Editorials
Friday, May 17, 1996

State should expand
optometrists' authority

MOST states permit optometrists to use drugs to treat eye diseases. A bill that would add Hawaii to the list awaits Governor Cayetano's signature. In 46 states and the armed forces, optometrists diagnose and treat common eye problems, reducing the need for costly referrals to physicians. If this bill is signed into law, Hawaii will become the 47th state. Currently optometrists here are authorized to use drugs for diagnosis only.

The bill would permit the use by optometrists of eyedrops and ointments and over-the-counter oral drugs to treat common eye ailments. Removal of superficial particles would be permitted but treatment for glaucoma would be excluded.

The bill would direct the Board of Examiners in Optometry to draft rules and procedures to certify and supervise optometrists. An advisory committee comprised of optometrists, ophthalmologists and pharmacists would compile a list of medications that optometrists could use.

Optometrists would be required to complete a 100-hour course with an ophthalmologist. (Ophthalmologists are medical doctors; optometrists are not.)

The medical profession has strongly opposed extension of the authority of optometrists, maintaining that only physicians are qualified to prescribe drugs. Because of the technical nature of this issue, this newspaper has refrained in the past from endorsing one side or the other.

However, the widespread approval of expanded authorization for optometrists in other states has convinced us that the time has arrived for Hawaii to take this step. This is a way to help contain the cost of health care by eliminating unnecessary referrals. The governor should sign the bill.


Other editorials in brief:

Simpson at Oxford

THE spectacle of O.J. Simpson addressing the venerable Oxford University debating society provided a bizarre touch to this already incredible story. An American studying at Oxford said Simpson "was very polished, prepared and coached, and I was impressed by his intelligence. Still, I think he did it." By "it" she meant the double murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, of which he was acquitted - a verdict received with strong skepticism by millions of Americans.

Simpson told reporters, "I am not trying to mend any image. I don't ever expect to do any commercials ever again. I plan to live my life as best, as comfortably and as interestingly as I can." Despite his treatment in Britain, the rest of his life may not be as comfortable or as interesting as he would like.


Australia's guns

AUSTRALIA has reacted to the massacre of 35 people in Tasmania in a rational way - by cracking down on gun ownership. Prime Minister John Howard announced a one-year tax levy to fund a buyback of the nation's most dangerous firearms. In the United States, Marion Wright Edelman, of the Children's Defense Fund, asks, "How long will we tolerate the unbridled circulation and marketing of guns to those who kill our children and to our children and youth who kill themselves and each other?" It will be a very long time, if the National Rifle Association has its way.



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John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher

David Shapiro, Managing Editor

Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor

Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors

A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor



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