HB 0699 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to optometry; amending ss. 463.002,
3	463.005, 463.0055, 463.0057, 463.006, and 463.014, F.S.;
4	providing that the administration and prescription of
5	pharmaceutical agents is not restricted to topical ocular
6	pharmaceutical agents; providing an effective date.
7
8	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
9
10	Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) and subsections
11	(4) and (5) of section 463.002, Florida Statutes, are amended to
12	read:
13	463.002 Definitions.--As used in this chapter, the term:
14	(3)
15	(b) A licensed practitioner who is not a certified
16	optometrist shall be required to display at her or his place of
17	practice a sign which states, "I am a Licensed Practitioner, not
18	a Certified Optometrist, and I am not able to prescribe topical
19	ocularpharmaceutical agents."
20	(4) "Certified optometrist" means a licensed practitioner
21	authorized by the board to administer and prescribe topical
22	ocularpharmaceutical agents.
23	(5) "Optometry" means the diagnosis of conditions of the
24	human eye and its appendages; the employment of any objective or
25	subjective means or methods, including the administration of
26	topical ocularpharmaceutical agents, for the purpose of
27	determining the refractive powers of the human eyes, or any
28	visual, muscular, neurological, or anatomic anomalies of the
29	human eyes and their appendages; and the prescribing and
30	employment of lenses, prisms, frames, mountings, contact lenses,
31	orthoptic exercises, light frequencies, and any other means or
32	methods, including topical ocularpharmaceutical agents, for the
33	correction, remedy, or relief of any insufficiencies or abnormal
34	conditions of the human eyes and their appendages.
35	Section 2. Paragraph (g) of subsection (1) of section
36	463.005, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
37	463.005 Authority of the board.--
38	(1) The Board of Optometry has authority to adopt rules
39	pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the
40	provisions of this chapter conferring duties upon it. Such rules
41	shall include, but not be limited to, rules relating to:
42	(g) Administration and prescription of topical ocular
43	pharmaceutical agents.
44	Section 3. Section 463.0055, Florida Statutes, is amended
45	to read:
46	463.0055 Administration and prescription of topical ocular
47	pharmaceutical agents; committee.--
48	(1) Certified optometrists may administer and prescribe
49	topical ocularpharmaceutical agents as provided in this section
50	for the diagnosis and treatment of ocular conditions of the
51	human eye and its appendages without the use of surgery or other
52	invasive techniques. However, a licensed practitioner who is not
53	certified may use topically applied anesthetics solely for the
54	purpose of glaucoma examinations, but is otherwise prohibited
55	from administering or prescribing topical ocularpharmaceutical
56	agents.
57	(2)(a) There is hereby created a committee composed of two
58	optometrists licensed pursuant to this chapter, appointed by the
59	Board of Optometry, two board-certified ophthalmologists
60	licensed pursuant to chapter 458 or chapter 459, appointed by
61	the Board of Medicine, and one additional person with a
62	doctorate degree in pharmacology who is not licensed pursuant to
63	chapter 458, chapter 459, or this chapter, appointed by the
64	secretary. The committee shall review requests for additions to,
65	deletions from, or modifications of a formulary of topical
66	ocularpharmaceutical agents for administration and prescription
67	by certified optometrists and shall provide to the board
68	advisory opinions and recommendations on such requests. The
69	formulary shall consist of those topical ocularpharmaceutical
70	agents which the certified optometrist is qualified to use in
71	the practice of optometry. The board shall establish, add to,
72	delete from, or modify the formulary by rule. When the board has
73	approved a pharmaceutical agent for topical administration, the
74	board may also approve administration of that agent by means
75	other than injection, provided that the board may not approve
76	steroids or antifungal agents for oral administration.
77	Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 120 to the contrary,
78	the formulary rule shall become effective 60 days from the date
79	it is filed with the Secretary of State.
80	(b) The formulary may be added to, deleted from, or
81	modified according to the procedure described in paragraph (a).
82	Any person who requests an addition, deletion, or modification
83	of an authorized topical ocularpharmaceutical agent shall have
84	the burden of proof to show cause why such addition, deletion,
85	or modification should be made.
86	(c) The secretary of the department shall have standing to
87	challenge any rule or proposed rule of the board pursuant to s.
88	120.56. In addition to challenges for any invalid exercise of
89	delegated legislative authority, the administrative law judge,
90	upon such a challenge by the secretary, may declare all or part
91	of a rule or proposed rule invalid if it:
92	1. Does not protect the public from any significant and
93	discernible harm or damages;
94	2. Unreasonably restricts competition or the availability
95	of professional services in the state or in a significant part
96	of the state; or
97	3. Unnecessarily increases the cost of professional
98	services without a corresponding or equivalent public benefit.
99
100	However, there shall not be created a presumption of the
101	existence of any of the conditions cited in this subsection in
102	the event that the rule or proposed rule is challenged.
103	(d) Upon adoption of the formulary required by this
104	section, and upon each addition, deletion, or modification to
105	the formulary, the board shall mail a copy of the amended
106	formulary to each certified optometrist and to each pharmacy
107	licensed by the state.
108	(3) A certified optometrist shall be issued a prescriber
109	number by the board. Any prescription written by a certified
110	optometrist for a topical ocularpharmaceutical agent pursuant
111	to this section shall have the prescriber number printed
112	thereon.
113	Section 4. Subsection (3) of section 463.0057, Florida
114	Statutes, is amended to read:
115	463.0057 Optometric faculty certificate.--
116	(3) The holder of a faculty certificate may engage in the
117	practice of optometry as permitted by this section, but may not
118	administer or prescribe topical ocularpharmaceutical agents
119	unless the certificateholder has satisfied the requirements of
120	s. 463.006(1)(b)4. and 5.
121	Section 5. Subsections (2) and (3) of section 463.006,
122	Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
123	463.006 Licensure and certification by examination.--
124	(2) The examination shall consist of the appropriate
125	subjects, including applicable state laws and rules and general
126	and ocular pharmacology with emphasis on the topicalapplication
127	and side effects of ocular pharmaceutical agents. The board may
128	by rule substitute a national examination as part or all of the
129	examination and may by rule offer a practical examination in
130	addition to the written examination.
131	(3) Each applicant who successfully passes the examination
132	and otherwise meets the requirements of this chapter is entitled
133	to be licensed as a practitioner and to be certified to
134	administer and prescribe topical ocularpharmaceutical agents in
135	the diagnosis and treatment of ocular conditions.
136	Section 6. Subsection (3) of section 463.014, Florida
137	Statutes, is amended to read:
138	463.014 Certain acts prohibited.--
139	(3) Prescribing, ordering, dispensing, administering,
140	supplying, selling, or giving any unauthorized pharmaceutical
141	agentsystemic drugs by a licensed practitioneris prohibited.
142	Section 7. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.