HF 2199 (LSB 5179HV (2) 83)

HOUSE FILE 2199

BY  COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES

(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 507)

A BILL FOR

An Act to allow therapeutically certified optometrists to supply pharmaceutical-delivering contact lenses.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 147.108, subsection 2, Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  After contact lenses have been adequately adapted and the patient released from initial follow-up care by a person licensed under chapter 148 or 154, the patient may request a copy, at no cost, of the contact lens prescription from that licensed person. A person licensed under chapter 148 or 154 shall not withhold a contact lens prescription after the requirements of this section have been met. The prescription, at the option of the prescriber, may be given orally only to a person who is actively practicing and licensed under chapter 148, 154, or 155A. The contact lens prescription shall contain an expiration date, at the discretion of the prescriber, but not to exceed eighteen months. The contact lens prescription shall contain the necessary requirements of the ophthalmic lens, and the prescription validation requirements as defined by rules adopted pursuant to this section. The prescription may contain adapting and material guidelines and may also contain specific instructions for use by the patient. For the purpose of this section, “ophthalmic lens” means one which has been fabricated to fill the requirements of a particular contact lens prescription, including pharmaceutical-delivering contact lenses as defined in section 154.1, subsection 4.
    Sec. 2.  Section 154.1, subsection 4, Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  a.  Therapeutically certified optometrists may employ all diagnostic and therapeutic pharmaceutical agents for the purpose of diagnosis and treatment of conditions of the human eye and adnexa pursuant to this subsection, excluding the use of injections other than to counteract an anaphylactic reaction, and notwithstanding section 147.107, may without charge supply any of the above pharmaceuticals to commence a course of therapy.
   b.  Therapeutically certified optometrists may employ and, notwithstanding section 147.107, supply pharmaceutical-delivering contact lenses for the purpose of treatment of conditions of the human eye and adnexa. For purposes of this paragraph, “pharmaceutical-delivering contact lenses” means contact lenses that contain one or more therapeutic pharmaceutical agents authorized for employment by this section for the purpose of treatment of conditions of the human eye and adnexa and that deliver such agents into the wearer’s eye.
   c.  Therapeutically certified optometrists may prescribe oral steroids for a period not to exceed fourteen days without consultation with a physician. Therapeutically certified optometrists shall not prescribe oral Imuran or oral Methotrexate.
   d.  Therapeutically certified optometrists may be authorized, where reasonable and appropriate, by rule of the board, to employ new diagnostic and therapeutic pharmaceutical agents approved by the United States food and drug administration on or after July 1, 2002, for the diagnosis and treatment of the human eye and adnexa.
   e.  The board shall not be required to adopt rules relating to topical pharmaceutical agents, oral antimicrobial agents, oral antihistamines, oral antiglaucoma agents, and oral analgesic agents. Superficial foreign bodies may be removed from the human eye and adnexa.
   f.  The therapeutic efforts of a therapeutically certified optometrist are intended for the purpose of examination, diagnosis, and treatment of visual defects, abnormal conditions, and diseases of the human eye and adnexa, for proper optometric practice or referral for consultation or treatment to persons licensed under chapter 148.
   g.  A therapeutically certified optometrist is an optometrist who is licensed to practice optometry in this state and who is certified by the board to use the agents and procedures authorized pursuant to this subsection.
EXPLANATION
   Code section 154.1 authorizes therapeutically certified optometrists to employ all diagnostic and therapeutic pharmaceutical agents for the purpose of diagnosis and treatment of conditions of the human eye and adnexa. This bill allows therapeutically certified optometrists to also supply therapeutic contact lenses for the purpose of treatment of conditions of the human eye and adnexa. The bill defines these lenses as contact lenses that contain one or more of the authorized therapeutic pharmaceutical agents and that deliver the agents into the wearer’s eye.
   The bill makes a conforming amendment to Code section 147.108, relating to contact lens prescribing and dispensing.