2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XXX - Occupations and Professions › Chapter 327-A - Ophthalmic Dispensing › Section 327-A:1 - Definitions.

327-A:1 Definitions. –
In this chapter:
I. "Ophthalmic dispensing" means the design, verification, and delivery to the intended wearer of lenses, frames, and other specially fabricated optical devices upon prescription. It includes, but is not limited to, prescription analysis and interpretation; the taking of measurements, including the pupillary distance, to determine the size, shape, and specifications of the spectacle lenses, frames, or lens forms best suited to the wearer's needs; the preparation and delivery of work orders to laboratory technicians engaged in grinding lenses and fabricating eyewear; the verification of the quality of finished ophthalmic products, the adjustment of lenses or frames to the intended wearer's face; the delivery of such ophthalmic products including instruction in hygiene and insertion and removal of contact lenses; and the adjustment, replacement, and reproduction of previously prepared ophthalmic lenses, frames, contact lenses, or other specially fabricated ophthalmic devices. It does not include the alteration without permission of the prescriber of any prescriptions, nor does it include the fitting of contact lenses which may only be performed by ophthalmologists or optometrists pursuant to law regulating such practices, unless the ophthalmic dispenser is in possession of a statement of delegation authorizing the fitting of contact lenses.
II. "Fitting contact lenses" means measurement of the shape of the eye, as well as determining the lens specifications, including base curve, size, shape, thickness, color, and material composition.
III. "Prescription for spectacle lenses" means a dated and signed, written or oral direction not more than 24 months old from an ophthalmologist or optometrist for therapeutic or corrective lenses which states the prescribed refractive power and when necessary, the vertex distance, cylinder axis, and prism. The oral prescription must be recorded and kept on file for one year by the ophthalmic dispenser.
IV. "Prescription for contact lenses" means a dated and signed, written direction specifying that it is for contact lenses or plano lenses, and shall include at least the power, size, curvature, color, and material composition of the lenses. A prescription for contact lenses may also include, at the prescriber's professional discretion, other parameters or instructions such as lens manufacturer, prescription expiration date, number of permitted refills, and a statement prohibiting substitutions. Such parameters or instructions shall be honored by a person filling the prescription. Unless otherwise specified by the prescriber for health reasons, a contact lens prescription shall expire one year from the date of issue.
V. [Repealed.]
VI. [Repealed.]
VI-a. "Executive director" means the executive director of the office of professional licensure and certification.
VII. "Ophthalmic dispenser/optician" means anyone who sells or dispenses, upon prescription, spectacles, eyeglasses or contact lenses.
VIII. "Statement of delegation" means a written, signed statement from the prescribing ophthalmologist or optometrist which authorizes a named ophthalmic dispenser to fit the prescription for contact lenses. The statement shall be written on the prescription for contact lenses or shall be a letter which shall be attached to the prescription for contact lenses.
IX. "Plano lenses" means contact lenses with no refractive power.
Source.
1989, 389:1. 1995, 310:157, 158. 1998, 308:1. 2011, 121:4, 5. 2015, 276:92, 108, XXI, eff. July 1, 2015. 2022, 298:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2023.