awhile ago and surprisingly I got a response in the mail today.

I received a letter from Gov. Henry's office too. Here is a copy of the letter.

 

[Tony.]

This is a tough one to educate the public about. As much as I would like to sit and do ALTs and LPIs all day long, there just isn't that much of a need and patients aren't beating down my door. Certainly, access to primary eye care is an issue in Oklahoma, but for the small minority of patients requiring surgical intervention I don't think it's asking a lot that they travel to an MD for treatment. On this issue, I think the governor and people of Oklahoma have been misled.

mdkurt: well said 👍

and.
Dr. Doan, how long do you think it would take OK to 'clarify' the bill properly(weeks, months, years?)

 

[Andrew_Doan]

mdkurt: well said 👍

and.
Dr. Doan, how long do you think it would take OK to 'clarify' the bill properly(weeks, months, years?)

These things don't progress quickly. I'd think months if not a year to have it all worked out.

 

[MacGyver]

God forbid people have to travel 2 hours to OKC or Tulsa to have eye surgery.

This was a ridiculous bill. The state legislature/govt bought the argument that there needed to be a person capable of performing eye surgery in every small farm town in Oklahoma. What a bunch of BS.