FOR RELEASE FEBRUARY 27, 2017
GEORGIA HOUSE HHS CHAIR SAYS EYE CARE BILLS 'WRONG AND DANGEROUS' ON ‘TOP DOCS RADIO’
ATLANTA – Georgia Rep. Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta) – the chair of the Georgia House of Representatives Health and Human Services Committee – said she believes that two bills state lawmakers are now considering would place Georgians at risk of blindness and other serious eye complications when she appeared on a special edition of the Medical Association of Georgia’s (MAG) ‘Top Docs Radio’ program on the Business Radio-X Network on February 23.
H.B. 416 or S.B. 221 would allow optometrists to perform a variety of extraocular injections – something that is prohibited in 42 states.
“You only have two eyes,” stressed Rep. Cooper. “They are very delicate organs. They don't regenerate if you do something to them. That's why [these bills are] so wrong and so dangerous for patients.”
MAG President Steven M. Walsh, M.D., shares Rep. Cooper’s concerns, emphasizing that, “MAG is opposing these bills because they would inappropriately expand optometrists’ scope of practice and they would undermine patient care.”
He concludes that, “Optometrists who receive just 30 hours of additional training simply do not have the necessary training or skill set to perform these kinds of delicate procedures in or near a patient’s eye.”
Rep. Cooper is encouraging all Georgians to contact their legislators as soon as possible to oppose H.B. 416 and S.B. 221.
MAG sponsors the ‘Top Docs Radio’ program at 12 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month. It is supported with a grant from Health Care Research, a subsidiary of Alliant Health Solutions.
With more than 7,800 members, MAG is the leading voice for physicians in Georgia. MAG is an advocate for physicians in every practice setting and specialty. MAG’s membership has increased for six years in a row. Go to www.mag.org for additional information. ###
