Maine’s aging population is increasing, with more than 22% of its residents over age 65. This is the highest percentage of any state and is straining access to health care services, including eye care. However, outdated state laws prevent optometrists from performing effective, in-office procedures, forcing patients to endure long wait times, higher costs and unnecessary travel. Legislative Document 1803 modernizes Maine’s laws by allowing optometrists to provide safe, timely care to meet the growing demand for these services.

As a practicing optometrist, I have many patients with glaucoma, cataracts and ocular disease. Although I’ve been trained to diagnose, treat and manage care for these conditions, I’m unable to perform the procedures to treat them.

Under Maine’s current law, optometrists must refer patients who need these procedures to ophthalmologists for treatment. This extends the time patients must wait for care and can result in duplication of services, additional health care costs and reduced quality of life.

LD 1803 allows optometrists to perform minor, noninvasive laser eye procedures to treat glaucoma and after-cataract surgery care. These in-office procedures can safely and comfortably be performed using only local or topical anesthesia and have been performed more than 140,000 times since 1998 by optometrists in other states. They are approved to be performed under the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Community Care Program in states that allow full scope practice.

In five years, more than 31% of Maine’s population will be over age 60, which will increase demand for these laser procedures. At the same time, the number of practicing ophthalmologists is declining as retirements outpace new graduates.

With fewer ophthalmologists, patients must wait for procedures that could be performed in-office by an optometrist. It’s not unusual for my patients to wait three months for an initial consultation with an ophthalmologist and another three months for a procedure that I could complete the same day or within one to two weeks. Some of my patients have traveled three hours for care in Boston because they couldn’t get an appointment with a specialist in Maine.

Optometrists practice in 15 of Maine’s 16 counties, providing eye care access to 92% of our state’s population. There are nearly twice as many optometrists as ophthalmologists in our state, and the majority of optometrists accept Medicaid, which ensures health equity for all citizens. Authorizing optometrists to perform these laser procedures will help provide better patient experiences and allow optometrists to offer a higher level of patient care.

Every year, I have multiple optometry students rotate through my practice. Most ask about the optometric scope. After spending four years and hundreds of thousands of dollars on their education, students want to work in a state where they can practice to the full extent of their education, training and certification.

Optometrists earn doctorate degrees upon completion of four years of optometry school, which includes extensive classroom, laboratory, and clinical training focused on the eye and its components. In addition to fitting patients for glasses and contact lenses, optometrists have been treating complex eye diseases such as glaucoma and managing after-cataract conditions for decades.

All U.S. optometry schools train students to perform the procedures included in this legislation, and currently licensed optometrists would be required to complete additional training and demonstrate competence before being certified to perform them.

The minor eye procedures included in this legislation are low-risk, effective and can provide immediate results for patients. They can be completed in an optometrist’s office and do not require general anesthesia, cutting or injections into the eye.

Modernizing the scope of practice for optometrists will increase access to eye care, reduce health care costs and help attract and retain highly skilled, qualified optometrists to our state.