Research

JAMA Ophthalmology | Original Investigation

Comparison of Outcomes of Laser Trabeculoplasty Performed

by Optometrists vs Ophthalmologists in Oklahoma
Joshua D. Stein, MD, MS; Peter Y. Zhao, MD; Chris Andrews, PhD; Gregory L. Skuta, MD

Invited Commentaries pages 1

IMPORTANCE Oklahoma is one of the few states where optometrists have surgical privileges and 1
to perform laser trabeculoplasty (LTP). Optometrists in other states are lobbying to obtain CME Quiz at
privileges to perform LTP and other laser procedures. Little is known whether outcomes of jamanetworkcme.com and
patients undergoing this procedure by optometrists are similar to those undergoing LTP by CME Questions eme160010
ophthalmologists.

OBJECTIVE To compare outcomes of LTPs performed by ophthalmologists with those

performed by optometrists to determine whether differences exist in the need for additional
LTPs.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective longitudinal cohort study used a
health care claims database containing more than 1000 eyes of Medicare enrollees with
glaucoma who underwent LTP in Oklahoma from January 1, 2008, through December 31,
2013. For each procedure, the data specify the type of eye care professional who performed
the LTP. The rate of LTPs performed by ophthalmologists that required 1 or more additional
LTPs in the same eye was compared with the rate of LTPs performed by optometrists.
Regression models determined factors affecting risk of undergoing more than 1 LTP in the
same eye.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Proportion of enrollees requiring additional LTPs, hazard
ratio with 95% CIs of undergoing additional LTPs.

RESULTS A total of 1384 eyes of 891 eligible patients underwent LTP from January 1, 2008,
through December 31, 2013. There were 1150 eyes that received LTP (83.1%) by an
ophthalmologist and 234 eyes (16.9%) that had the procedure performed by an optometrist.
The mean (SD) age at the initial LTP was 77.7 (7.5) years for enrollees with ophthalmologist-
performed LTP and 77.6 (8.0) years for those with optometrist-performed LTP (P = .89).
Among the 1384 eyes receiving LTP, 258 (18.6%) underwent more than 1 LTP in the same eye.
The proportion of eyes undergoing LTP by an optometrist requiring 1 or more subsequent LTP
session (35.9%) was more than double the proportion of eyes that received this procedure by Author Affiliations: Department of
an ophthalmologist (15.1%). Medicare beneficiaries undergoing LTP by optometrists had a Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences,
University of Michigan, Medical
189% increased hazard of requiring additional LTPs in the same eye compared with those
School, WK Kellogg Eye Center, Ann
receiving LTP by ophthalmologists (hazard ratio, 2.89; 95% CI, 2.00-4.17; P < .001) after Arbor (Stein, Andrews); Institute for
adjusting for potential confounders. Healthcare Policy and Innovation,
University of Michigan Medical
School, Ann Arbor (Stein);
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Considerable differences exist among the proportions of Department of Health Management
patients requiring additional LTPs comparing those who were initially treated by and Policy, University of Michigan,
ophthalmologists with those initially treated by optometrists. Health policy makers should be School of Public Health, Ann Arbor
(Stein); Department of Internal
cautious about approving laser privileges for optometrists practicing in other states until the
Medicine, Lankenau Medical Center,
reasons for these differences are better understood. Wynnewood, Pennsylvania (Zhao);
Dean McGee Eye Institute,
Department of Ophthalmology,
University of Oklahoma College of
Medicine, Oklahoma City (Skuta).
Corresponding Author: Joshua D.
Stein, MD, MS, Department of
Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences,
University of Michigan Medical
School, WK Kellogg Eye Center, 1000
JAMA Ophthalmol. 2016;134(10):1-7. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2016.2495 Wall St, Ann Arbor, MI 48105 (jdstein
Published online July 28, 2016. @med.umich.edu).

