AOA is touting ‘significant advances.’
At least three states have recently passed legislation related to optometry.
The American Optometric Association reports that optometrists in Alaska and Georgia are celebrating “significant advances” for the profession.
In Alaska, the state Board of Examiners in Optometry can now independently regulate development of the profession as a result of new legislation. The bill eliminates “the need for optometry to petition the Alaska State Legislature with each advance in optometric education or technology,” according to AOA.
In Georgia, meanwhile, optometrists’ scope of practice has been explanded. They can now perform limited injections to areas near the eye.
AOA reports: “Georgia becomes one of more than a dozen states to permit limited injections for which doctors of optometry have received extensive education and training for several decades.” Optometrists in Georgia seeking to offer the treatment will be required to receive additional training and certification supervised by an ophthalmologist.
“The recent wins in Alaska and Georgia are examples of the progress doctors can make when working together, and we applaud their commitment and the hard work of doctors in all the states to advance optometric practice and increase patient access,” said AOA President Christopher J. Quinn.
And in Conecticut, a new law makes getting an in-person eye exam a condition for obtaining contact lenses, Healio reports.
According to the bill: “No provider shall issue an initial prescription to or renew an initial prescription for a patient without having performed an in-person evaluation and an eye examination of the patient.”
Read more from the AOA