ASCRS clarifies position on Florida comanagement bill

FSO Web site had claimed ASCRS supported bills to regulate comanagement.

FAIRFAX, Va. — The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) issued a press release April 16 explaining that the organization was not "actively supporting" bills in the Florida legislature that were designed to regulate comanagement.

The Florida Medical Association and the Florida Society of Ophthalmology (FSO) had indicated to legislators and placed on the FSO’s Web site information that ASCRS was a supporter of Florida House Bill 553 and Senate Bill 924.

The press release stated that contrary to the claims in published information, ASCRS has neither endorsed nor opposed the Florida legislation. "According to our guidelines on ophthalmic postoperative care, announced last year, there are circumstances in which comanagement is appropriate," said Priscilla Perry, MD, chair of the ASCRS Governmental Relations Committee.

House Bill 553 and Senate Bill 924 would authorize only doctors licensed under chapters 458 and 459 of the Florida statutes to provide postoperative ocular care. Those chapters pertain to medical doctors and doctors of osteopathic medicine only.

A check of the FSO Web site on April 17 noted that it now lists no supporters of the bill other than the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and the Florida College of Emergency Physicians.

ASCRS, in cooperation with the AAO, issued voluntary comanagement guidelines in early 2000. Although these guidelines emphasize the ophthalmic surgeon’s primary responsibility for preoperative assessment and postoperative care of patients, they also acknowledge that care may ethically be ceded to another provider under certain circumstances.

Support from AAO

Unlike ASCRS, the AAO announced March 4 that it has pledged its support of proposed legislation in Florida and Missouri that would regulate comanagement between physicians and non-physician providers.

"Our guidelines provide an umbrella so that each state can interpret and modify them for its specific circumstances," said Michael Brennan, MD, AAO secretary for state governmental affairs. "We support the Florida and Missouri ophthalmology and medical societies in their efforts to fight for patient safety. Optometry has made it clear they intend to perform surgery without going to medical school, and we will continue our effort to inform state policy makers about our concern for patient safety. These bills are representative of our support for patient protection legislation to safeguard the public."

ASCRS created a model comanagement consent form, intended to be signed by the operating surgeon, comanaging provider and patient, to ensure that patients have made an informed choice to have their post-surgical care comanaged. Copies of the consent form are available at the ASCRS Web site: www.ascrs.org/advocacy/comanageconsent2.htm.

For Your Information:

The Florida Society of Ophthalmology Web site URL is www.mdeye.org.