AAO meeting ban a disservice to our patients

Issue: June 2004

ByMichael D. DePaolis, OD, FAAO

Michael D. DePaolis, OD, FAAO [photo]
Michael D. DePaolis

Without our patients, we have nothing. It’s really that simple. Whether an optometrist or ophthalmologist practicing in a rural primary eye care practice or in an urban tertiary care specialty clinic, this fact remains. Without our patients, we have nothing. We listen to, diagnose, treat, educate and advocate for our patients. In short, we serve our patients and their eye care needs.

It is for precisely this reason that I am befuddled by the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s decision to prohibit optometrists from participating in its annual meeting. If you read the AAO’s statement, its intentions are clear: ophthalmologists will not teach optometrists. What is not clear is how this mandate will affect optometric education and, more importantly, whether it will be a disservice to the public we all serve. Let me explain.

While the AAO’s annual meeting is one of ophthalmology’s premier educational forums, it is not a major optometric event. With less than one percent of optometrists attending this meeting annually, it is difficult to conceptualize how an “optometric ban” will adversely affect our educational initiative. Furthermore, legislative initiatives leading to an expanded optometric practice scope have largely been the result of changes in optometric curriculum and continuing education — not the result of attending the AAO annual meeting. In this respect, the AAO’s decision is not likely to prevent optometrists from learning more and better serving their patients.
Over the past 20 years I’ve enjoyed a tremendous working relationship with a variety of specialty ophthalmologists. We work in a very synergistic fashion, each of us providing an area of expertise in which to best serve patients’ needs. There is always an open dialogue, exchange of knowledge and mutual respect among providers — all in the spirit of taking better care of patients. By and large, patients recognize and appreciate this approach, often reassured by the collegial nature of a team approach. Unfortunately, the AAO’s position seems to be more divisive than collegial. It is a position that does not foster this sort of patient-centric philosophy.
In many respects, the AAO’s decision to ban optometrists from its annual meeting seems self-serving and not in the public’s best interest. Given the fundamental principal of supply and demand, it is virtually impossible for ophthalmology to provide all of society’s eye care needs. It is a simple fact that many people require optometric services. So, what purpose does an educational ban serve? None that I can see. Fortunately, at a grass roots level many ophthalmologists remain focused on the bigger picture and continue to work with optometry in a cooperative and constructive way.

In the final analysis, it is a travesty for optometry and ophthalmology to waste valuable time and resources on issues such as this, especially considering the many challenges facing eye care today.

There is the issue of the uninsured and their attending eye care needs. There are the relentless Medicare budget cuts and their impact on patient care. Finally, there is the increasingly powerful health insurance lobby. As patient advocates it behooves all of us to be more proactive in addressing these issues. After all, advocacy is part of patient care and what we do best. And don’t forget, without our patients we have nothing.