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 Research Original Investigation Comparison of Laser Trabeculoplasty Outcomes in Oklahoma

L
aser trabeculoplasty (LTP) is a common procedure that
can effectively decrease intraocular pressure in pa- Key Points
tients with primary and some secondary forms of open-
Question Are there differences in the frequency and likelihood of
angle glaucoma. It can augment the ability to lower intraocu- undergoing additional laser trabeculoplasty among Medicare
lar pressure in patients who are already taking glaucoma enrollees in Oklahoma who underwent this procedure by an
medications and is useful in patients who have difficulty ad- ophthalmologist vs others who underwent the procedure by an
ministering eye drops or with medication adherence. In fact, optometrist?
LTP may be a more cost-effective option for treating glau- Findings Among the 1384 eyes receiving laser trabeculoplasty,
coma than medication, especially for patients who have dif- the proportion of eyes treated by optometrists requiring
ficulty with adherence.1,2 The advent of selective LTP contrib- additional laser trabeculoplasty in the same eye (35.9%) was more
uted to a 46% increase in this procedure among Medicare than double the proportion of those treated by ophthalmologists
beneficiaries from January 1, 2002, through December 31, (15.1%). Optometrist-treated eyes had a 189% increased risk of
requiring additional laser trabeculoplasty.
2009.3
Ophthalmologists have been performing LTP since 1979 Meaning Future work seems warranted to substantiate whether
when the procedure was first developed by Wise and Witter.4 the differences identified affect clinical outcomes and costs.
Recently, optometrists have been lobbying state legislatures
for expanded privileges so they may perform LTP. In Okla-
gitudinal, person-specific analysis from January 1, 2008,
homa, optometrists were given permission to perform LTP on
through December 31, 2013. A similar data source was used pre-
patients with glaucoma in 1998.5 More recently, legislation was
viously to study patients with ocular diseases.13,14 The Uni-
passed in Kentucky and Louisiana allowing optometrists to per-
versity of Michigan institutional review board approved this
form laser ocular surgical procedures.6,7 Ophthalmologists
study, which used deidentified claims data.
learn how to perform LTP during residency training. The Ac-
creditation Council for Graduate Medical Education man-
dates that graduating residents perform a minimum of 5 LTPs.8 Study Sample
We identified all individuals with any form of glaucoma (ICD-
Case logs show that the average ophthalmological resident per-
9-CM code 365.xx) who underwent 1 or more LTP (CPT-4 code
forms 14 LTPs and 83 other laser procedures during residency
65855) from January 1, 2008, through December 31, 2013, in
training.9 In Oklahoma, training of optometrists to perform la-
Oklahoma (Figure 1). Current Procedural Terminology codes do
sers involves a 2-day course, “Laser Therapy for the Anterior
not distinguish argon LTP, selective LTP, and micropulse LTP;
Segment,” which is held at the Northeastern State University
therefore, beneficiaries who underwent any of these proce-
Oklahoma College of Optometry. This course consists of 9 hours
dures were included. Individuals younger than 65 and older
of lectures and 4 hours of laboratory sessions, including go-
than 95 years were excluded as were enrollees in Medicare Ad-
nioscopy, LTP, laser iridotomy, and capsulotomy.10
vantage plans because our data source does not fully de-
To our knowledge, there has never been a study compar-
scribe all care received by persons in such plans. Procedures
ing outcomes of LTP performed by ophthalmologists vs pro-
that were submitted for payment but not paid and those miss-
cedures performed by optometrists. Using a health care claims
ing eye laterality were also excluded. Each claim specifies
database containing more than 1000 eyes of Medicare benefi-
whether an ophthalmologist or optometrist performed the LTP
ciaries with glaucoma who underwent LTP in Oklahoma, we
and whether it was performed on the right or left eye. Bilat-
compared outcomes of those receiving this procedure by oph-
eral codes were counted as separate procedures for each eye.
thalmologists vs enrollees undergoing LTP by optometrists.
These analyses may help guide health policy makers in other
states who are trying to decide whether to give optometrists Figure 1. STROBE Sample Selection Figure
privileges to perform laser procedures.
151 517 Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Traditional Medicare
sometime during 2008-2013 (20% sample) and either
residing or receiving treatment in Oklahoma

