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Walmart pushes for optometry practices in Okla. retail stores
Walmart was given approval by the Oklahoma Supreme Court to begin the signature collecting process to seek approval of optometry practices in large retail environments in the state.
The current law mandates that optometry, like other kinds of medicine, must be practiced in medical settings and not large retail environments, according to a press release from the Oklahoma Association of Optometric Physicians (OAOP).
Eye doctors in the state will now begin to educate their patients and voters on why Walmart's proposal is bad for them, according to Jason Ellen, OD, president-elect of the OAOP and a Tulsa-based optometrist, in the release.
Should Walmart's proposal be placed on the November ballot, the OAOP and its members are committed to supporting a statewide education campaign emphasizing the dangers of reducing the standards for medical care in Oklahoma, the group said.