Newly created commission hopes to expand optometry’s role in public health policy

SEATTLE – Children’s vision services and smoking cessation reimbursement are two of the top priorities for review laid out by the newly created National Commission on Vision and Health.

The commission, which comprises health care professionals from many health care disciplines and is the brainchild of outgoing American Optometric Association president Kevin Alexander, OD, PhD, met recently in Washington to set its goals, according to member Edwin C. Marshall, OD, who spoke to the House of Delegates here at Optometry’s Meeting.

Dr. Marshall said, “The inclusion of children’s vision services into any federal health reform legislation or regulatory policy changes and reimbursement from Medicaid and Medicare to provide smoking cessation services to patients” will be the commission’s immediate primary focus.

Working with people from different disciplines will help achieve that goal, Dr. Marshall said. Two-thirds of the members are nonoptometrists and include a dentist, a physician’s assistant, an ophthalmologist and a chronic disease specialist, among others.

“The mission of the national commission is to improve the nation’s vision health by collaborating with experts in science and health policy to ensure informed analysis and policy recommendations in order to prevent blindness, improve visual function and eliminate visual health disparities,” he continued. “Our goal at the commission is to ensure that access to vision care is integrated fully into public health policy and programs at the national, state and local levels.”

Dr. Marshall said the tremendous success of the Healthy Eyes, Healthy People program paved the way for the commission to be created. Healthy Eyes, Healthy People was established in 2001 and resulted in national conferences and funding for more than 210 collaborative community outreach projects, Dr. Marshall said.

“We believe Healthy Eyes, Healthy People can be the foundation of a new industry to make vision health visible to the broad debate about community health and public policy,” Dr. Marshall told the delegates. “The commission was designed to create a credible voice for vision care access and full inclusion of optometry in all aspects of health care policy making. To gain national visibility, the commission will convene meetings, release policy papers and issue comments on prominent health issues of the day. These products of the commission will serve as new tools for vision health advocacy efforts.”

The first formal meeting of the commission is scheduled for late September in Washington. There, commissioners plan to evaluate draft position papers and make recommendations for official policy positions.