Purak Parikh | Oppose HB349

I have personally seen too many examples of optometrists trying to manage eye care outside of basic glasses and contact lenses. It often ends with the patient seeking a second opinion from an MD and the patient ultimately finding out that they have been mismanaged for a long period of time. If optometrists could do these surgeries I see the following things happening: 1.) Overuse of these procedures in cases where they may not have been necessary 2.) Delayed recognition when patients have causes for poor vision that is not treated by SLT or YAG laser (when someone gives you a shiny new hammer, all of a sudden everything starts looking like a nail) 3.) Complications at the time of the laser surgery itself due to inadequate training. While this will not be VERY common, we already have seen this in other states which are more rural and have passed similar legislation.