Methods
122 182 Aged 65-95 y, known sex and race/ethnicity
Data Source
We used a 20% nationally representative sample of Medicare
16 492 At least 1 glaucoma code (ICD-9-CM code 365.xx)
claims to identify beneficiaries undergoing LTP. The data-
base contained information including International Classifi-
cation of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification 891 At least 1 LTP performed among 1384 eyes
(ICD-9-CM)11 diagnosis codes, Current Procedural Terminol-
ogy (CPT-4)12 procedure codes, National Provider Identifier 8 Enrollees (10 eyes) missing urban
numbers to identify specific eye care professionals, and ser- status excluded from adjusted model

vice dates for all encounters. Claims data were merged with
Medicare denominator files for information on enrollment Identification of beneficiaries eligible for current study from 20% Medicare
dates in Medicare and demographic characteristics of the ben- claims database. ICD-9-CM indicates International Classification of Diseases,
Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification; LTP, laser trabeculoplasty.
eficiaries. Data were linked by a patient identifier, allowing lon-

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 Comparison of Laser Trabeculoplasty Outcomes in Oklahoma Original Investigation Research

Statistical Analysis coma diagnosis code listed on the date of the initial LTP was
All analyses were performed using SAS software, version 9.4 365.11 (1206 [87.1%]) and was similar for both types of eye care
(SAS Inc) and R, version 3.2.3 (R Foundation for Statistical Com- professionals (975 [86.6%] of patients with an ophthalmologist-
puting). Characteristics of the study population were summa- performed LTP and 231 [89.7%] with an optometrist-
rized using means (SDs) for continuous variables and frequen- performed procedure). All enrollees in both groups were ob-
cies and percentages for categorical variables. For all inference served for up to 72 months. The median time from study
procedures, P < .05 (Kaplan-Meier method, Wald test, and Cox eligibility to the first LTP was 28.8 months for patients first
proportional hazards regression model) was considered sta- treated by ophthalmologists and 20.0 months for patients first
tistically significant. treated by optometrists. The median times from the first LTP
to the end of follow-up were 31.3 and 42.4 months, respec-
Receipt of Additional LTPs tively. The mean (SD) age at the initial LTP was 77.7 (7.5) years
The primary outcome was receipt of additional LTPs in the for enrollees with ophthalmologist-performed LTP and 77.6
same eye. This outcome was identified as another record of (8.0) years for those with optometrist-performed LTP (P = .89).
CPT-4 code 65855 on a separate date on the same eye as the The proportions of white, black, and other patients receiving
initial procedure. Subsequent LTPs could have been per- LTP by ophthalmologists vs optometrists were 85.2% vs 75.5%
formed by the same eye care professional or an ophthalmolo- (P = .004), 8.2% vs 10.8% (P = .33), and 6.5% vs 13.7%
gist or optometrist other than the health care professional who (P = .004), respectively (Table 1). Twenty-five enrollees (2.8%)
performed the initial procedure. The unit of observation was received bilateral LTP on the same day.
the eye, but a clustering term was included to allow for the cor- Among the 1150 eyes undergoing LTP by an ophthalmolo-
relation between eyes of the same beneficiary.15 Observa- gist, 174 (15.1%) received 1 or more LTPs on the same eye dur-
tions were right censored at the end of eligibility. ing the follow-up. Of the 234 eyes treated with LTP by optom-
We calculated product limit estimates (with robust SEs) of etrists, 84 (35.9%) underwent 1 or more additional LTPs on the
the time to the second LTP as a function of the type of initial same eye during follow-up (P < .001). Figure 2 displays the dis-
eye care professional (ophthalmologist or optometrist). These tribution of time to second procedure. Second procedures
estimates were compared at 6 months and 3 years with Wald within 6 months were much less common when the first pro-
tests. We used proportional hazards regression models (cre- cedure was performed by an ophthalmologist (3.9%) vs an op-
ated by generalized estimating equations to allow for corre- tometrist (24.9%) (P < .001). The difference persisted with time,
lated observations) to determine a single estimate of the ef- for example, 17.7% vs 34.3% at 3 years (P < .001).
fect of the key predictor variable: type of eye care professional We also studied the timing of the additional LTPs by the 2
who performed the initial LTP. An additional model was cre- eye care professional groups relative to the 10-day global pe-
ated adjusting for age at initial LTP, sex, race/ethnicity, where riod (ie, the immediate post-LTP period, when charges for nor-
the enrollee lived (urban, large rural, or small rural town), and mal postoperative care are included in the global surgical pro-
year of the procedure. In a separate model, we studied whether cedure fee). For patients first treated by ophthalmologists, no
an interaction between race/ethnicity (non-Hispanic white vs additional procedures occurred during the global period, and
black, Hispanic, American Indian, and persons of other races/ the probability of a subsequent LTP between 11 and 30 days
ethnicities) and type of eye care professional performing the was 1.1% (95% CI, 0.7%-1.9%). For patients first treated by op-
initial LTP affected the hazard of undergoing additional LTPs. tometrists, the probability of subsequent LTPs in the global pe-
riod was 0.4% (95% CI, 0.1%-3.0%) and between days 11 and
Receipt of Incisional Glaucoma Surgical Procedures After 30 was 10.3% (7.0%-15.0%).
LTP For the 174 eyes that received LTP by ophthalmologists that
Finally, we determined the proportion of patients receiving LTP required additional laser treatment, 155 (89.1%) received the
by each type of eye care professional who subsequently un- subsequent LTP by the same ophthalmologist, 13 (7.5%) by a
derwent incisional glaucoma surgery (trabeculectomy or glau- different ophthalmologist, and 6 (3.4%) by an optometrist.
coma drainage-device insertion) during the follow-up. Among the 1150 eyes initially treated by ophthalmologists, 21
(1.8%) underwent 3 or more LTPs on the same eye. In com-
parison, for the 84 eyes that received LTP by optometrists that
required additional LTPs, 73 (86.9%) received the subse-
Results quent LTP by the same optometrist, 5 (6.0%) by a different op-
A total of 1384 eyes of 891 eligible patients underwent 1 or more tometrist, and 6 (7.1%) by an ophthalmologist. Of the 234 eyes
LTPs in Oklahoma during the study period. There were 1150 treated initially by optometrists, 11 (4.7%) underwent 3 or more
eyes that received LTP (83.1%) by an ophthalmologist and 234 LTPs on the same eye.
eyes (16.9%) that had the procedure performed by an optom- After adjustment for potential confounding factors, eyes
etrist. A total of 493 patients (55.3%) underwent LTP at least that received LTP by optometrists had a 189% greater hazard
once in both eyes. The number of LTPs performed by ophthal- for a subsequent LTP in the same eye during follow-up (haz-
mologists ranged from 1 to 277 procedures; 57 ophthalmolo- ard ratio, 2.89; 95% CI, 2.00-4.17; P < .001) compared with
gists performed this procedure at least once. Optometrists each those undergoing LTP by an ophthalmologist. Female pa-
performed from 1 to 38 LTP procedures; 23 optometrists per- tients had a 43% increased hazard of undergoing a subse-
formed LTP at least once. The most common ICD-9-CM glau- quent LTP in the same eye during follow-up (hazard ra-

