Bill Text: FL H0135 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Practice of Optometry

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 15-2)

Status: (Failed) 2010-04-30 - Died in Committee on Health Care Regulation Policy (HFPC) [H0135 Detail]

Download: Florida-2010-H0135-Introduced.html

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HB 135

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the practice of optometry; amending s.
3	463.002, F.S.; revising terminology to conform to changes
4	made by the act; amending s. 463.005, F.S.; authorizing
5	the Board of Optometry to adopt rules for the
6	administration and prescription of oral ocular
7	pharmaceutical agents; amending s. 463.0055, F.S.;
8	authorizing certified optometrists to administer and
9	prescribe oral ocular pharmaceutical agents under certain
10	circumstances; revising requirements for the certified
11	optometrist formulary of ocular pharmaceutical agents;
12	revising qualifications of certain members of the
13	formulary committee; prohibiting the committee from
14	reviewing requests or issuing advisory opinions or
15	recommendations regarding oral ocular pharmaceutical
16	agents; requiring the formulary to include certain oral
17	ocular pharmaceutical agents; prohibiting the board from
18	adding to, deleting from, or modifying the formulary with
19	respect to oral ocular pharmaceutical agents; amending ss.
20	463.0057 and 463.006, F.S.; conforming provisions to
21	changes made by the act; amending s. 893.02, F.S.;
22	revising a definition to specify that certified
23	optometrists are practitioners for purposes of the Florida
24	Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act;
25	amending s. 893.05, F.S.; prohibiting certified
26	optometrists from administering and prescribing certain
27	controlled substances; providing an effective date.
28
29	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
30
31	Section 1. Subsections (3), (4), and (5) of section
32	463.002, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
33	463.002 Definitions.--As used in this chapter, the term:
34	(3)(a) "Licensed practitioner" means a person who is a
35	primary health care provider licensed to engage in the practice
36	of optometry under the authority of this chapter.
37	(b) A licensed practitioner who is not a certified
38	optometrist shall be required to display at her or his place of
39	practice a sign which states, "I am a Licensed Practitioner, not
40	a Certified Optometrist, and I am not able to prescribe topical
41	or oral ocular pharmaceutical agents."
42	(c) All practitioners initially licensed after July 1,
43	1993, must be certified optometrists.
44	(4) "Certified optometrist" means a licensed practitioner
45	authorized by the board to administer and prescribe topical and
46	oral ocular pharmaceutical agents.
47	(5) "Optometry" means the diagnosis of conditions of the
48	human eye and its appendages; the employment of any objective or
49	subjective means or methods, including the administration of
50	topical and oral ocular pharmaceutical agents, for the purpose
51	of determining the refractive powers of the human eyes, or any
52	visual, muscular, neurological, or anatomic anomalies of the
53	human eyes and their appendages; and the prescribing and
54	employment of lenses, prisms, frames, mountings, contact lenses,
55	orthoptic exercises, light frequencies, and any other means or
56	methods, including topical and oral ocular pharmaceutical
57	agents, for the correction, remedy, or relief of any
58	insufficiencies or abnormal conditions of the human eyes and
59	their appendages.
60	Section 2. Paragraph (g) of subsection (1) of section
61	463.005, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
62	463.005 Authority of the board.--
63	(1) The Board of Optometry has authority to adopt rules
64	pursuant to ss. 120.536 (1) and 120.54 to implement the
65	provisions of this chapter conferring duties upon it. Such rules
66	shall include, but not be limited to, rules relating to:
67	(g) Administration and prescription of topical and oral
68	ocular pharmaceutical agents.
69	Section 3. Section 463.0055, Florida Statutes, is amended
70	to read:
71	463.0055 Administration and prescription of topical and
72	oral ocular pharmaceutical agents; committee.--
73	(1) Certified optometrists may administer and prescribe
74	topical and oral ocular pharmaceutical agents as provided in
75	this section for the diagnosis and treatment of ocular
76	conditions of the human eye and its appendages without the use
77	of surgery or other invasive techniques. However, a licensed
78	practitioner who is not certified may use topically applied
79	anesthetics solely for the purpose of glaucoma examinations, but
80	is otherwise prohibited from administering or prescribing
81	topical or oral ocular pharmaceutical agents.
82	(2)(a) There is hereby created a committee composed of two
83	certified optometrists licensed pursuant to this chapter,
84	appointed by the Board of Optometry, two board-certified
85	ophthalmologists licensed pursuant to chapter 458 or chapter
86	459, appointed by the Board of Medicine, and one additional
87	person with a doctorate degree in pharmacology who is not
88	licensed pursuant to chapter 458, chapter 459, or this chapter,
89	appointed by the State Surgeon General. The committee shall
90	review requests for additions to, deletions from, or
91	modifications of a formulary of topical ocular pharmaceutical
92	agents for administration and prescription by certified
93	optometrists and shall provide to the board advisory opinions
94	and recommendations on such requests. However, the committee may
95	not review a request or provide an advisory opinion or
96	recommendation regarding any oral ocular pharmaceutical agent.
97	(b) The formulary shall consist of those topical ocular
98	pharmaceutical agents which the certified optometrist is
99	qualified to use in the practice of optometry and those topical
100	ocular pharmaceutical agents appropriate to treat and diagnose
101	ocular diseases or disorders within the scope of optometric
102	practice. The formulary shall also include the following oral
103	ocular pharmaceutical agents:
104	1. The following analgesics, which may not be administered
105	or prescribed for more than 72 hours without consultation with a
106	physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 who is
