Latest news with #HouseBill449
Miami Herald
18-04-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
Florida lawmakers must uphold high standards for eye surgeries
Americans who need eye surgery have long enjoyed some of the best care in the world under the skilled hands of our nation's highly trained ophthalmologists. However, Florida lawmakers are considering legislation that would threaten to compromise this level of care by allowing optometrists — professionals with significantly less training — to perform laser eye surgeries. Our leaders in Tallahassee must put patients first and reject House Bill 449, sponsored by Hialeah State Rep. Alex Rizo, who wrote an opinion article in support of the bill for the Miami Herald. On Thursday, the bill was placed on an April 24 special order calendar. This bill is dangerous given the risks to patients' vision and potentially permanent complications that could arise if a surgery is performed incorrectly. Although optometrists play a vital role in everyday eye care, they are neither medical doctors nor trained nor qualified to perform eye surgeries. Whether you need surgery to address glaucoma or remove cataracts, you want to rest assured that the surgeon using a laser on your eye is adequately trained before you go under. That's why these surgeries should only be performed by a licensed ophthalmologist, a medical doctor that undergoes more than 17,000 hours of instruction and more than a decade of rigorous training. This includes a four-year undergraduate degree, four years of medical school, four years of residency training and, often, additional hands-on fellowship hours treating live patients to ensure they can perform eye surgeries safely and effectively. While optometrists are excellent at their jobs and skilled in providing routine eye care, they lack the necessary education and hands-on training to perform eye surgery. Optometry schools do not provide the requisite knowledge and skills to safely operate on patients. Some proponents claim we need HB 449 to ensure that Floridians have access to surgical eye care. However, the data tell a different story: 96.3 % of Floridians already live within 30 minutes of an ophthalmologist. While continuing to improve Floridians' access to top-notch eye care is an important goal, there is no access issue — but HB 449 would let unqualified clinicians perform eye surgeries with only minimal training. How minimal? Optometrists would be authorized to perform eye surgery by completing a mere 32-hour crash course that can be completed over a long weekend. This is not sufficient — and should not be acceptable. In the handful of states where optometrists can perform certain surgeries, studies have shown that patients are nearly twice as likely to need additional surgery in the same eye when performed by an optometrist instead of a licensed ophthalmologist. This suggests a growing number of eye surgeries are being done unsafely by optometrists. Moreover, a recent Mason-Dixon poll found that 79% of Floridians oppose allowing optometrists to perform eye surgeries and would prefer to leave surgery in the hands of medical doctors. Additionally, 40 states, including Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia and the Veterans Health Administration, forbid optometrists from performing laser eye surgery. The data are clear: Allowing optometrists to perform these delicate surgeries puts patients in harm's way. And due to the unique demographics of our state, Floridians may be uniquely impacted. We have the second highest proportion of residents aged 65 and above in the country, and older adults are much more likely to require eye surgery. In fact, about half of adults over the age of 80 have had or need cataract surgery. We could see a serious increase in the number of life-altering injuries and complications at the hands of optometrists. It is shocking that lawmakers would consider any bill that could jeopardize the safety and quality of eye surgeries. Mastering the skills to perform successful surgery on this delicate, vitally important part of the human body takes years of education, clinical training, and hands-on experience. If legislators allow optometrists to perform eye surgery without adequate medical training, Floridians could soon pay the price. Lawmakers should not lower standards for eye safety and I urge them to oppose HB 449. Raquel Goldhardt is a professor of clinical ophthalmology at the University of Miami and president of the Florida Society of Ophthalmology.
Miami Herald
07-04-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
Florida has an eye care crisis: Let optometrists do more
Floridians have waited long enough. For years — decades, even — we've been tangled in a drawn-out brawl over expanding eye care, watching other states sprint ahead while we stumble. It's time to end the stalling, and let Florida's trusted, trained optometrists practice to the full extent of their expertise. This shouldn't be about politics. Floridians aren't interested in turf wars. We must promote fairness and delivering the best care in the most effective way possible. Yet somehow, it's still a fight. We're raised to own our health — brushing our teeth, booking checkups, staying proactive. It's universal, drilled into us for well-being and longevity. Floridians want that same control over their eye care, but they're hitting walls. In the Sunshine State. Eye care is a pipe dream for too many, especially in rural areas and vulnerable communities. In 2021, the Department of Health told the Florida House that 26 counties had zero practicing ophthalmologists. That's 26 counties where someone with a real eye problem has to hit the road, crossing county lines — maybe multiple — just to find a doctor, only to face endless wait times. Florida's got an ophthalmologist shortage, no question. It's an eye-care crisis here and across America. The American Academy of Ophthalmology predicts a 12% drop in the ophthalmology workforce by 2035, while demand spikes by 24%. That's not a gap — it's a gulf. Other states have tackled it head-on, empowering optometrists to step in and expand access. Florida? We're stuck in 2013, when our eye-care laws last saw daylight. Our population's exploded since — especially post-COVID — but our policies haven't budged. Optometrists here are shackled, unable to offer basic oral immunosuppressives, steroids, antifungals or even in-office blood tests. Expanding their scope isn't radical — it's a no-brainer fix to a shortage that's strangling care. This legislative session, I've sponsored House Bill 449 to level the field, to boost access and slash healthcare costs for Floridians. Optometrists are trained, tested and vetted by tough regulatory boards. The system promotes safety first, as Florida's always demands. HB 449 tightens that further, tasking the Board of Optometry with yearly updates to certification standards — better coursework, sharper exams — holding optometrists to the highest standards of care. The bill would allow optometrists to expand their scope of practice to perform specific ocular procedures, but not invasive surgeries, with clear boundaries. Training and credentials are required, period. It's practical, not political. The bill is currently in the Health & Human Services Committee. But practicality doesn't always win when special interests unleash their brigades of lobbyists to guard their turf and their profits. This shouldn't be about who's got the deepest pockets in Tallahassee — it's about who's got the most to lose when care dries up. Most of the country's already ahead, two or three steps into the future, while Florida teeters on a widening care canyon. Time and growth won't pause. Demand will soar, and our current system will collapse. This legislative session is our moment. HB 449 isn't just a bill — it's a lifeline. I implore my fellow legislators to tune out the noise, focus on the need and let's get this done. Republican Florida State Rep. Alex Rizo is chairman of the Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee and represents District 112 in the Florida House, which includes parts of Hialeah.
