Presidential Aspirant Rand Paul Led an Ophthalmologists' Rebellion in Kentucky

"The letters came from a young ophthalmologist in Kentucky. He was recruiting for an eye doctors’ rebellion," reports the Washington Post. "'We won’t be trod upon,' he wrote, using the language of 1776. 'You can’t promulgate injustice without consequences.' The injustice he was talking about was a new rule, from the powerful group that deems American ophthalmologists to be 'board-certified.' It required younger doctors to take a test that older doctors did not have to take. The Kentucky doctor was so outraged that he seceded — and started his own Board of Ophthalmology, so he could certify himself.

“'You can send a clear message to the establishment' by signing up to be certified by the new board, too, the letter said. 'Check the appropriate box and return the card with your $500. Sincerely, Rand Paul, M.D.' The letter, from about 2003, helps illuminate a little-understood (and mostly ridiculed) chapter of Paul’s life before politics: how he became a self-certified ophthalmologist." Read more.

The Post also noted in another article that this man of science and medicine "weighed in on the vaccination debate Monday by asserting that he believes most vaccines should be voluntary. "I'm not anti-vaccine at all but...most of them ought to be voluntary,' Paul told Laura Ingraham on her radio show Monday." His position is odd since individuals can opt not to have their children vaccinated as the current measles outbreak attests. Read more.

Ophthalmologist Leads in Political Donations

"Two Florida doctors who received the nation’s highest Medicare reimbursements in 2012 are both major contributors to Democratic Party causes, and they have turned to the political system in recent years to defend themselves against suspicions that they may have submitted fraudulent or excessive charges to the federal government," according to the New York Times article entitled "Political Ties of Top Billers for Medicare." "The pattern of large Medicare payments and six-figure political donations shows up among several of the doctors whose payment records were released for the first time this week by the Department of Health and Human Services. For years, the department refused to make the data public, and finally did so only after being sued by The Wall Street Journal. Topping the list is Dr. Salomon E. Melgen, 59, an ophthalmologist from North Palm Beach, Fla., who received $21 million in Medicare reimbursements in 2012 alone." Read more.

MD Sues Texas Optometry Board

"A Lubbock ophthalmologist has sued the Texas Optometry Board seeking to overturn a rule that prohibits optometrists from opening practices in national eyewear chain businesses," says LubbockOnline.com. "Peter M. Ho filed suits last week in Lubbock County District Court and U.S. District Court challenging the state regulatory panel’s authority to regulate the practice, calling the rule protectionist and anti-consumer. According to the suits, the board has threatened to take disciplinary action against Brian Kern, an optometrist employed by Ho, for violating the co-location rule." Read more.

Ophthalmologist Becomes Dictator

FYI: According to a variety of sources, President Bashar al-Assad never had plans to head up the Syrian government. Bashar studied medicine at Damascus University. He served in the Syrian army as a physician. He then studied at Western Eye Hospital, one of the London-based teaching hospitals affiliated with St. Mary’s group. The ophthalmologist was promoted to president designate when his older brother died in a car accident.

Ophthalmologists—Financially—Doing Just Fine

Ophthalmologists, financially, do just fine—earning a mean income of $276,000, according to Physicians Salaries in 2013 published by Medscape. That makes them the 11th highest compensated physicians in the United States. A rarified few (13 percent) pull in more than $500,000, and an unfortunate few (12 percent) make less than $100,000. Here’s a kicker, male ophthalmologists earn 34 percent more than female, says the report. The regions where they get the best pay? Not the Northeast. Nor California. It’s the North Central (middle America), followed by the Northwest, Great Lakes Region, California, the Northeast. Salaries in the South trail. Read more. You will need to register with Medscape to see the report, though.

