11/18/2025

DATA: OSU Optometry Students are NOT Leaving Ohio to Perform Surgery

Oftentimes, optometrists argue that they and their colleagues are moving away from states that maintain a high standard of surgery in favor of states that have loosened the scope of practice to allow optometrists to perform surgery on and around the eye.

Analyzing data from the Medicare Physician Compare list, which lists National Provider Identifiers (NPIs), provider name, provider school, and graduation years, just three optometrists who graduated from The Ohio State School of Optometry filed Medicare Part B Claims for YAG laser capsulotomies and Selective Laser Trabeculoplasties (SLTs) in 2021.

The overwhelming majority of the 640 optometrists who graduated between 2012 and 2021 are not performing laser surgery. (Note: for privacy reasons the Medicare Part B data only lists those performing >10 procedures.)

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FACT:
Of the 640 OSU College of Optometry Graduates between 2012 and 2021, 99.5% did not file a single Medicare Part B claim elsewhere for laser surgery in 2021.