SB 492 (Optometrist Scope Bill) Eliminated from Legislative Session August 25, 2014 Advocacy, CMA optometrists, scope of practice, SB 492 0 SFMS/CMA has successfully quashed a scope-of-practice bill (SB 492) that originally would have allowed optometrists to perform scalpel and laser surgical eye procedures and medication injections. This dangerous bill originally proposed such a broad expansion in the scope of services that could be provided by an optometrist that it would have placed patients at risk of significant harm from having medical conditions diagnosed and treated by practitioners who lack the education, training, and experience to safely provide primary medical care. SFMS/CMA was able to get most of the egregious language in the bill stripped leaving only provisions that would have allowed optometrists to administer flu and shingles vaccines. Sen. Ed Hernandez, author of the bill, has signaled that he would not push the bill forward for a vote on the Assembly floor. SB 492 is now in the Assembly inactive file. SFMS/CMA would like to thank all the physicians who took time to call, write and fax their legislators to oppose the bill. SFMS/CMA strongly believes that simply expanding scope of practice and allowing practitioners to perform procedures they simply aren’t trained to do can only lead to unpredictable outcomes, higher costs and greater fragmentation of care. Comments are closed.
