Kentucky legislative chair: New law reflects advances in primary care

ATLANTA — Executives from the Kentucky Optometric Association called the new optometry law a “great victory” for the citizens of their rural state, saying it applies to the current state of “primary care.” Association President Julie Metzger Aubuchon, OD, PSC, and legislative chair Bill Reynolds, OD, addressed the media here at a SECO-sponsored press conference Friday.

Senate Bill 110, or the Better Access to Quality Vision Care Act, has four components, Dr. Reynolds said.

“It allows optometrists to administer medications by any route, remove lumps and bumps from the lid and perform anterior chamber laser procedures,” he said. “It also gave our board of optometric examiners the authority over our scope of practice.

“In the 1950s, optometry was all about glasses,” Dr. Reynolds said. “Then we started fitting contact lenses, and organized ophthalmology said it was dangerous. In the 1970s we started using diagnostic drops and drops to dilate, and organized ophthalmology said how dangerous it was. We proved it to be safe and effective. In the 1980s primary care was topical therapeutic drops; again we proved to be very safe against the objections.

“In the 1990s we went to oral prescriptive medicines,” he continued. “Today this is primary care. Ten or 20 years down the road, with advances in technology, will primary care mean something else? If you look at the rate medicine has evolved over the years, things that used to require major surgery are very quick and easy now.”

Dr. Aubuchon said that Kentucky optometrists were able to stand on their long history of patient safety. “We had come before the legislature three times before to expand privileges, and we’ve acted responsibly,” she said. “With our geographic distribution, track record of safety and very reasonable malpractice insurance rates compared to other groups we received a lot of buy-in from legislators. The governor met with both sides and concluded that this bill would improve access to eye care in a rural state.”

“This bill is a great victory for the people of Kentucky,” Dr. Reynolds continued. “Optometrists are located in 106 counties; ophthalmologists are located in 42, with a good number of them in Louisville and Lexington. This will be a way for citizens to receive quality vision care without having to make long commutes to urban centers.”

Dr. Reynolds said the Kentucky Optometric Association expects continued push-back from organized ophthalmology. “For the last decade or so, ophthalmology has attacked Oklahoma, so we expect they will do the same to us.”