He also killed the bill he sponsored, which the optometrists opposed. House Bill 2106 would have expanded the ability of optometrists to prescribe drugs, but it would also have barred them from performing surgical procedures, and it would have established a committee of optometrists and ophthalmologists to look at new issues as they develop. But their bill didn't have enough votes to advance out of committee, and my solution didn't have enough votes. Constant improvements in technology are adding fuel to the controversy among the state's eye doctors. When the original laws were written governing optometrists, they didn't allow for advances in technology that could expand the the scope of optometrists, Michael said.
Optometrists are no longer just the doctors who prescribe glasses and contact lenses.
They also treat glaucoma, perform minor surgery and remove foreign objects from eyes. They have successfully changed the law allowing them to use drops to dilate a patient's eye, and to use topical drugs to treat for glaucoma or infections, but they're barred from prescribing or using pain killers or antibiotics. That means an optometrist is allowed to remove a chunk of metal from a persons' eye, but he can't prescribe anything for the pain. Also, he can prescribe a topical drug for an infection, but the patient must go to an ophthalmologist for antibiotics if the ointment doesn't work. Bouncing from one doctor to another is frustrating to patients, optometrists say, and in rural areas it can be harder to find an ophthalmologist.