Regulatory/Legislative News

Optometrists in Massachusetts are attempting once again to obtain the right to treat glaucoma with the filing of SD74, “An act ensuring consumer choice and equal access to eye care.”

The Arkansas House Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor failed to pass proposed legislation that would have expanded the types of ophthalmic surgery performed by optometrists, to permit certain prescriptions and administration of certain pharmaceuticals, and to modernize the practice of optometry in the state.

The National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research, an eye care research advocacy group, went to Washington to educate new members of Congress and members of the committees of jurisdiction about the value of federally funded vision research.

Proposed legislation in Wyoming would allow certain noninvasive procedures within the optometry scope of practice as well as the ability to prescribe, dispense and administer approved pharmaceutical agents.

With all of the attention currently placed on prescription drug prices, it’s difficult to believe that a major retail distributor of medications would do anything but toe the proverbial line when it comes to sales practices. However, last month, Walgreens was ordered to pay more than $270 million for improperly billing Medicare, Medicaid and other state- and federal-level programs over the course of 10 years.

What if I had a virtual assistant who could do for electronic medical records what Alexa, the little electronic cylinder in my kitchen, does for my family? At a family member’s request, Alexa can recommend to my wife a recipe for chocolate chip cookies, read me the latest press release on Takeda or make flatulence sounds so realistic for my 8-year-old that he will convulse with laughter (OK, I’ll convulse, too).

An act that would amend Mississippi law to require a comprehensive eye examination for all students prior to entering or enrolling for the first time in a public school was introduced at the end of January.

The Trump Administration proposed a new rule last week to lower prices of prescription drugs and out-of-pocket costs by encouraging manufacturers to offer direct discounts to patients, according to a press release issued by HHS.

Vision 2020/USA, along with 27 national member eye care organizations, presented U.S. Surgeon General, Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH, with a “call to action” to mark the year 2020.

The new year is off to a rough start. Mother Nature has swept the country with a series of disabling storms.