Senate amendment on optometric surgery fails

ORLANDO, Fla. – On Thursday at the American Optometric Association Congress Opening Session, outgoing AOA President Victor J. Connors, OD, announced, “I have received word from our Washington, D.C., office that the amendment to limit scope of practice of optometry -- an amendment to be attached to the Defense Appropriations Bill -- failed.” This announcement led to cheers and a standing ovation by the entire audience.

AOA’s Washington office told PRIMARY CARE OPTOMETRY NEWS that Department of Defense authorization bill SB2400 passed Wednesday night and that the amendment was not offered.

SB2400 would authorize appropriations for FY 2005 for the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy. Sen.. Fitzgerald submitted an amendment, Section 1068, “Limitation as to persons who may perform eye surgery for Department of Veterans Affairs.”

The amendment read: “Eye surgery at a department facility or under contract with the department may be performed only by an individual who is a licensed medical doctor, a licensed doctor of osteopathy or a licensed dentist whose practice is limited to the specialty of oral or maxillofacial surgery.” The subsection defined surgery as altering human tissue, specifying that it did not include noninvasive, nonsurgical procedures such as foreign body removal, eyelash epilation, corneal debridement or insertion of punctal plugs.

Also at the opening session, Serge Resnikoff, MD, PhD, director of Prevention of Blindness and Deafness programs, World Health Organization, Geneva, shared the announcement he made the previous day at the World Congress on Optometric Globalization, that the World Council of Optometry was admitted into official relations with the World Health Organization. This announcement also led to a standing ovation.

Dr. Connors also announced that the AOA has secured a working partner in its InfantSee program: Johnson & Johnson Vision Care. The AOA House of Delegates passed a resolution at last year’s meeting to support InfantSee. Through InfantSee, participating AOA-member optometrists will provide a comprehensive eye assessment for infants 6 to 12 months old at no charge, regardless of ability to pay or insurance coverage, according to an AOA press release.

Vistakon’s Phil Keefer said to the audience: “InfantSee will transform optometry in many positive ways, but more importantly, as President Carter said to us all, it is the right thing to do.”

Incoming AOA President Wesley Pittman, OD, told the crowd he hoped that by the AOA Congress in 2005, to be held in Dallas, 6,000 optometrists would be enrolled, which is the number of participants needed to officially launch the program.

Dr. Connors closed, by saying, “I can’t think of a better way to open this congress than the two exciting things we have today. InfantSee, and through your legislative efforts and advocacy, optometry continues to grow.”