Patients like convenience, continuity of YAG laser treatment by optometrists, survey says
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Key takeaways:
- Optometrists said patients find their YAG laser procedures convenient and timely.
- As eye care demand grows, and numbers of ophthalmologists decrease, optometrists can “fill the gap.”
Patients who underwent YAG laser capsulotomy after cataract surgery were satisfied with the convenience and timeliness of having the procedure done at their local optometrist’s office, according to an American Optometric Association survey.
The survey, by the AOA’s Research and Information Committee, evaluated the benefits of expanding the scope of optometry as eye care demand grows and the number of ophthalmologists shrinks, the association’s Health Policy Institute said in a report. Conducted across the 10 states where doctors of optometry are authorized to perform YAG laser capsulotomies, survey responses came from 406 optometrists, 56% of whom perform the procedure.
“As our health care system and technologies advance at an incredible pace, so must laws that support the profession of optometry and, most importantly, patient access to the critical eye health and vision care doctors of optometry deliver,” AOA President Ronald L. Benner, OD, told Healio. “It is only when these laws are updated to reflect the medicine we can provide that patients will gain the choices they need and deserve.”
The survey asked optometrists how soon they could schedule a YAG laser capsulotomy and how satisfied previous patients have been with the process. Optometrists also reported how long patients had to wait, and how far they had to travel, for the same procedure at an ophthalmologist’s office before their state included the procedure in optometrists’ scope of practice.
Eighty-nine percent of respondents said they were available to perform YAG laser capsulotomy within 1 week, with 24% reporting same-day availability. As for how long it had taken to get into an ophthalmologist’s office, 39% of optometrists said 3 to 4 weeks was typical, and 25% said it usually took more than 4 weeks.
Patients were satisfied with YAG procedures by optometrists for multiple reasons, with 97% of respondents citing convenience, 95% citing continuity of care, 85% citing scheduling availability and 46% citing cost.
Optometrists performing YAG procedures also reported carrying out an average of 13 in the past month and 125 in the past year.
“Doctors of optometry are in a unique position to fill the gap for YAG surgery (and other ophthalmic procedures) as they are locally accessible to patients in 78% of all U.S. counties and county equivalents and 82% of counties or county equivalents where most of the population is rural,” the AOA wrote in the report.
Reference:
- Patients benefit from optometric scope expansion authorizing doctors of optometry to perform YAG laser capsulotomies. https://www.aoa.org/AOA/Documents/Advocacy/HPI/HPI%20Fact%20Sheet%20-%20Patients%20benefit%20from%20optometric%20scope%20expansion%20authorizing%20Doctors%20of%20optometry%20to%20perform%20YAG%20laser%20capsulotomies-.pdf. Published June 2, 2023. Accessed July 25, 2023.
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