California OD scope of practice bill tabled

A bill aiming to expand Californian optometrists’ scope of practice has been tabled by its creator, Sen. Ed Hernandez, until early 2014, according to the California Optometric Association president.

“All scope bills end up being 2-year bills,” President Fred Dubick, OD, MBA, FAAO, said in an interview with Primary Care Optometry News. “There were some changes with the progress that was made, and we were very pleased with that, but we wanted to take a little bit more time to make everybody comfortable with the bill. It’s been a mostly cooperative process and we’re pleased that the new chair of the committee where it’s going next has called for a work group and is making our bill a priority.

“We’re already in discussions with our team to get that work group going,” Dubick said. “So the bill has just been put off. We’re going to work on it over the next few months with the other side and hopefully bring back something everyone can be comfortable with and support come the beginning of the session in January.”

The bill, SB 492, is sponsored by the California Optometric Association and has already passed through the senate side of the California legislation, he said.

Among other things, SB 492, if passed, will allow ODs to prescribe U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs for treating the eyes and deliver the drugs in whatever manner the drug is approved to be delivered, including injection. However, this does not include intra-orbital injections or botulinum toxin injections, according to Dubick.

The bill would also allow optometrists to administer immunizations, he added.

“With the Affordable Care Act coming into play in January 2014, in California we projected millions of people would be dumped into the system and there aren’t enough primary care docs to take care of them,” Dubick said. “SB 492 is an effort to bridge that gap in primary care.”