2014 -- S 2804
Enacted 07/03/14
RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS - OPTOMETRISTS
Introduced By: Senator Frank A.Ciccone
Date Introduced: March 25, 2014
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Sections 5-35.1-1 and 5-35.1-12 of the General Laws in Chapter 5-35.1 entitled "Optometrists" are hereby amended to read as follows:
5-35.1-1. Definitions. -- As used in this chapter, the following terms are construed as follows:
(1) "Amplified optometrist"
means an optometrist licensed in this state to practice optometry and
authorized by the board to administer and prescribe pharmaceutical agents in
the treatment of conditions of the human eye and its appendages, including
anterior uveitis and glaucoma, without surgery or other invasive techniques,
and in accordance with section §5-35.1-12 and all the requirements of this
chapter.
(2) "Board" means the board
of optometry established under the provisions of section
§5-35.1-15 of the act.
(3) "Certified optometrist"
means an optometrist licensed in this state to practice optometry and
authorized by the board to administer and prescribe topical ocular
pharmaceutical agents in the treatment of ocular conditions of the anterior segment
of the human eye and its appendages (with the exception of uveitis and
glaucoma) without surgery or other invasive techniques and in accordance with section §5-35.1-12
and all the requirements of this chapter.
(4) "Department" means the department of health.
(5) "Director" means the director of the department of health.
(6) "Optometrist" means a person licensed in this state to practice optometry pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
(7) "Optometry" means the
profession whose practitioners are engaged in the art and science of the
evaluation of vision and the examination of vision and the examination and
refraction of the human eye which that includes: the employment of any objective or
subjective means for the examination of the human eye or its appendages; the
measurement of the powers or range of human vision or the determination of the
accommodative and refractive powers of the human eye or the scope of its
functions in general and the adaptation of lenses, prisms, and/or frames for
the aid of these; the prescribing, directing the use of, or administering ocular exercises, visual
training, vision training, or orthotics, and the use of any optical device in
connection with these; the prescribing of contact lenses for, or the fitting or
adaptation of contact lenses to, the
human eye; the examination or diagnosis of the human eye to ascertain the
presence of abnormal conditions or functions; and the application of
pharmaceutical agents to the eye, provided, that no optometrist licensed in
this state shall perform any surgery for the purpose of detecting any diseased
or pathological condition of the eye. With respect to presently licensed
optometrists, only presently licensed optometrists who:
(1) Have satisfactorily completed a
course in pharmacology, as it applies to optometry, at an institution
accredited by a regional, professional, or academic accreditation organization which is
recognized by the nNational cCommission on aAccreditation, with particular emphasis on the
application of drugs to the eye for the purposes of detecting any diseased or
pathological condition of the eye; or the effects of any disease or
pathological condition of the eye, approved by the board of examiners in
optometry and the department; or
(2) (i) Have successfully passed all sections of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO) examination; and
(ii) The treatment and management of
ocular disease (TMOD) examination, shall
be permitted to apply pharmaceutical agents to the eye for the purpose of
detecting any diseased or pathological condition of the eye, or the effects of
any disease or pathological condition of the eye.
(8) "Pharmaceutical agents"
means any medications as determined by the department, except those specified
in schedules I and II as provided in chapter 21-28
of title 21. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, hydrocodone-containing medications shall be included as a
pharmaceutical agent for the purposes of this chapter.
5-35.1-12. Use and prescription of pharmaceutical agents for
ocular conditions -- Optometrists training and certification. --
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter, amplified optometrists of
this state may use and prescribe pharmaceutical agents in the treatment of
conditions of the human eye and its appendages, without the use of surgery or
other invasive techniques; provided, that all qualified optometrists, shall be
permitted to become amplified optometrists in accordance with the requirements
of section §5-35.1-12(c)
and all other requirements of this chapter; and provided, further, that drugs
contained in schedule III of chapter 21-28 and
hydrocodone-containing medications shall be prescribed for no more
than seventy-two (72) hours and that; no optometrist shall deliver any
medication by injection.
(b) The director shall issue regulations governing the prescribing of oral pharmaceutical agents, including oral steroids and schedule III narcotic and non-narcotic analgesics, within the scope of the optometrist's practice.
(c) To be newly licensed as an
amplified optometrist, a qualified optometrist must meet the qualifications of section §5-35.1-2
and must provide evidence to the department that he or she has satisfactorily:
(1) Completed at least thirty (30)
hours of clinical experience in the treatment of ocular disease with
pharmaceutical agents, consistent with current graduate degree requirements for
optometric education either within a four-(4) year (4)
period immediately prior to the date of application or as otherwise determined
by the board; and
(2) Completed a course in pharmacology, as it applies to optometry, at an approved institution accredited by a regional, professional, or academic accreditation organization.
Further, to maintain amplified optometrist licensure status, all amplified optometrists must submit, upon request, evidence of an average of at least five (5) hours of continuing education in pharmacology per year.
(d) The director, before issuing the regulations, shall request and consider recommendations that may be submitted by the board of optometry.
(e) The board shall require
optometrists to adhere to electronic prescribing standards within thirty (30)
months of receiving prescriptive authority as defined in subsection §5-35.1-12(a).
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC005143
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