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 Research Original Investigation Comparison of Laser Trabeculoplasty Outcomes in Oklahoma

Table 1. Demographics of Patients Receiving LTP by an Ophthalmologist or Optometrist

LTP Initially by an LTP Initially by an
Characteristic Overall Ophthalmologist Optometrist P Value
Individuals, No. 891 752 139
Eyes, No. 1384 1150 234
Patient age, mean (SD), y 77.7 (7.6) 77.7 (7.5) 77.6 (8.0) .89
Sex, No. (%)
Male 345 (39) 294 (39) 51 (37)
.59
Female 546 (61) 458 (61) 88 (63)
Race, No. (%)
White 746 (84) 641 (85) 105 (76)
Black 77 (9) 62 (8) 15 (11)
Hispanic 7 (<1) 6 (<1) 1 (<1) .02
Native 57 (6) 40 (5) 17 (12)
Other 4 (<1) 3 (<1) 1 (<1)
Year of first procedure, 2010.3 (1.7) 2010.4 (1.7) 2009.9 (1.6) .001
mean (SD)a
Year of first procedure,
No. (%)
2008 171 (19.2) 135 (18.0) 36 (26.0)
2009 168 (18.9) 137 (18.2) 31 (22.3)
2010 147 (16.5) 120 (16.0) 27 (19.4)
.04
2011 148 (16.6) 131 (17.4) 17 (12.2) Abbreviation: LTP, laser
trabeculoplasty.
2012 135 (15.2) 120 (16.0) 15 (10.8)
a
The average of the 1384 dates of the
2013 122 (13.7) 109 (14.4) 13 (9.4)
initial LTP.

