2014 -- H 7937

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2014

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS - OPTOMETRISTS

     Introduced By: Representatives Carnevale, DeSimone, Hull, and Bennett

     Date Introduced: March 13, 2014

     Referred To: House Health, Education & Welfare

     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

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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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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS - OPTOMETRISTS

***

     This act would allow optometrists to prescribe hydrocodone-containing medications

despite the classification of hydrocodone as a schedule II Substance. This act would also limit the

prescription of hydrocodone-containing medications to no more than seventy-two hours.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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