AOA, state associations fight legislation that specifies ‘doctor’ designation
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Key takeaways:
- Bills in Florida and Texas could potentially prevent doctors of optometry from being called doctors and physicians.
- Those states, along with the American Optometric Association, plan to fight this legislation.
The American Optometric Association and several state associations announced plans to oppose legislation that potentially prohibits doctors of optometry from being called doctors and physicians.
The AOA said in a press release that the Florida, Connecticut and Texas state associations told members they will contest legislation that could potentially “block, limit or discourage doctors of optometry from being referenced as doctors and physicians.”
“AOA advocacy leaders view the emergence of state ‘Not a Doctor’ bills as an attempt to derail a new round of optometry-centered scope modernization and expanded patient access proposals being considered by legislatures in a dozen states,” the AOA said in the release. “In 2021 and 2022, Wyoming, Mississippi, Virginia and Colorado all overcame opposition to enact optometric laser procedure laws, boosting to 10 the number of states where the profession’s education, skills and training for this type of contemporary care is recognized in statute.”
Florida Senate Bill 230 passed the Senate March 15 and now awaits being heard in a House of Representatives committee, according to a press release issued by the Florida Optometric Association (FOA).
“SB 230 was purposely intended to restrict optometrists from calling themselves ‘doctors’ or ‘optometric physicians,’” according to the release. “Furthermore, this harmful legislation also imposes a felony level penalty of ‘practicing medicine without a license’ against an optometrist for the use of these descriptive terms, which is an egregious and abusive overreach of governmental enforcement for a civil offense.”
According to the FOA, chiropractors, podiatrists and dentists are permitted to use the terms “doctor” and “physician.”
While the Florida Society of Ophthalmology supported the bill, many ophthalmologists around the state wrote letters opposing it, the FOA said.
The AOA explained in its press release that SB 230 refers to titles and abbreviations used in advertising, communications and personal identification. Health care providers would be required to disclose the type of license under which they practice.
The bill reads: “Only physicians may include titles and abbreviations or medical specialties in their advertisements.”
The AOA said: “The bill does not specifically reference optometry, but there is concern that the restrictions on titles could later be used to attack the qualifications of doctors of optometry, in particular those who specialize in certain areas of optometry. In addition, the proposed ban on the use of the term ‘physician’ in any capacity potentially conflicts with the recognition of physician status for optometrists under federal law.”
The AOA referred to Social Security law, which specifies that the term “physician” includes doctors of optometry.
In addition, in 1986 Medicare began allowing payment for vision services provided by optometrists if the services were already covered when furnished by a medical doctor.
HB 2324, which was introduced into the Texas House Feb. 14, is titled, “Relating to the regulation of certain health professionals and health facilities; providing civil and administrative penalties; creating a criminal offense.”
“Legislative proposals attempting to prevent doctors of optometry from using the term ‘doctor’ are harmful to patients and petty from organized medicine,” Texas Optometric Association director of advocacy Tommy Lucas, OD, said in the AOA’s press release.
Lucas said the legislation, in its current form, does not affect optometry but would affect the nursing profession, so they are monitoring it.
“States should remain vigilant in protecting patients from confusing public policy that would potentially delay and hinder their important eye care,” Lucas said.
References:
- Compilation of the Social Security Laws. https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/title18/1861.htm. Accessed March 29, 2023.
- Florida SB 230. https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/230/BillText/Filed/PDF. Accessed March 29, 2023.
- Texas HB 2324. https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/html/HB02324I.htm. Accessed March 29, 2023.
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