Lasik Profits Don’t Sway Optometrists

As an optometrist, I have had experience with most of the local refractive surgeons [“Ethical Lines Blur as Eye Surgery Gains Popularity,” May 21].

I know who has the most experience and who is the “weekend warrior.” You need only a weekend course to perform many of the refractive procedures (including Lasik).

Having worked with approximately a dozen of the finest surgeons in Los Angeles, I have seen the surgeons who have phenomenal results and those who do not.

Therefore my patients benefit from my behind-the-scenes knowledge. The concern about over-referrals from the optometrist is not valid.

The optometrist benefits financially whether the patient elects to have surgery or not. Continued exams and sale of eye wear generate new income for the optometrist, not the surgeon. The financial incentive of over-referrals is clearly greater for the surgeon.

The money received by the optometrist for co-management of laser refractive surgery is in line with the services provided to the patient. These are the same guidelines the federal government uses in optometric co-management of cataract surgery.

MATTHEW ALPERT, O.D.

Woodland Hills