tio, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.02-2.01; P = .04). There was no association interaction model used to investigate whether race/ethnicity
between age (hazard ratio, 1.04 per 10 years; 95% CI, 0.84- affected the hazard ratio of additional LTPs for ophthalmolo-
1.28) at initial LTP (P = .72), between black, Hispanic, or Ameri- gist-performed vs optometrist-performed LTP was not statis-
can Indian individuals, and persons of other races/ethnicities tically significant.
vs white (P = .79; hazard ratio, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.71-1.57), or be- Among the 1150 eyes that underwent LTP by ophthalmolo-
tween large rural vs urban residence of the patient (P ≥ .15; haz- gists, 49 (4.3%) subsequently underwent incisional glau-
ard ratio, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.48-1.17) and between small rural vs coma surgery. By comparison, of the 234 eyes that under-
urban residence of the patient (P ≥ .15; hazard ratio, 0.73; 95% went LTP by an optometrist, 5 (2.1%) subsequently underwent
CI, 0.48-1.12) and the hazard of additional LTPs (Table 2). The such surgery.

Figure 2. Time to Second Laser Trabeculoplasty in Same Eye for

Beneficiaries Receiving Initial Treatment by Ophthalmologists and
Optometrists
Discussion
In this analysis of more than 1000 eyes of Medicare benefi-
0.6 Initial HCP ciaries with glaucoma who underwent LTP in Oklahoma from
Optometrist
January 1, 2008, through December 31, 2013, we note substan-
Probability of Second Procedure

0.5 Ophthalmologist
tial differences in the receipt of additional LTPs by patients who
0.4 underwent the procedure by an ophthalmologist compared
0.3 with an optometrist. After adjustment for demographic and
other factors, patients who underwent LTP by an optometrist
0.2
had an approximate 2-fold higher likelihood of undergoing ad-
0.1 ditional LTPs in the same eye compared with others who re-
ceived this procedure by an ophthalmologist. Most addi-
0
tional LTPs performed by optometrists were done soon after
0 12 24 36 48 60 72
Time, mo the initial procedure and were performed by the same optom-
No. at risk etrist as the initial LTP.
Optometrist 234 154 117 83 52 27
Ophthalmologist 1150 890 624 387 219 100 Although this study highlights major differences in out-
comes of patients undergoing subsequent LTPs after the ini-
Kaplan-Meier estimates of cumulative incidence for each group. Data are tial procedure performed by ophthalmologists and proce-
clustered because of some beneficiaries having both eyes studied. The study
dures performed by optometrists, it is difficult with claims data
lasted 72 months: follow-up began at the first laser trabeculoplasty. Therefore,
there was none at risk at month 72. HCP indicates health care professional. to discern the reasons for the differences observed. Possible

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 Comparison of Laser Trabeculoplasty Outcomes in Oklahoma Original Investigation Research

Table 2. Factors Affecting the Hazard of Requiring Additional Laser Trabeculoplastya

Factor Model Hazard Ratio (95% CI)b P Value

Initial LTP by an OD vs initial LTP by an EyeMD Crude 2.58 (1.84-3.61) <.001
Initial LTP by an OD vs initial LTP by an EyeMD Adjusted 2.89 (2.00-4.17) <.001
Each year later LTP was initially performed (eg, 2013 vs 2012) Adjusted 1.03 (0.92-1.16) .57
Female vs male Adjusted 1.43 (1.02-2.01) .04
Other races vs white Adjusted 1.06 (0.71-1.57) .79
Each additional decade of age Adjusted 1.04 (0.84-1.28) .72
Large rural town vs urban Adjusted 0.75 (0.48-1.17) .20
Small rural town vs urban Adjusted 0.73 (0.48-1.12) .15
Abbreviations: EyeMD, ophthalmologist; LTP, laser trabeculoplasty; OD, requiring additional LTPs compared with those who had their initial LTP in
optometrist. 2012. This difference was not statistically significant. SEs were adjusted for
a
The adjusted model included all of the covariates listed in the table: whether clustering because of some beneficiaries having both eyes studied. P values
the LTP was performed by an optometrist (vs an ophthalmologist), calendar and 95% CIs are from robust Wald procedures.
b
year the LTP was performed, sex, race/ethnicity, age, and patient residence. Hazard ratios are calculated from crude and adjusted proportional hazards
The interpretation of the calendar year of the initial LTP is as follows: Persons regression models for time to event (second procedure in same eye).
who underwent their initial LTP in 2013 had a 3.4% increased hazard of

