Bill Text: FL S0278 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Practice of Optometry
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-04-04 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 239 (Ch. 2013-26) [S0278 Detail]
Download: Florida-2013-S0278-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Practice of Optometry
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-04-04 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 239 (Ch. 2013-26) [S0278 Detail]
Download: Florida-2013-S0278-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2013 SB 278 By Senator Richter 23-00197A-13 2013278__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to optometry; amending s. 463.002, 3 F.S.; revising definitions; amending s. 463.005, F.S.; 4 revising a reference to ocular pharmaceutical agents; 5 amending and reordering s. 463.0055, F.S.; revising 6 references to ocular pharmaceutical agents; requiring 7 certified optometrists to complete a course and 8 examination on general and ocular pharmaceutical 9 agents; requiring the Florida Medical Association and 10 the Florida Optometric Association to jointly 11 administer, develop, and determine the course site for 12 the course and examination; requiring the associations 13 to present the first course and examination by a 14 specified date and to administer the course and 15 examination at least annually; requiring two 16 optometrists appointed to the formulary committee to 17 be licensed and certified; requiring that the 18 formulary consist of pharmaceutical agents that are 19 appropriate to treat and diagnose ocular diseases and 20 disorders; amending s. 463.0057, F.S.; revising 21 reference to ocular pharmaceutical agents; adding a 22 cross-reference to changes made by the act; amending 23 s. 463.006, F.S.; revising reference to ocular 24 pharmaceutical agents; incorporating mandating 25 language that was removed from the definitions; 26 amending s. 463.0135, F.S.; providing that a certified 27 optometrist is authorized to perform any eye 28 examination required or authorized by chapter 548; 29 amending s. 463.014, F.S.; making technical and 30 grammatical changes; amending s. 483.035, F.S., 31 relating to licensure and regulation of clinical 32 laboratories operated by practitioners for exclusive 33 use; providing applicability to clinical laboratories 34 operated by practitioners licensed to practice 35 optometry; amending s. 483.041, F.S.; revising the 36 definition of the term “licensed practitioner” to 37 include a practitioner licensed under ch. 463, F.S.; 38 amending s. 483.181, F.S.; requiring clinical 39 laboratories to accept human specimens submitted by 40 practitioners licensed to practice under ch. 463, 41 F.S.; amending s. 893.02, F.S.; revising the 42 definition of the term “practitioner” to include 43 certified optometrists for purposes of the Florida 44 Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act; 45 amending s. 893.05, F.S.; prohibiting a certified 46 optometrist from administering and prescribing certain 47 controlled substances; providing an effective date. 48 49 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 50 51 Section 1. Subsections (3), (4), and (5) of section 52 463.002, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 53 463.002 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term: 54 (3)(a)“Licensed practitioner” means a person who is a 55 primary health care provider licensed to engage in the practice 56 of optometry under the authority of this chapter. 57(b)A licensed practitioner who is not a certified58optometrist shall be required to display at her or his place of59practice a sign which states, “I am a Licensed Practitioner, not60a Certified Optometrist, and I am not able to prescribe topical61ocular pharmaceutical agents.”62(c)All practitioners initially licensed after July 1,631993, must be certified optometrists.64 (4) “Certified optometrist” means a licensed practitioner 65 authorized by the board to administer and prescribetopical66 ocular pharmaceutical agents. 67 (5) “Optometry” means the diagnosis of conditions of the 68 human eye and its appendages; the employment of any objective or 69 subjective means or methods, including the administration of 70topical ocularpharmaceutical agents, for the purpose of 71 determining the refractive powers of the human eyes, or any 72 visual, muscular, neurological, or anatomic anomalies of the 73 human eyes and their appendages; and the prescribing and 74 employment of lenses, prisms, frames, mountings, contact lenses, 75 orthoptic exercises, light frequencies, and any other means or 76 methods, includingtopical ocularpharmaceutical agents, for the 77 correction, remedy, or relief of any insufficiencies or abnormal 78 conditions of the human eyes and their appendages. 79 Section 2. Paragraph (g) of subsection (1) of section 80 463.005, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 81 463.005 Authority of the board.— 82 (1) The Board of Optometry has authority to adopt rules 83 pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the 84 provisions of this chapter conferring duties upon it. Such rules 85 shall include, but not be limited to, rules relating to: 86 (g) Administration and prescription oftopicalocular 87 pharmaceutical agents. 88 Section 3. Section 463.0055, Florida Statutes, is reordered 89 and amended to read: 90 463.0055 Administration and prescription oftopicalocular 91 pharmaceutical agents; course and examination on pharmaceutical 92 agents; prescriber number; formulary committee.