Spring AKOA Newsletter 2009
Note from the President
ED Report
Legislative News
WELCOME! New AKOA Members
AKOA Conference Registration Now Online
News
Note from the President
Dear AKOA members,
A model for board certification of optometrists was presented by the Joint Board Certification Project Team (JBCPT) at the 2009 President’s Council Meeting on January 23rd. This group consisted of two members from each of the six optometric organizations involved: the American Optometric Association (AOA), the American Academy of Optometry (AAO), the American Optometric Student Association (AOSA), the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO), the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO), and the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry (ARBO). Over the last 18 months, this group has researched and developed a model for board certification of optometrists which they believe is credible and will ultimately benefit the profession.
Delegates from the state affiliates will be voting on whether to proceed with the establishment of a new organization, called the American Board of Optometry (ABO), at the AOA Congress in June at Washington, D.C. If approved by all of the optometric organizations, the ABO would begin to implement a board certification process based upon the current or a modified model. It has been proposed that the new board start with two members appointed from the AOA, and one from each of the other organizations represented in the JBCPT.
Why do we need board certification? According to the JBCPT; federal and state governments, Medicare and Medicaid, third party payers, the public, and our patients are increasingly calling for a way to determine which providers are maintaining continued competency (beyond entry level state licensure). Board certification is a respected credential which recognizes those doctors who have met high standards for maintaining the level of their education and skills. It is a credential that generally exceeds the requirements needed for maintaining licensure in any state, and there is no intention of linking it in any way to re-licensure. In other words, nobody will be required to have board certification in order to be licensed.
The JBCPT presented model or framework for initial board certification and maintenance of certification. As it exists now, it would require accumulating an average of 50 points (one point is equivalent to one hour of approved continuing education) over a period of three years, totaling 150 points prior to taking the board examination. Recent (within three years) completion of an accredited optometric residency would fulfill the 150 point requirement, while a residency between 3 to 10 years prior would be worth 100 points. Fellowship in the American Academy of Optometry would be worth 50 points if earned within 10 years. Other educational or scholarly activities including teaching students, publishing papers, and manuscript review will also be assigned point values. Self-assessment modules (SAMs) and Performance in Practice Modules (PPMs) are also being developed as educational tools for accumulating points. The examination itself would be an enhanced Patient Assessment and Management (PAM) type examination.
For more information and background on this topic, visit the AOA website at www.aoa.org/JBCPT.xml where you can view a media file or pdf file of the presentation at the President’s Council Meeting.
From my perspective, the AOA is not “pushing this through”. The AOA board of trustees supports the proposed framework, but wants to hear from the state representatives. Anyone with objections or suggestions to improve the process of board certification should feel free to contact the AKOA office by phone or email. At our meeting in Kodiak in June, we plan to take a vote among the attending AKOA members to approve or disapprove of the current board certification proposal, which will influence how we vote as a state affiliate at the AOA Congress.
So please, take a look at the current proposal, visit the AOA web site at the link above, and consider where you think optometry should be going in the long term. For those of you retiring in the next 5 years or so, I don’t think this process will affect you much. But the decisions we make now regarding board certification could affect the way we are able to practice ten years from now and beyond.
Sincerely,
James C. Falconer, Jr. OD
Back to Top
ED Report
Many of you have called the AKOA office asking questions about the optometry law governing pharmaceuticals. What are the rules?? What controlled substance schedules can be prescribed?? Here is a quick reference guide on the TPA law taken from Sec. 08.72.272:
1. You must have a current optometry license with TPA endorsement before prescribing ANY pharmaceuticals. Even if you have been prescribing topical pharmaceuticals for years, if you did not complete the educational requirements to renew your TPA, you must not prescribe or use pharmaceuticals.
2. You may prescribe and use a pharmaceutical agent if it is prescribed and used for the treatment of ocular disease or conditions, ocular adnexal disease or
conditions, or emergency anaphylaxis. That means no birth control for the wife or Prilosec for the stomach etc.
3. You must have a physician-patient relationship meaning:
a) a person, or someone on the person's behalf, has sought optometric examination or treatment of the
person
b) the optometrist has accepted the person as a patient and conducted an optometric examination and
evaluation of the patient
c) the professional relationship between the optometrist and the patient has not been terminated
3. If you are prescribing a controlled substance you must also:
a) have a DEA # on file with the department
b) prescribe only a schedule IIIA - VA; (please note that Alaska has its own schedule of controlled substances)
c) prescribe less than four days of use
4. If you are injecting a pharmaceutical you must also:
a) not inject into the ocular
globe of the eye
b) not inject a derivative of clostridium botulinum
Click here for a printable version
Back to Top
Legislative News
As a legislated profession, our success is dependent on the continual efforts of AKOA members to get involved in the legislative process. You are the key to optometry's legislative success.
If you are unsure who your legislators are, please contact the AKOA office or click here for a click here for a list of legislators in each community.
Click here to learn more...
Back to Top
WELCOME! New AKOA Members
A hearty welcome goes out to our newest AKOA members:
Mary Miller and Robert Donaghy
Back to Top
AKOA Conference Registration Now Online
AKOA Summer Conference 2009
Kodiak, AK
June 11-14, 2009
The Alaska Optometric Association (AKOA) would like to invite you to attend the 2009 AKOA Summer Education Conference in Kodiak, AK, June 11-14, 2009. Once again this year's Conference will offer 20+ hours of continuing education with top-notch optometry and ophthalmology faculty.
Click here to learn more...
Back to Top
Need to Know News
Optometric Recognition Awards
The Optometric Recognition Award is designed to recognize and stimulate doctors of optometry in their continuing education efforts with the objectives of maintaining and improving the quality of optometric care. The deadline to apply for the award is March 31, 2009.
Click here for an application
Obama's Call to Action on Children's Vision
President Barack Obama singled out the importance of eye and vision care when he signed an historic expansion of the State Childrens Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
"No child should be falling behind at school because he cant hear the teacher or see the blackboard. I refuse to accept that millions of our children fail to reach their full potential because we fail to meet their basic needs." said President Obama as he signed the bill into law during a White House ceremony on 2/4/09.
VSP Sight for Students Program
The AKOA is working with the Lions Club Sight Committee and Anchorage area school nurses in identifying children who need an eye exam but do not have vision insurance and are unable to pay. By utilizing the VSP Sight for Students program, the AKOA is issuing certificates for a vision exam and glasses to children in need. The patients are referred to a doctor in their area who participates in the VSP program.
This program is available to children throughout the state and we are working towards increasing utilization in areas outside of Anchorage.
Infant & Children Posters Available
The AOA has created a series of children's eye exam posters that you can have printed for your office. The prints are 20" x 24" and arrive ready to hang with hardware. Each print is $89 and can be purchased individually or as a collection.
A series InfantSEE posters are also available for download. The process is simple and the file can be sent to your local printer.
These posters are a great way for you to increase patient awareness of the importance of infant and children's vision exams.
Back to Top
|
