Drew Wilson
A bill that would expand optometrists’ scope of practice has cleared its second and final House committee despite objections from ophthalmologists.
Sponsored by Rep. Alex Rizo, HB 449 is this year’s edition of the long-running “Eyeball Wars.” Optometrists have for years sought authority to provide more advanced care, such as laser surgeries. Ophthalmologists firmly oppose any scope of practice expansion.
Both professions require extensive post-baccalaureate education.
Ophthalmologists attend medical school, receive a medical doctorate and complete a multiyear residency under the supervision of one or more established ophthalmologists; optometrists hold doctorates in optometry, and while sometimes referred to as “optometric physicians,” they neither attend medical school nor do they complete a residency.
In practice, optometrists’ primary concern is vision care, such as the provision of corrective lenses. By contrast, ophthalmologists’ focus is eye care, which encompasses the diagnosis and treatment of all maladies involving the eye, impact on vision notwithstanding.
Multiple ophthalmology organizations and practitioners spoke against Rizo’s bill, stressing that even seemingly simple ophthalmic procedures carry substantial risk and that optometrists don’t have the necessary training or knowledge to safely perform them.
But Rizo’s argument that ophthalmology care is nigh-inaccessible to many Floridians was more resonant with members of the panel, some of whom expressed frustration at their own inability to be seen by an ophthalmologist.
HB 449 passed the committee on a 17-7 vote and is now ready for consideration by the full House. Its path to becoming law is hazy, however, as there is no analogous bill in the Senate, nor is there a broader bill that contains similar provisions.
In general, the full chamber will not consider policy unless it has been approved in at least one committee or has been amended into a bill that has.