explanations include differences in the sociodemographic char- gery compared with those receiving care by optometrists. Ad-
acteristics of ophthalmologists’ vs optometrists’ patients and ditional research is needed to study these various potential
how each group responds to LTP, differences in disease sever- explanations.
ity between the 2 groups, differences in selection of patients The success of LTP depends on various patient-related and
who are appropriate candidates for LTP between the 2 types health care professional–related factors. Laser trabeculo-
of eye care professionals, and differences in how the LTP was plasty has been most effective in patients with primary open-
performed, including the type of laser used, laser settings, angle glaucoma, exfoliation glaucoma, and pigmentary
amount of the drainage angle treated in one setting, or whether glaucoma.16-18 Other glaucoma types, such as angle-closure and
the procedure was performed properly. Unfortunately, with- angle-recession glaucoma, usually respond poorly to LTP. The
out access to clinical data, such as the preoperative and post- degree of angle pigmentation can also affect the success of the
operative intraocular pressure levels, gonioscopy findings, and procedure and risk for intraocular pressure increases after
records describing how the procedures were performed, it is LTP.19,20 Experience and expertise of the eye care profes-
impossible to identify which of these or other factors are con- sional can also affect outcomes because the effectiveness of
tributing to the observed differences in receipt of subsequent LTP requires proper identification of the angle structures to
LTPs between the groups. treat. Although, to our knowledge, this is the first study that
Another possible explanation for differences observed may directly compared LTP performed by ophthalmologists vs op-
be that ophthalmologists can perform incisional surgery on pa- tometrists, Lowry et al21 showed that LTP performed by at-
tients with failed LTP, whereas optometrists, who cannot do tending ophthalmologists was more effective than proce-
so, may perform additional LTPs. Likewise, because inci- dures performed by resident physicians, suggesting that
sional glaucoma surgery is reimbursed more than LTP, this experience in performing the procedure is important.
could influence decision making. However, we doubt that this An interesting finding from these analyses is that many of
factor is contributing much to the differences observed be- the patients who underwent additional LTPs by optometrists
cause a subset of ophthalmologists routinely performs inci- did so soon after the initial LTP, whereas additional LTPs among
sional glaucoma surgery, whereas most eye care profession- patients treated by ophthalmologists tended to occur much
als (optometrists and comprehensive ophthalmologists) would later after the initial procedure. One can speculate the rea-
refer patients to glaucoma subspecialists for surgery and thus sons for the differences observed. One possibility is that the
not benefit financially from recommending incisional sur- optometrists performing this procedure may have been more
gery vs additional LTPs. Furthermore, few patients in both cautious, scheduling the procedure into 2 or more sessions to
groups underwent incisional glaucoma surgery during the fol- try to limit postoperative inflammation or intraocular pres-
low-up; therefore, it is unlikely that this is a major factor re- sure increases.22,23 Alternatively, to maximize reimburse-
sponsible for the differences in additional LTPs between the ment, some optometrists may schedule LTP into more than 1
2 groups. session, with the timing of subsequent LTPs after the 10-day
Some of the patients undergoing LTP by optometrists may global period of the initial procedure. The large increase in ad-
reside in communities where access to incisional glaucoma sur- ditional LTPs for the patients undergoing the procedure by op-
gery is limited, which may explain some of the differences. tometrists immediately after the global period suggests that
Moreover, despite the fact that all the patients in this analysis this may be a contributing factor, although we are unaware of
had Medicare, patients of ophthalmologists may have been bet- any reports indicating that optometrists systematically prac-
ter able to make the copayments of incisional glaucoma sur- tice in this manner. A third possibility is that because the pres-

