The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) has advised all ophthalmologists to provide treatment to only patients in need of urgent care, according to an announcement on the AAO website.
“We now live and practice in a critically different medical reality—a rapidly evolving viral pandemic that is projected to, if unchecked, kill millions of Americans and tens of millions around the world,” the statement read.
The AAO said the medical community needs to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 virus transmission and conserve disposable medical supplies for the hospitals that need them most.
“Accordingly, the American Academy of Ophthalmology strongly recommends that all ophthalmologists provide only urgent or emergent care. This includes both office-based care and surgical care. The Academy recognizes that “urgency” is determined by physician judgment and must always take into account individual patient medical and social circumstances. Each of us has a societal responsibility to not function as a vector of a potentially fatal disease—and one for which a widely available treatment or vaccine does not currently exist,” the statement continued.
Read the full announcement here.
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