The Florida Senate

“Board” means the Board of Optometry.

“Department” means the Department of Health.

“Certified optometrist” means a licensed practitioner authorized by the board to administer and prescribe topical ocular pharmaceutical agents.

“Optometry” means the diagnosis of conditions of the human eye and its appendages; the employment of any objective or subjective means or methods, including the administration of topical ocular pharmaceutical agents, for the purpose of determining the refractive powers of the human eyes, or any visual, muscular, neurological, or anatomic anomalies of the human eyes and their appendages; and the prescribing and employment of lenses, prisms, frames, mountings, contact lenses, orthoptic exercises, light frequencies, and any other means or methods, including topical ocular pharmaceutical agents, for the correction, remedy, or relief of any insufficiencies or abnormal conditions of the human eyes and their appendages.

“Direct supervision” means supervision to an extent that the licensee remains on the premises while all procedures are being done and gives final approval to any procedures performed by an employee.

“General supervision” means the responsible supervision of supportive personnel by a licensee who need not be present when such procedures are performed, but who assumes legal liability therefor. Except in cases of emergency, “general supervision” shall require the easy availability or physical presence of the licensee for consultation with and direction of the supportive personnel.

“Appendages” means the eyelids, the eyebrows, the conjunctiva, and the lacrimal apparatus.

“Transcript-quality” means a course which is in conjunction with or sponsored by a school or college of optometry or equivalent educational entity, which course is approved by the board and requires a test and passing grade.

“Clock hours” means the actual time engaged in approved coursework and clinical training.

There is created within the department the Board of Optometry, composed of seven members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.

Five members of the board must be licensed practitioners actively practicing in this state. The remaining two members must be citizens of the state who are not, and have never been, licensed practitioners and who are in no way connected with the practice of optometry or with any vision-oriented profession or business. At least one member of the board must be 60 years of age or older.

As the terms of the members expire, the Governor shall appoint successors for terms of 4 years, and such members shall serve until their successors are appointed.

All applicable provisions of chapter 456 relating to activities of regulatory boards shall apply.

The Board of Optometry has authority to adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the provisions of this chapter conferring duties upon it. Such rules shall include, but not be limited to, rules relating to:

The board is authorized to disseminate information, the sole purpose of which is to inform licensed practitioners and the public of regulations regarding the practice of optometry.

Certified optometrists may administer and prescribe topical ocular pharmaceutical agents as provided in this section for the diagnosis and treatment of ocular conditions of the human eye and its appendages without the use of surgery or other invasive techniques. However, a licensed practitioner who is not certified may use topically applied anesthetics solely for the purpose of glaucoma examinations, but is otherwise prohibited from administering or prescribing topical ocular pharmaceutical agents.

A certified optometrist shall be issued a prescriber number by the board. Any prescription written by a certified optometrist for a topical ocular pharmaceutical agent pursuant to this section shall have the prescriber number printed thereon.

The department may issue an optometric faculty certificate without examination to an individual who remits a nonrefundable application fee, not to exceed $100 plus the actual per applicant cost to the department, and who demonstrates to the board that she or he meets the following requirements:

The certificate shall authorize the holder to practice only in conjunction with her or his faculty position at a Florida-based optometry school and its affiliated clinics which are registered with the board as sites at which holders of optometric faculty certificates will be practicing. Such certificates shall automatically expire upon termination of the holder’s relationship with the school or after a period of 2 years, whichever occurs first.

The holder of a faculty certificate may engage in the practice of optometry as permitted by this section, but may not administer or prescribe topical ocular pharmaceutical agents unless the certificateholder has satisfied the requirements of s. 463.006(1)(b)4. and 5.

Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2), an optometric faculty certificate is renewable every 2 years by a holder who applies to the board on a form prescribed by the board and who continues to satisfy the requirements set forth in subsection (1).

Any person desiring to be a licensed practitioner pursuant to this chapter shall apply to the department to take the licensure and certification examinations. The department shall examine each applicant who the board determines has:

The examination shall consist of the appropriate subjects, including applicable state laws and rules and general and ocular pharmacology with emphasis on the topical application and side effects of ocular pharmaceutical agents. The board may by rule substitute a national examination as part or all of the examination and may by rule offer a practical examination in addition to the written examination.

Each applicant who successfully passes the examination and otherwise meets the requirements of this chapter is entitled to be licensed as a practitioner and to be certified to administer and prescribe topical ocular pharmaceutical agents in the diagnosis and treatment of ocular conditions.

