Missouri Code of State Regulations › Title 20 - DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND INSURANCE › Division 2210 - State Board of Optometry › Chapter 2 - General Rules › Section 20 CSR 2210-2.030 - License Renewal

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 14, July 15, 2024
PURPOSE: This proposal adds additional providers to
				  the list of board approved continuing education providers.
(1) Every licensed optometrist shall notify
				the board of any change of legal name, mailing address, and telephone number
				within thirty (30) days.
(2) Every
				licensed optometrist shall prominently display his/her renewal license in
				his/her principal place of practice.
(3) Whenever a licensed optometrist has
				additional offices, he/she, in lieu of delivering a certificate of
				identification to each patient in his/her care pursuant to section
				336.070,
				RSMo, may prominently display a duplicate renewal license in each additional
				office.
(4) Failure of the licensee
				to receive a renewal application shall not relieve the licensee of the
				obligation to renew the license and pay the renewal fee prior to the license
				expiration date. Deposit of the renewal fee by the board or the Division of
				Professional Registration does not indicate acceptance of the renewal
				application or that any licensing requirements have been fulfilled.
(5) Effective with the two- (2-) year
				continuing education reporting period beginning on November 1, 2008, every
				optometrist currently licensed in Missouri shall obtain a minimum of thirty-two
				(32) hours of approved continuing education (herein "C.E." credits) relevant to
				the practice of optometry. Any hours acquired beyond the required number may be
				carried forward into the next renewal period not to exceed sixteen (16)
				hours.
(6) The two- (2-) year
				continuing education reporting period shall begin on November 1 and end on
				October 31. C.E. credits earned after October 31 of the second year of the
				reporting period shall apply to the next reporting period unless the licensee
				pays the continuing education penalty fee. Payment of the continuing education
				penalty fee will provide a licensee with the ability to earn C.E. credits on or
				after November 1 and before December 31 and apply any needed C.E. credits to
				the prior reporting period. If the licensee pays the continuing education
				penalty fee for C.E. credits earned late, those credits shall not be applied to
				the next reporting period. A renewal license will not be issued until all
				renewal requirements have been met.
(7) Licensees shall report the number of C.E.
				credits earned during the continuing education reporting period on the renewal
				form provided by the board. The licensee shall not submit the record of C.E.
				attendance to the board except in the case of a board audit.
(8) Every licensed optometrist shall maintain
				full and complete records of all approved C.E. credits earned for the two (2)
				previous reporting periods in addition to the current reporting period. The
				records shall document the titles of the courses taken, dates, locations,
				course sponsors, and number of hours earned. The board may conduct an audit of
				licensees to verify compliance with the continuing education requirement.
				Licensees shall assist the board in its audit by providing timely and complete
				responses to the board's inquiries.
(9) Violation of any provision of this rule
				shall be deemed by the board to constitute misconduct, fraud,
				misrepresentation, dishonesty, unethical conduct, or unprofessional conduct in
				the performance of the functions or duties of an optometrist depending on the
				licensee's conduct. In addition, a licensee who has failed to complete and
				report in a timely fashion the required thirty-two (32) hours of continuing
				education and engages in the active practice of optometry without the express
				written authority of the board shall be deemed to have engaged in the
				unauthorized practice of optometry.
(10) The following guidelines govern the
				attendance of educational optometric programs for license renewal:
(A) Each speaker, lecturer, or other
				participant in the presentation of the continuing education program must be
				recognized as possessing the requisite qualifications and as being expert in
				his/her field. The board will determine whether a speaker, lecturer, or other
				person meets the requirements of this section;
(B) Instruction courses sponsored for
				commercial purposes by individuals or institutions or programs in which the
				speaker advertises or urges the use of any particular ophthalmic product or
				appliance generally shall not be recognized for educational credit. Exceptions
				may be made if the procedure in subsection (11)(D) is followed and the majority
				of the board votes to recognize the instruction course or program;
(C) Educational programs that currently are
				approved, except as noted in subsection (10)(B), as meeting the minimum
				standards include the following:
1.
				Educational meetings of the American Optometric Association (AOA);
2. Educational meetings of the National
				Optometric Association (NOA);
3.
				Educational meetings of the Missouri Optometric Association or any other state
				or regional optometric association affiliated with the American Optometric
				Association. This excludes local society meetings unless the courses are
				approved by an entity pursuant to this rule;
4. Scientific sections and continuing
				education courses of the American Academy of Optometry;
5. Postgraduate courses offered by any
				accredited college of optometry;
6.
				Educational meetings of the Southern Council of Optometrists;
7. Educational meetings approved by the
				COPE;
8. Educational meetings of
				the North Central States Optometric Council;
9. Educational meetings of the Heart of
				America Optometric Congress and the Heart of America Contact Lens
				Society;
10. Educational meetings
				of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development;
11. Educational meetings of the Optometric
				Extension Program;
12. Optometric
				related meetings of any accredited school of medicine; and
13. Continuing education courses by the
				American Board of Optometry;
(D) With the exception of any of the
				previously mentioned educational organizations, any other regularly organized
				group of optometrists that wishes to sponsor an educational program to meet the
				standard for license renewal in Missouri shall submit one (1) copy of the
				program schedule and outline to the board's executive director not fewer than
				thirty (30) days prior to the date of the program and shall pay the continuing
				education sponsor fee. The outline must indicate the program's subject matter,
				the number of hours required for its presentation, and the identity and
				qualifications of the speakers and instructors. The board shall review the
				schedule and outline. If the program meets the standards set out in subsections
				(11)(A)-(B), the board may grant approval. The board will not consider requests
				for approval of any program submitted following the meeting;
(E) Of the thirty-two (32) hours of
				board-approved continuing education required for license renewal, no more than
				sixteen (16) hours may be obtained through distance learning methods such as
				correspondence courses, online only courses, magazine articles, or other
				methods where the licensee is not physically present with the course speaker or
				presenter. Live interactive virtual presentations shall not be considered
				distance learning courses and as such shall not be restricted;
(F) Individuals who obtain a license by
				endorsement during the second year of a two- (2-) year reporting period will
				only be required to obtain sixteen (16) hours of continuing education in order
				to renew the license for the initial license renewal. Individuals who obtain a
				license by endorsement during the first year of a two- (2-) year reporting
				period will be required to obtain thirty-two (32) hours of board-approved
				continuing education in order to renew the license for the initial license
				renewal;
(G) Individuals who obtain
				a license by examination are considered to have satisfied the continuing
				education requirement for the first renewal after their initial license
				date;
(H) Licensees who present
				Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (COPE)-approved continuing
				education will be allowed one (1) hour of continuing education credit for each
				hour of the continuing education presented. Each COPE numbered course may be
				used one (1) time for continuing education credit during the reporting
				period;
(I) Licensees who are
				enrolled in a postgraduate residency program accredited by the Council on
				Optometric Practitioner Education will receive sixteen (16) hours of continuing
				education credit to satisfy one (1) year of the two- (2-) year reporting
				period; and
(J) The board will
				consider requests for exemption from the educational requirements only if the
				request for exemption is filed with the board's executive director and actually
				approved by the board before the end of the reporting period. The request for
				exemption must clearly set out the reasons asserted for noncompliance,
				including at least a listing of all other years for which the board has
				exempted the licensee and a listing of the dates upon which the licensee's
				reasons for exemption required his/her absence from active practice. In its
				discretion, the board may refuse to exempt a licensee from the required
				attendance, notwithstanding the existence of a valid reason, if the board
				determines that the licensee has or had other reasonable opportunities to meet
				the requirements of this rule.