As a doctor of medicine who has taken a solemn oath to do no harm, I am extremely troubled by a bill sponsored by state Rep. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, that would allow optometrists — practitioners who do not go to medical school — to use scalpels and lasers to perform surgery on the human eye.
In 2017, the Florida legislature considered a proposal posing a grave danger to patient safety. The legislation--HB 1037 and SB 1168--would have given optometrists--who are not medical doctors--authority to perform hundreds of delicate eye surgeries with lasers, scalpels, and needles.
It would have also given optometrists complete prescription authority to prescribe all controlled substances (except schedule I), thereby adding approximately 4,000 new prescribers of highly addictive opioids.
Help protect Florida's high standards of patient safety and should any similar proposals be introduced for the 2018 legislative session, Contact your legislators: Patient safety is at risk in Florida and ask them to "Vote NO!"