The department shall renew a license upon receipt of the renewal application and the fee set by the board not to exceed $300.

The department shall adopt rules establishing a procedure for the biennial renewal of licenses.

Unless otherwise provided by law, the board shall require licensees to periodically demonstrate their professional competence, as a condition of renewal of a license, by completing up to 30 hours of continuing education during the 2-year period preceding license renewal. For certified optometrists, the 30-hour continuing education requirement shall include 6 or more hours of approved transcript-quality coursework in ocular and systemic pharmacology and the diagnosis, treatment, and management of ocular and systemic conditions and diseases during the 2-year period preceding application for license renewal.

Criteria or course content of continuing education must be approved by the board and must be regularly reviewed by the board to assure that the programs adequately and reliably contribute to the professional competence of the licensee.

The board shall adopt rules relating to application procedures for inactive status, for the biennial renewal of inactive licenses, and for the reactivation of licenses. The board shall prescribe by rule an application fee for inactive status, a renewal fee for inactive status, a delinquency fee, and a fee for the reactivation of a license. None of these fees may exceed the biennial renewal fee established by the board for an active license.

The department may not reactivate a license unless the inactive or delinquent licensee has paid any applicable biennial renewal or delinquency fee, or both, and a reactivation fee.

A licensed practitioner shall keep on file for a period of at least 2 years any prescription she or he writes.

A licensed practitioner shall provide that degree of care which conforms to that level of care provided by medical practitioners in the same or similar communities. A licensed practitioner shall advise or assist her or his patient in obtaining further care when the service of another health care practitioner is required.

A licensed practitioner diagnosing angle closure, infantile, or congenital forms of glaucoma shall refer the patient to a physician skilled in diseases of the eye and licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459.

When an infectious corneal disease condition has not responded to standard methods of treatment within the scope of optometric practice, the certified optometrist shall consult with a physician skilled in diseases of the eye and licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459.

A licensed practitioner shall promptly advise a patient to seek evaluation by a physician skilled in diseases of the eye and licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 for diagnosis and possible treatment whenever the licensed practitioner is informed by the patient of the sudden onset of spots or “floaters” with loss of all or part of the visual field.

The licensed practitioner shall routinely advise a patient to immediately contact the licensed practitioner if the patient experiences an adverse drug reaction.

The licensed practitioner shall, when appropriate, refer to medical specialists or facilities patients who notify a licensed practitioner of an adverse drug reaction.

The licensed practitioner shall place in a patient’s permanent record information describing any adverse drug reaction experienced by the patient, the date of such reaction, and whether any referral was made.

The licensed practitioner shall maintain the names of at least three physicians, physician clinics, or hospitals to whom the licensed practitioner will refer patients who experience an adverse drug reaction. At least one of these physicians shall be a physician skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the eye and licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459.

A licensed practitioner who believes a patient may have glaucoma shall promptly advise the patient of the serious nature of glaucoma. The licensed practitioner shall place in the patient’s permanent record that the practitioner provided such advice to the patient.

A corporation or labor organization may employ licensed practitioners to provide optometric services to bona fide employees of such corporation and members of their immediate families or to bona fide members of such labor organization and members of their immediate families, provided the provision of such services is incidental to the legitimate business of such corporation or labor organization. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to authorize the employment of licensed practitioners by corporations or organizations formed primarily for such purposes.

Prescribing, ordering, dispensing, administering, supplying, selling, or giving any systemic drugs by a licensed practitioner is prohibited.

Surgery of any kind, including the use of lasers, is expressly prohibited. Certified optometrists may remove superficial foreign bodies. For the purposes of this subsection, the term “superficial foreign bodies” means any foreign matter that is embedded in the conjunctiva or cornea but which has not penetrated the globe.

No rule of the board shall prohibit a licensed practitioner from authorizing a board-certified optician to fill, fit, adapt, or dispense a contact lens prescription as authorized under chapter 484.

Each of the following acts constitutes a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084:

Each of the following acts constitutes a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083:

The following acts constitute grounds for denial of a license or disciplinary action, as specified in s. 456.072(2):

The board may enter an order imposing any of the penalties in s. 456.072(2) against any licensee who is found guilty of violating any provision of subsection (1) of this section or who is found guilty of violating any provision of s. 456.072(1).

The board shall not reinstate the license of a person, or cause a license to be issued to a person it has deemed unqualified, until such time as it is satisfied that she or he has complied with all the terms and conditions set forth in the final order and that such person is capable of safely engaging in the practice of optometry.