Alberta becomes first province to allow optometrists to perform minor surgeries

On November 1st, a change of regulation came into place, which will allow some optometrists to perform certain minor surgeries or laser procedures in office. Things you used to see an ophthalmologist for, or eye surgeon, like post-cataract cloudiness or glaucoma treatments or even treating lesions on an eyelid. The Canadian Ophthalmological Society, or COS, alongside a few other medical groups based in Alberta, are quite concerned about this. They're worried about some of the risks associated with these procedures and the health of patients. I worry that patients may not receive treatment by someone with the appropriate training needed to do that treatment. Surgery needs to be done by surgeons. The government says optometrists will need some extra training and authorization but it hasn't been made perfectly clear what that will be yet. Where there have been courses suggested they've been in the order of you know 40 hours. That sort of thing and to us you just you can't learn surgery in the equivalent of a week or two weeks. But the government's aim is to reduce wait times and increase access for eye patients. Instead of being referred to another city for a procedure, Albertans may receive that care directly by their local qualified optometrist. That means fewer appointments to coordinate, less time waiting, less time traveling and more time at home. For those living in rural and remote Alberta, it can be a real difference in access to health care. Though some places in the U.S., U.K., and New Zealand allow this, Alberta would be the very first province in Canada to allow these kind of treatments to be done in office. And the Canadian Association of Optometrists supports the expansion of services across the country. Lina El-Sadi, CBC News, Red Deer.