Serving Communities & Workforce Development
The AOA's Health Policy Institute (HPI) provides quality information regarding doctors' of optometry workforce throughout the United States.
July 2023
According to an American Optometric Association (AOA) Research & Information Committee (RIC) survey of doctors practicing in states with current laser authority, 56% of doctors of optometry report providing YAG laser capsulotomies in their practices and 89% have availability to perform procedures within one week. Nearly all responding doctors who perform YAG procedures (97%) report patient satisfaction with convenience of care.
Doctors of Optometry Increase Primary Eye Care at Health Centers
December 2020
Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) have used increased funding to expand primary services to include on-site primary eye care. The expansion includes additional professionals providing—and patients recieving—eye and vision services.
December 2019
Rural hospitals represent more than half of all hospitals in the U.S.; optometry's presence in these areas can be activated to provide needed access to eye examinations for high-risk infants.
County Data Demonstrates Eye Care Access Nationwide
April 2018
Doctors of optometry are uniquely positioned to serve as frontline providers in primary eye care as they currently practice in U.S. counties and county equivalents that comprise 99% of the total population in both urban and rural areas.
Doctors of Optometry in Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery
October 2017
The medical education of doctors of optometry prepare them to prescribe tailored solutions to a variety of health hazards and problems that arise because of a natural disaster.