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 Research Original Investigation Comparison of Laser Trabeculoplasty Outcomes in Oklahoma

sure-decreasing effect of LTP may take several weeks to months longitudinal follow-up for several years after the initial LTP to
to occur, ophthalmologists may be more aware that it may take compare the longer-term outcomes. Finally, the data come
some time to observe the effect of the initial LTP before pro- from claims submitted by ophthalmologists and optom-
ceeding with additional LTPs. However, we know of no stud- etrists, and not from patient self-report, which may be less
ies directly comparing the knowledge level about LTP of these reliable.30
2 eye care professional groups. With claims data, we cannot Our study has several limitations. First, claims data lack
tell whether any of these or other factors are responsible for clinical details, such as intraocular pressure levels before or af-
the differences in performance of subsequent LTPs immedi- ter LTP, slitlamp and gonioscopy findings, or details of how the
ately after the global period. procedures were performed. Second, our study focused on
Several studies have assessed the outcomes of additional Medicare beneficiaries. It is unclear whether the findings would
LTPs.24 Feldman et al25 found a 35% success rate at 6 months be similar for younger patients or those with other forms of
with additional argon LTPs, which decreases to 11% after 24 health insurance. Third, there may be systematic differences
months. Starita et al26 reported that 18% of patients who un- between the patients receiving care by ophthalmologists and
derwent additional argon LTPs had an intraocular pressure in- those by optometrists, including differences in disease sever-
crease of more than 10 mm Hg. As a result, authorities often ity between the groups. Unfortunately, there were not enough
discourage the performance of additional argon LTPs. The suc- eyes that were coded with the new glaucoma severity codes
cess of additional selective LTPs has been more promising. to assess for this difference. One would expect that patients
Hong et al27 described additional intraocular pressure reduc- with more severe glaucoma would be receiving their care by
tion after additional selective LTPs. Durr and Harasymowycz28 ophthalmologists and thus would be more, not less, likely to
did as well. Others have shown that selective LTP can de- require additional LTPs. Although we adjusted our models for
crease intraocular pressure in eyes that have undergone ar- some confounding factors, including age and race/ethnicity,
gon LTP previously.29 Unfortunately, our data source lacks de- there are other unmeasured confounders not included in claims
tails regarding the amount of the angle treated and the type data.
of laser used during the initial procedure to assess whether the
subsequent LTPs performed by eye care professionals in both
groups are consistent with recommended clinical practice
guidelines.
Conclusions
To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine dif- Based on the findings of these analyses, we urge state legisla-
ferences in outcomes of LTP between patients receiving care tures and health policy makers to be cautious about giving op-
by ophthalmologists and those by optometrists. A strength of tometrists privileges to perform LTP in other states until ad-
this study is its large diverse population of patients with glau- ditional research is performed to better delineate the reasons
coma enrolled in Medicare throughout Oklahoma. We are not for the differences in the use of additional LTP we are observ-
only including patients receiving care at one particular aca- ing in Oklahoma. Furthermore, researchers should deter-
demic institution or by a small group of eye care profession- mine the effect that these differences have on costs of care and,
als but are also including patients who underwent LTP per- most important, on clinical outcomes such as disease progres-
formed by 57 ophthalmologists and 23 optometrists. We had sion.

ARTICLE INFORMATION Award, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, of laser trabeculoplasty in the Medicare population.
Accepted for Publication: May 27, 2016. and an unrestricted grant from Research to Prevent JAMA Ophthalmol. 2014;132(6):685-690.
Blindness. 4. Wise JB, Witter SL. Argon laser therapy for
Published Online: July 28, 2016.
doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2016.2495 Role of the Funder/Sponsor: The funding open-angle glaucoma: a pilot study. Arch Ophthalmol.
organizations had no role in the design and conduct 1979;97(2):319-322.
Author Contributions: Dr Stein had full access to of the study; collection, management, analysis, and
all the data in the study and takes responsibility for 5. Optometrists seek surgery rights in more states
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