Ophthalmologists withou OR time

[Prince Medward]

I've heard that Many ophthalmologists are practicing much like optometrists (the former obviously has wider scope than the latter it there is lots of overlap) because the older docs are hogging all the OR time.

 

Can anyone shed some more light on this?

[olecranon]

i can say this is absolutely true. i personally know grads from ubc who are going to the us because of no OR time or just doing medical ophtho.

[Antigonish]

I don't understand. Why don't more ASC's open? Who controls the OR time, the government or?? If the need is there, why don't these younger docs get together and open an ASC? Thanks.

[Prince Medward]

Exactly what I don't understand. Especially for cataract surgery which usually only requires topical local anaesthesia and equipment that is mot very expensive.

 

Washington state has lots of cataract surgery centers owned by a group of docs.

[bones]

As far as I understand it, in private ORs providing cataract surgery, the docs may own the clinics, but the government pays for each cataract surgery done. If 10 private ORs opened tomorrow offering unlimited (i.e. as many patients as could fill them) cataract surgeries, orthopedic services, head/neck surgeries, etc. then the public purse (which funds these surgeries right now in public ORs) would quickly run out of money.

 

Private ORs currently doing cataract surgeries have detailed contracts in place with the government, in which the ORs are only allowed to operate on so many patients per month.

[Antigonish]

Thanks for the response. So will the government not contract/reimburse a newly opened ASC? Also, why should the old docs get all the OR time, who decides who gets it? I'm assuming the have it because they have stake in the ASC, in which case they have every right to. I still don't understand it.