Charles F. Mullen

Emerging Trends in Health Care Policy Pertaining to Optometric Clinical Education and Patient Care

November 25th, 2007 | by Charles F. Mullen |

• There will be a convergence of clinical services provided and community health care needs as expressed in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Vision Objectives.
• Growth in the volume of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries will increase significantly.
• Optometry will eventually become a full participant in the federal programs Graduate Medical Education (GME) and the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and other federal programs for patient services providers. Participation in these programs will likely require a separate clinical legal entity and collaboration with community-based health care programs and/or hospitals.
• (GME) will provide significant funding to the clinical entity for the training of optometry students.
• (NHSC) will provide loan repayment for optometry students assigned to Federally Qualified Community Health Centers (FQCHC) possibly beginning in their 4th year. Residents assigned to FQCHCs and optometrists who are employed by FQCHCs will also be eligible for educational loan repayment. The NHSC program will also fund resident stipends for community-based programs.
• Schools and colleges of optometry will become proactive in influencing national and state health care policy.
• There will be an increase in the number of optometrists pursuing careers in public health.
• There will be an increase in the number of optometrists in federal policy making positions.
• The National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA) and the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) will support optometry’s legislative and regulatory initiatives.
  The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will contract with FQCHC’s to provide care to Veterans.
• The Department of Defense (DOD) and the VA will significantly enhance capabilities in treating vision problems associated with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).