Optometrist: “No Better Time” To Implement Kentucky’s Eye Care Law.

Optometrist: “No Better Time” To Implement Kentucky’s Eye Care Law.
In an op-ed in the Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader (7/27), optometrist Ben Gaddie, OD, president of the Kentucky Optometric Association and education chairman of the American Optometric Association, wrote, that in Kentucky, new “legislation allows optometrists who become trained and credentialed to provide additional treatments using the latest technology.” Dr. Gaddie asserted, “History has shown that every time optometrists have been allowed to expand their scope of practice, it has resulted in more Kentuckians receiving safe, quality eye services — further demonstrating that the scare tactics used by a few have no basis in reality.” Dr. Gaddie concluded, “When Kentucky is facing critical health-care provider shortages, citizens who are disproportionately affected by disease, an aging population and budget shortfalls, there is no better time to implement the Better Access to Quality Eye Care Law.”