The Issue
Access To Care
Optometrist Locations in WA
Many of the restrictions on optometrists’ scope of practice in Washington prohibit procedures for which optometrists have been trained and may have performed in other states when licensed there.
Ophthalmologist Locations in WA
Optometrists currently practice in all but three Washington counties, while residents in nearly 40% of Washington counties have no local ophthalmologists.
Best Practices
Updating Washington’s scope of practice laws would bring them into closer alignment with laws in other states, which have seen no increase in adverse patient outcomes from scope expansion.
Optometric physicians are highly trained doctors who have completed undergraduate degrees and at least four years of specialized biomedical training at an accredited school of optometry, and must comply with strict licensing and continuing education standards.
The proposed changes would authorize the State Board of Optometry to determine optometrists’ scope of practice, as other healthcare professional boards do, and to establish education standards required to perform procedures deemed within the scope of practice.
Cost Effectiveness
Within their scope of care, research shows that optometric physicians provide equal care at lower costs compared to ophthalmologists.
When optometrists are forced to refer patients to other providers for procedures they are trained to safely provide, it does not serve the patient well:
Care may be delayed while waiting for an appointment
The patient may have to travel a long distance and miss work to see a new provider
Because of the inconvenience or expense, the patient may fail to follow through on the referral to a new provider
The patient may incur multiple co-pay expenses or incur expenses for multiple diagnostic tests