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AOA, AFOS support VA Optometry Service
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The American Optometric Association and the Armed Forces Optometric Society expressed “shock” and “outrage” at a suggestion that the VA Optometry Service be eliminated as a cost-savings move.
According to a report on www.disabledveterans.org, it was suggested that optometry and audiology services be discontinued.
The “report out of Washington, D.C., about the possibility of downgrading essential care for veterans is outrageous and unacceptable, and the AOA sincerely hopes that the information within the account is false,” American Optometric Association (AOA) President Andrea Thau, OD, said in a statement from the association. “America's veterans need and deserve the assurance that their eye health and vision care needs will be met by doctors of optometry through the advanced, high-quality care we provide.
“I’ve asked to meet with [Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin, MD] to make absolutely certain that this report is false and to discuss the changes the VA needs to make to fulfill its mission,” she added.
The AOA’s announcement also included a statement from Lindsay Wright, OD, executive director of the Armed Forces Optometric Society (AFOS).
“The Armed Forces Optometric Society is shocked to hear of the alleged suggestion by the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs to eliminate eye care from the VA’s health care system,” Wright said. “Eye care is an essential and core component of the integrated health care the VA provides our nation’s veterans. Our VA doctors of optometry see more patients per year than any other health care specialty.
“Doctors of optometry are literally on the front line of care, often being the first health care professional to identify or detect systemic health issues in veterans,” Wright continued. “VA doctors of optometry work in concert with the VA’s other health care professionals in the management of numerous medical conditions that can affect the eye such as diabetes and hypertension. This interprofessional communication to effectively coordinate care not only ensures that our veterans receive the best possible care, but it also provides an economical and efficient path for veterans to receive their health care.”