Why should optometry become involved in the hospital setting?

Our nation's hospitals are no longer the private domain of the medical physician. Other "independent" health care providers are justified in applying for clinical privileges. The expanding scope of practice has served to make optometrists more aware of their rights to practice in the hospital environment. Recent changes in the guidelines of the Joint Commission for Accreditation in Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) has further reinforced the concept that no independent health care providers should be denied clinical privileges based solely on the fact that an applicant is not an "MD."