Letter: Effective comanagement leads to best patient outcomes

Sondra Black

To the Editor:

I am writing to clear up any misconceptions that occurred in the optometric community resulting from my participation in a cover story in the May 25, 2019, issue of Ocular Surgery News, “Optometric integration and scope of practice still disputed.”

As an OD, I believe ODs and MDs should be working together to ensure the best in patient care. To that end, I am a strong and passionate proponent of comanagement between ODs and MDs.

I’d like to clarify that in the specific circumstances I was describing – for an optometrist to join an already-working ophthalmology practice, there is often significant training required. As an optometrist, I have the utmost respect for both my fellow optometrists and for ophthalmologists and believe there is significant opportunity to partner in the interest of improving patient outcomes.

I am not prescriptive when it comes to the scope of care issue and refrained from sharing any opinions on the matter in my discussions for this article.

I trust that another read of my commentary through this lens, along with OSN Editor Dr. Lindstrom’s own perspective on the topic, will show that my intent was to elevate the benefits of comanagement for the best possible patient outcomes, rather than align myself to either side of the scope of care debate.

Sondra Black, OD, FAAO

Head, professional strategy, Americas Surgical

Johnson & Johnson Vision