Greetings from the State Board of Optometry!  

The board currently has four members and is waiting for a recommendation to be approved by the governor. The board would like to thank Jared Walker for his time and service on the board over the past five years. I was elected to serve as chair of the board in July. I look forward to serving the great state of Idaho.

At the board meeting on September 16, we will discuss licensing, including renewal timing and the time frame within which required CE must be completed.

In 2023, the CE requirement for renewing licensure was changed. Click here to read the FAQ.

Respectfully,

Shawn Sorenson, OD

Chair - Idaho Board of Optometry

Hello IOP members,

At the recent AOA Reimbursement and Coverage Fairness meeting the following items were reviewed: 

Ophthalmic Practice Rules (“Eyeglass Rule")

The Eyeglass Rule requires an optometrist/ophthalmologist to provide a patient with his/her prescription immediately after an eye exam is completed. This can be sent electronically. The FTC is publishing a final rule to implement amendments to the Eyeglass Rule requiring prescribers to obtain a signed confirmation after releasing an eyeglass prescription to a patient and maintain each such confirmation for a period of not less than three years. These changes will take effect 9/24/24.

• FAQ & Toolkit
• Practice Success Resources

Aetna Downcoding Program

Aetna has developed an algorithm to identify providers that are overcoding. Based on this algorithm, there are 350 O.D.'s nationwide that have been identified, and thus enrolled in their Aetna Downcoding Program. As a result, Aetna is downcoding their reimbursements. Aetna would not release which states are involved. Look at your E.O.B. to make sure you are not enrolled in this program. In order to get out of the program you need to appeal 75% of these claims. Please let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to find the answers. 

Thanks,

Kendon Seamons, OD

Insurance Advisory Committee Chair

insuranceadvisory.iop@gmail.com 

Hello IOP Members,

In my last report there was a link to a survey regarding upcoming IOP meetings. The survey is because it is becoming more challenging to find venues that accommodate our annual meeting, as our membership is too large for a small venue but often too small to justify larger venues. Here are some highlights from the survey.

First, when looking at what time of year to hold the IOP meeting, spring edged out the fall as the preferred time for our annual congress. We have amended the bylaws at the 2023 membership meeting to have flexibility in deciding when and where to hold the annual congress. However, most venues are booked one to two years out, so it will take at least a couple of years before any change is made to our annual fall meeting.

Second, there was a question on which days to hold the annual congress. The majority of respondents chose our current format of Thursday through Saturday, with Friday to Sunday being the next most popular response.

Third, a question asked if optometrists would be interested in having two 2-day events with approximately 10 hours of continuing education at both events, most likely offered in spring and fall. 76% of respondents said that they would be interested in having two continuing education events. The IOP board will continue to use information collected from our surveys and when talking to our members to make informed decisions.

Always feel free to reach out to your IOP board members with questions or concerns.

Here is the survey link if you'd like to share your feedback.

Respectfully Submitted,

Brian Miller, IOP President-Elect

Idaho Paras!

Registration is still OPEN for our annual education at the IOP Congress in Coeur d’Alene! I am excited for all the classes we are offering for education this year! Something new this year is that we will have a hands-on workshop with Silhouette, but this has a limited number, so if you are interested (plus it has some CE) you’ll want to make sure you register for it before we fill up! Our headlining speaker is Joy Gibb, ABOC. Her class list includes Making Customer Service Magical, Telephone Triage 101, An Efficient and Happy Front Desk (very important), Avoiding Redos, and an Optical Talk to Techs and Team Members. 

If you are interested in testing for CPO/CPOA or ABO - check out the links to see testing dates. Reminder: if your CE is due in 2024, you’ll need to make sure you have earned all your credits and submitted them by November! Don’t wait until the last minute to get all your credits needed! CPO/CPOA - you need 18 credits, of which nine need to be CPC certified. If you have some ABO credits, those count toward the other 9 needed credits! ABO - you need 12 ABO/NCLE credits, of which 6 of them must be ophthalmic classes. No cross over from CPC credits, sorry. 

As always, if you have any certification questions, you can always contact me at iop.para.cc@gmail.com. 

I’m looking forward to the crisp, fresh Fall air in CDA!!

Tami Arnett, CPOA, ABOC

IOP Paraoptometric Section Committee Chair

Welcome to our new members!

• Gary Anderson, Pocatello
• Carrie Burris, Nampa
• Zach Ludlow
• Jessica Couch, Coeur d'Alene
• Susan Farmer, Caldwell
• Hayden Gilbert, Idaho Falls
• Nathan Jones, Idaho Falls
• Jaren Olsen, Idaho Falls
• Christopher Robison, Boise
• Joshua Stommes, Hayden
• Cory Zwahlen, Idaho Falls

Keep up-to-date by joining the IOP Members Page on Facebook.