— 93 (1) A certified optometristoptometristsmay administer and 94 prescribetopical ocularpharmaceutical agents as provided in 95 this section for the diagnosis and treatment of ocular 96 conditions of the human eye and its appendages without the use 97 of surgery or other invasive techniques.However,A licensed 98 practitioner who is not certified may use topically applied 99 anesthetics solely for the purpose of glaucoma examinations, but 100 is otherwise prohibited from administering or prescribing 101topical ocularpharmaceutical agents. 102 (2) Before a certified optometrist may administer or 103 prescribe oral ocular pharmaceutical agents, the certified 104 optometrist must complete a course and subsequent examination on 105 general and ocular pharmaceutical agents and the side effects of 106 those agents. For certified optometrists licensed before January 107 1, 1990, the course must consist of 50 contact hours, and 25 of 108 those hours must be Internet-based. For certified optometrists 109 licensed on or after January 1, 1990, the course must consist of 110 20 contact hours, and 10 of those hours must be Internet-based. 111 The Florida Medical Association and the Florida Optometric 112 Association shall jointly develop and administer such course and 113 examination and jointly determine the site or sites for the 114 course and examination. The associations shall present the first 115 course and examination by January 1, 2014, and shall thereafter 116 administer the course and examination at least annually. 117 (4)(2)(a) There isherebycreated a committee composed of 118 two optometrists licensed and certified pursuant to this 119 chapter, appointed by the Board of Optometry;,two board 120 certified ophthalmologists licensed pursuant to chapter 458 or 121 chapter 459, appointed by the Board of Medicine;,and one 122 additional person with a doctorate degree in pharmacology who is 123 not licensed pursuant to chapter 458, chapter 459, or this 124 chapter, appointed by the State Surgeon General. The committee 125 shall review requests for additions to, deletions from, or 126 modifications of a formulary oftopicalocular pharmaceutical 127 agents for administration and prescription by certified 128 optometrists and shall provide to the board advisory opinions 129 and recommendations on such requests. The formulary mustshall130 consist of thosetopical ocularpharmaceutical agents which are 131 appropriate to treat and diagnose ocular diseases and disorders 132 and which the certified optometrist is qualified to use in the 133 practice of optometry. The board shall establish, add to, delete 134 from, or modify the formulary by rule. Notwithstanding any 135 provision of chapter 120 to the contrary, the formulary rule 136 shall become effective 60 days from the date it is filed with 137 the Secretary of State. 138 (b) The formulary may be added to, deleted from, or 139 modified according to the procedure described in paragraph (a). 140 Any person who requests an addition, deletion, or modification 141 of an authorizedtopicalocular pharmaceutical agent hasshall142havethe burden of proof to show cause why such addition, 143 deletion, or modification should be made. 144 (c) The State Surgeon General hasshall havestanding to 145 challenge any rule or proposed rule of the board pursuant to s. 146 120.56. In addition to challenges for any invalid exercise of 147 delegated legislative authority, the administrative law judge, 148 upon such a challenge by the State Surgeon General, may declare 149 all or part of a rule or proposed rule invalid if it: 150 1. Does not protect the public from any significant and 151 discernible harm or damages; 152 2. Unreasonably restricts competition or the availability 153 of professional services in the state or in a significant part 154 of the state; or 155 3. Unnecessarily increases the cost of professional 156 services without a corresponding or equivalent public benefit. 157 158 However,there shall not be createda presumption of the 159 existence of any of the conditions cited in this subsection is 160 not created ifin the event thatthe rule or proposed rule is 161 challenged. 162 (d) Upon adoption of the formulary required by this 163 section, and upon each addition, deletion, or modification to 164 the formulary, the board shall mail a copy of the amended 165 formulary to each certified optometrist and to each pharmacy 166 licensed by the state. 167 (3) A certified optometrist shall be issued a prescriber 168 number by the board. Any prescription written by a certified 169 optometrist for atopical ocularpharmaceutical agent pursuant 170 to this section mustshallhave the prescriber number printed 171 thereon. 172 Section 4. Subsection (3) of section 463.0057, Florida 173 Statutes, is amended to read: 174 463.0057 Optometric faculty certificate.— 175 (3) The holder of a faculty certificate may engage in the 176 practice of optometry as permitted by this section,but may not 177 administer or prescribetopicalocular pharmaceutical agents 178 unless the certificateholder has satisfied the requirements of 179 ss. 463.0055(2) ands.463.006(1)(b)4. and 5. 180 Section 5. Subsections (2) and (3) of section 463.006, 181 Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsections (4) and (5) are 182 added to that section, to read: 183 463.006 Licensure and certification by examination.— 184 (2) The examination mustshallconsist of the appropriate 185 subjects, including applicable state laws and rules and general 186 and ocular pharmacology with emphasis on the usetopical187applicationand side effects of ocular pharmaceutical agents. 188 The board may by rule substitute a national examination as part 189 or all of the examination and may by rule offer a practical 190 examination in addition to the written examination. 