107	skilled in diseases of the eye:
108	a. Acetaminophen with propoxyphene napsylate.
109	b. Tramadol hydrochloride.
110	c. Acetaminophen 300 mg with No. 3 codeine phosphate 30
111	mg.
112	2. The following antibiotics:
113	a. Amoxicillin.
114	b. Azithromycin.
115	c. Ciprofloxacin.
116	d. Dicloxacillin.
117	e. Doxycycline.
118	3. The following antivirals:
119	a. Acyclovir.
120	b. Famciclovir.
121	c. Valacyclovir.
122	4. The following oral anti-glaucoma agents, which may not
123	be administered or prescribed for more than 72 hours without
124	consultation with a physician licensed under chapter 458 or
125	chapter 459 who is skilled in diseases of the eye:
126	a. Acetazolamide.
127	b. Methazolamide.
128
129	The board shall establish, add to, delete from, or modify the
130	formulary by rule. However, the board may not add to, delete
131	from, or modify the formulary with respect to the oral ocular
132	pharmaceutical agents listed in this paragraph. Notwithstanding
133	any provision of chapter 120 to the contrary, the formulary rule
134	shall become effective 60 days from the date it is filed with
135	the Secretary of State.
136	(c)(b) The formulary may be added to, deleted from, or
137	modified according to the procedure described in paragraphs
138	paragraph (a) and (b). Any person who requests an addition,
139	deletion, or modification of an authorized topical ocular
140	pharmaceutical agent has shall have the burden of proof to show
141	cause why such addition, deletion, or modification should be
142	made.
143	(d)(c) The State Surgeon General shall have standing to
144	challenge any rule or proposed rule of the board pursuant to s.
145	120.56. In addition to challenges for any invalid exercise of
146	delegated legislative authority, the administrative law judge,
147	upon such a challenge by the State Surgeon General, may declare
148	all or part of a rule or proposed rule invalid if it:
149	1. Does not protect the public from any significant and
150	discernible harm or damages;
151	2. Unreasonably restricts competition or the availability
152	of professional services in the state or in a significant part
153	of the state; or
154	3. Unnecessarily increases the cost of professional
155	services without a corresponding or equivalent public benefit.
156
157	However, there shall not be created a presumption of the
158	existence of any of the conditions cited in this subsection in
159	the event that the rule or proposed rule is challenged.
160	(e)(d) Upon adoption of the formulary required by this
161	section, and upon each addition, deletion, or modification to
162	the formulary, the board shall mail a copy of the amended
163	formulary to each certified optometrist and to each pharmacy
164	licensed by the state.
165	(3) A certified optometrist shall be issued a prescriber
166	number by the board. Any prescription written by a certified
167	optometrist for a topical or oral ocular pharmaceutical agent
168	pursuant to this section shall have the prescriber number
169	printed thereon.
170	Section 4. Subsection (3) of section 463.0057, Florida
171	Statutes, is amended to read:
172	463.0057 Optometric faculty certificate.--
173	(3) The holder of a faculty certificate may engage in the
174	practice of optometry as permitted by this section, but may not
175	administer or prescribe topical or oral ocular pharmaceutical
176	agents unless the certificateholder has satisfied the
177	requirements of s. 463.006(1)(b)4. and 5.
178	Section 5. Subsections (2) and (3) of section 463.006,
179	Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
180	463.006 Licensure and certification by examination.--
181	(2) The examination shall consist of the appropriate
182	subjects, including applicable state laws and rules and general
183	and ocular pharmacology with emphasis on the topical
184	application, oral administration, and side effects of ocular
185	pharmaceutical agents. The board may by rule substitute a
186	national examination as part or all of the examination and may
187	by rule offer a practical examination in addition to the written
188	examination.
189	(3) Each applicant who successfully passes the examination
190	and otherwise meets the requirements of this chapter is entitled
191	to be licensed as a practitioner and to be certified to
192	administer and prescribe topical and oral ocular pharmaceutical
193	agents in the diagnosis and treatment of ocular conditions.
194	Section 6. Subsection (20) of section 893.02, Florida
195	Statutes, is amended to read:
196	893.02 Definitions.--The following words and phrases as
197	used in this chapter shall have the following meanings, unless
198	the context otherwise requires:
199	(20) "Practitioner" means a physician licensed pursuant to
200	chapter 458, a dentist licensed pursuant to chapter 466, a
201	veterinarian licensed pursuant to chapter 474, an osteopathic
202	physician licensed pursuant to chapter 459, a naturopath
203	licensed pursuant to chapter 462, or a podiatric physician
204	licensed pursuant to chapter 461, or an optometrist certified
205	pursuant to chapter 463 to administer and prescribe topical and
206	oral ocular pharmaceutical agents, if provided such practitioner
207	holds a valid federal controlled substance registry number.
208	Section 7. Subsection (1) of section 893.05, Florida
209	Statutes, is amended to read:
210	893.05 Practitioners and persons administering controlled
211	substances in their absence.--
212	(1) A practitioner, in good faith and in the course of his
213	or her professional practice only, may prescribe, administer,
214	dispense, mix, or otherwise prepare a controlled substance, or
215	the practitioner may cause the same to be administered by a
216	licensed nurse or an intern practitioner under his or her
217	direction and supervision only. A veterinarian may so prescribe,
218	administer, dispense, mix, or prepare a controlled substance for
219	use on animals only, and may cause it to be administered by an
220	assistant or orderly under the veterinarian's direction and
221	supervision only. An optometrist certified pursuant to chapter
222	463 to administer and prescribe topical and oral ocular
223	pharmaceutical agents may not administer or prescribe any
224	controlled substance listed on Schedule I or Schedule II of s.
225	893.03.
226	Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.