Tags: legislation | ophthalmologists | optometrists | scope of practice | West Virginia

Optometrists in West Virginia are hoping new bill is the state legislature will allow them to expand the scope of their practices, but ophthalmologists and other physician groups are arguing against the bills, according to a report in The Charleston Gazette.

Currently, optometrists in West Virginia can perform eye exams and prescribe glasses and contact lens. They are prohibited from performing surgery, giving injections or ordering lab tests, according to the report.

If the bills pass, optometrists would be allowed to perform surgery involving lasers and scalpels and to give injections around the eyes. The bills would also expand the state's Board of Optometry authority, which could expand optometrists' ability to prescribe medications.

Ophthalmologists say that approval of such a bill could pose a patient-safety risk, as only ophthalmologists have the medical training to understand how certain drugs interact, according to the report. Additionally, ophthalmologists worry that some optometrists have only had weekend training in certain procedures that require more in-depth study.

Optometrists say that the bills would expand coverage to patients in rural areas, who currently have to drive hours to see an ophthalmologist.

Florida recently proposed a similar law that would allow optometrists to prescribe certain eye medications in oral form, which has been met with similar opposition.

Read the Gazette's report on optometrists' scope of practice.