Advocacy News

Academy leaders made the case for protecting veterans’ access to quality eye care at an Aug. 31 listening session, hosted by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The listening session is part of the VA’s efforts to develop national standards of practice for health care workers, including optometrists.

The Academy joined a roundtable Wednesday morning with other stakeholders to answer questions from lawmakers on the development of national standards of care in Veterans Health Administration facilities.

National veterans service organizations expressed their support for the Academy’s efforts to preserve quality surgical eye care in the Veterans Health Administration during annual congressional hearings.

Ophthalmology department chairs of several leading medical schools have sent letters to the VA undersecretary for health expressing concern for a recent change to community care guidelines.

Ophthalmologist and U.S. Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks sent a letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs Under Secretary for Health expressing concern that the agency removed language from community care guidelines allowing only ophthalmologists to perform invasive procedures.

The Academy is opposing the Department of Veterans Affairs recently modified eye care guidelines for treatment at community care facilities, which will jeopardize patient safety by allowing optometrists in certain states to perform some surgical procedures.

We’re concerned that new national standards would override state scope-of-practice laws and other veterans’ patient safety policies.

The physician community is urging the VA to reconsider its project to establish national standards of practice.