ODs and MDs Might Not Be Able to Provide Services Necessary after 2020

Even though ophthalmologists are some of the best paid physicians in the U.S. (http://opticalceu.blogspot.com/2013/04/ophthalmologistsfinanciallydoing-just.html) and optometrists have the “best” careers (http://opticalceu.blogspot.com/2013/04/ods-have-some-of-best-jobs-in-2013.html), there could be trouble in seven years. “By the year 2020, the Affordable Care Act, changing ethnicity and new treatment modalities will increase the need for eye care services beyond what optometrists and ophthalmologists can provide, according to a speaker here at the IOMED program of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.” That’s the start of a post on Primary Care Optometry News. Read more.

LA OD Surgery Bill Pulled. FL ODs Prescribe Meds

“A controversial eye care bill has passed out of committee at the Louisiana Legislature that would open up the scope of medical procedures optometrists can perform on patients,” reports KPLC TV. “The bill on Wednesday, however, was pulled from the House floor by its author, Rep. Frank Hoffman, R-West Monroe, amid opposition by the state's ophthalmologists. Hoffman said the measure will be returned to the calendar to be called at a later date.” Read more.

Meanwhile Vision Monday has reported that “Florida Governor Rick Scott signed Florida Senate Bill 278 on Friday, April 19, authorizing optometrists in that state to prescribe ocular pharmaceutical agents.” Read more.

Cloud-Based Fundus Photographs

“A new tool for ophthalmologists and optometrists is now available online, making it easier to monitor changes in the eye,” according to MedGadget. “EyeIC has released a cloud-based application that allows to easily compare fundus photographs taken at different times of the same patient, or across patients.” Read more.

Ophthalmologist in Trouble with Feds

“Chicago ophthalmologist Dr. Nicholas Caro is the subject of news stories again, this time because of trouble with the U.S. Department of Labor and a federal grand jury for allegedly raiding his employee's pension fund to the tune of around $260,000,” reports Digital Journal. “Unprofessional conduct. Many Chicago-area eye patients are all too familiar with Dr.Caro's questionable and harmful past medical practices. In 2010, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the state agency responsible for professional licensing, including the prosecution of doctors who engage in negligent or dangerous practices, found Caro had engaged in 'unprofessional conduct' and 'gross negligence.'” Read more.

Ophthalmologist Receives Patients' Choice Award

Dr. Sadiqa Stelzner of Santa Monica, CA, has been ranked among the top physicians in the nation based on patient reviews, called the Patients' Choice Award. Doctors who have received top scores by their patients and pass other quality measures are awarded the Patients' Choice Award. In fact, of the nation's 720,000 active physicians, just 5 percent were accorded this honor in 2011.Stelzner joined the Santa Monica Eye Medical Group in 2004 which was established in 1948. After the retirement of Dr. Dickerson in January of 2008, she became the successor of the practice. In addition, she is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute and the Director of Eye Care at the Greater Los Angeles VA. Stelzner and the Santa Monica Eye Medical Group provide comprehensive eye care including premium lens replacement, cataract surgery, LASIK, glaucoma treatment and cosmetic treatments such as eyelid surgeries, botox, fillers. For more information on this Patients' Choice Award winner, please visit Dr. Sadiqa Stelzner's profile on PatientsChoice.org.

Ophthalmologist Pleds Guilty to Stealing

"An ophthalmologist...pled guilty to stealing more than $51,000 from state and federal health care programs," according to a press release from the state of Washington's Attorney General office. "In July, state prosecutors charged Dr. Behrouz Pirouzkar with three counts of First Degree Attempted Identity Theft and two counts of Medicaid False Statement." Read more.

Opthalmologist Convicted of Fraud and False Claims

Philly.com reported "a federal jury this afternoon convicted the former chairman of Temple University School of Medicine's ophthalmology department of 150 counts of health care and wire fraud and making false statements in health care matters. Joseph J. Kubacki, 62, a pediatric eye specialist now living in Destin, Fla., was accused of falsely claiming between 2002 and 2007 to have provided more than $1.5 million in services to patients at a clinic run by the ophthalmology department." Read more.