Medicine’s United Efforts Help Convince Lawmakers to Abandon Legislation

Washington—New Mexico ophthalmologists, backed by the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the New Mexico Medical Society, helped thwart a far-reaching optometric surgery bill in the New Mexico legislative session that ended March 19.  The bill, HB 199, would have authorized optometrists to perform surgical procedures with lasers, scalpels and needles, as well as prescribe any oral or injectable drug. The legislation passed the New Mexico House by a wide margin, but it eventually stalled in a Senate committee.

The members of the New Mexico Ophthalmological Society, led by President Ana Huaman, MD, were relentless in their efforts to educate state legislators about the risks of allowing non-physicians to perform surgery.

A statewide advertising campaign also helped raise the issue of patient safety in the public consciousness. In a poll conducted March 3 across New Mexico, 94 percent of respondents said it was “very important” that an eye care specialist performing surgery be a licensed medical doctor. And more than three-quarters of those surveyed said that only licensed-MD eye specialists should perform surgical procedures, such as “laser surgery to reshape the cornea” (78 percent) and “laser surgery to treat eye disease” (76 percent).

“This is a victory for patient safety not only in New Mexico but also across the nation,” said H. Dunbar Hoskins Jr., MD, executive vice president of the Academy. “It is a direct result of medicine’s collaborative efforts to preserve high-quality medical care and Surgery by Surgeons in each and every state. And this is a fight that we will continue to pursue, united with our allies at the American Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association, American College of Surgeons and the American Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgery.”

The coalition behind the Surgery by Surgeons effort is pursuing a goal of quality surgical eye care by surgeons who have completed medical or osteopathic education, a one-year internship and a three-year residency.

The Academy continues to work with other state ophthalmic societies to defeat similar legislation that would allow optometric surgery in states where new threats are emerging, such as Texas, Puerto Rico and Alaska. Oklahoma remains a key battleground – in that state, a law permitting optometric surgery has been in place since 1998, setting a dangerous precedent for patients throughout the country.

“A powerful message has been sent to the Oklahoma legislature and its citizens: Oklahoma remains isolated as the only state in the nation that allows ODs to perform eye surgery, and ophthalmology has a winning strategy to bring Oklahoma back up to national medical standards,” Dr. Hoskins said.