191 (3) AnEachapplicant who successfully passes the 192 examination and otherwise meets the requirements of this chapter 193 is entitled to be licensed as a practitioner and to be certified 194 to administer and prescribetopical ocularpharmaceutical agents 195 in the diagnosis and treatment of ocular conditions. 196 (4) A licensed practitioner who is not a certified 197 optometrist shall display at her or his place of practice a sign 198 that states, “I am a Licensed Practitioner, not a Certified 199 Optometrist, and I am not able to prescribe ocular 200 pharmaceutical agents.” 201 (5) A practitioner initially licensed after July 1, 1993, 202 must be a certified optometrist. 203 Section 6. Subsection (10) is added to section 463.0135, 204 Florida Statutes, to read: 205 463.0135 Standards of practice.— 206 (10) A certified optometrist is authorized to perform any 207 eye examination, including a dilated examination, required or 208 authorized by chapter 548 or by rules adopted to implement the 209 provisions of that chapter. 210 Section 7. Subsection (3) of section 463.014, Florida 211 Statutes, is amended to read: 212 463.014 Certain acts prohibited.— 213 (3) A licensed practitioner may not prescribe, order, 214 dispense, administer, supply, sell, or give any drug for the 215 purpose of treating a systemic diseasePrescribing, ordering,216dispensing, administering, supplying, selling, or giving any217systemic drugs by a licensed practitioner is prohibited. 218 Section 8. Subsection (1) of section 483.035, Florida 219 Statutes, is amended to read: 220 483.035 Clinical laboratories operated by practitioners for 221 exclusive use; licensure and regulation.— 222 (1) A clinical laboratory operated by one or more 223 practitioners licensed under chapter 458, chapter 459, chapter 224 460, chapter 461, chapter 462, chapter 463, or chapter 466, 225 exclusively in connection with the diagnosis and treatment of 226 their own patients, must be licensed under this part and must 227 comply with the provisions of this part, except that the agency 228 shall adopt rules for staffing, for personnel, including 229 education and training of personnel, for proficiency testing, 230 and for construction standards relating to the licensure and 231 operation of the laboratory based upon and not exceeding the 232 same standards contained in the federal Clinical Laboratory 233 Improvement Amendments of 1988 and the federal regulations 234 adopted thereunder. 235 Section 9. Subsection (7) of section 483.041, Florida 236 Statutes, is amended to read: 237 483.041 Definitions.—As used in this part, the term: 238 (7) “Licensed practitioner” means a physician licensed 239 under chapter 458, chapter 459, chapter 460,orchapter 461, or 240 chapter 463; a dentist licensed under chapter 466; a person 241 licensed under chapter 462; or an advanced registered nurse 242 practitioner licensed under part I of chapter 464; or a duly 243 licensed practitioner from another state licensed under similar 244 statutes who orders examinations on materials or specimens for 245 nonresidents of the State of Florida, but who reside in the same 246 state as the requesting licensed practitioner. 247 Section 10. Subsection (5) of section 483.181, Florida 248 Statutes, is amended to read: 249 483.181 Acceptance, collection, identification, and 250 examination of specimens.— 251 (5) A clinical laboratory licensed under this part must 252 accept a human specimen submitted for examination by a 253 practitioner licensed under chapter 458, chapter 459, chapter 254 460, chapter 461, chapter 462, chapter 463, s. 464.012, or 255 chapter 466, if the specimen and test are the type performed by 256 the clinical laboratory. A clinical laboratory may only refuse a 257 specimen based upon a history of nonpayment for services by the 258 practitioner. A clinical laboratory mayshallnot charge 259 different prices for tests based upon the chapter under which a 260 practitioner submitting a specimen for testing is licensed. 261 Section 11. Subsection (21) of section 893.02, Florida 262 Statutes, is amended to read: 263 893.02 Definitions.—The following words and phrases as used 264 in this chapter shall have the following meanings, unless the 265 context otherwise requires: 266 (21) “Practitioner” means a physician licensed pursuant to 267 chapter 458, a dentist licensed pursuant to chapter 466, a 268 veterinarian licensed pursuant to chapter 474, an osteopathic 269 physician licensed pursuant to chapter 459, a naturopath 270 licensed pursuant to chapter 462, a certified optometrist 271 licensed pursuant to chapter 463, or a podiatric physician 272 licensed pursuant to chapter 461, ifprovidedsuch practitioner 273 holds a valid federal controlled substance registry number. 274 Section 12. Subsection (1) of section 893.05, Florida 275 Statutes, is amended to read: 276 893.05 Practitioners and persons administering controlled 277 substances in their absence.— 278 (1) A practitioner, in good faith and in the course of his 279 or her professional practice only, may prescribe, administer, 280 dispense, mix, or otherwise prepare a controlled substance, or 281 the practitioner may cause the same to be administered by a 282 licensed nurse or an intern practitioner under his or her 283 direction and supervision only. A veterinarian may so prescribe, 284 administer, dispense, mix, or prepare a controlled substance for 285 use on animals only, and may cause it to be administered by an 286 assistant or orderly under the veterinarian’s direction and 287 supervision only. An optometrist licensed and certified under 288 chapter 463 may not administer or prescribe a controlled 289 substance in Schedule I or Schedule II of the Florida 290 Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act. 291 Section 13. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.