Including Wisconsin, there are currently 11 states in the US where optometrists can perform laser procedures, such as YAG capsulotomy and SLT. Click image to enlarge.

An increasing number of optometrists in Wisconsin are providing advanced procedures, including lasers and removal of lumps and bumps, under a scope law that hasn’t changed since its adoption in 1990. How? This is because when the law was drafted, the Wisconsin Optometric Association had ensured it was phrased in such a way that would permit the state’s ODs to implement new procedures, treatments and therapeutic agents as they become available in the profession rather than having to go back to the legislature again and again. It’s fair to say, then, that optometric laser privileges are now being put to use in 11 US states rather than 10, as is commonly believed.

Contrary to the 10 other laser states—which had to pass legislation specifically clarifying the inclusion of surgical procedures in their practice scopes—Wisconsin’s law doesn’t require optometrists to acquire a specific number of training hours or postgraduate credentials to perform various laser and advanced procedures, including YAG capsulotomy, SLT and lesion removal. Like MD/OME licenses, Wisconsin law puts the onus on the doctor to ensure their own competency and training before providing advanced procedures to their patients.

Peter Theo, executive VP of the Wisconsin Optometric Association, comments that, “Over the last few years, a growing number of WOA members have been performing various advanced procedures, and to the best of my knowledge, no adverse outcomes have been reported.” He adds that during this time, in response to the growing demand for these procedures, several training courses have been held for Wisconsin ODs by optometric educators in other laser states; one, for example, is an intensive four-day course by Nate Lighthizer, OD, and his colleagues from Oklahoma, where optometrists have been safely performing laser procedures since 1988.

Now that organized medicine and ophthalmology have caught wind that a growing number of ODs in Wisconsin are pursuing advanced procedure training, they’ve begun putting wheels in motion to challenge the state’s decades-old scope law, even going so far as threatening lawsuits to have it overturned. However, Mr. Theo is confident that “our statute will prevail in court should it be challenged,” and the positive track record demonstrated by doctors of optometry in Wisconsin and beyond reinforces the reality that these doctors are more than competent and capable of safely providing this level of care.