New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 8 - EDUCATION DEPARTMENT › Chapter II - Regulations of the Commissioner › Subchapter B - Regulation of Professions › Part 66 - Optometry › Section 66.5 - Use of therapeutic pharmaceutical agents

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) Definitions. As used in this section:
(1)
Topical therapeutic pharmaceutical
					 agents
shall mean those drugs identified in paragraph (e) of
					 subdivision (1) of section 7101-a  of the Education Law, which shall be limited
					 to topical application to the surface of the eye for therapeutic
					 purposes.
(2)
Topical therapeutic pharmaceutical agents for
					 the treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension
shall mean:
(i) those drugs identified in paragraph (f) of subdivision
					 (1) of section 7101-a  of the Education Law.
(3)
Oral therapeutic pharmaceutical agents solely
					 for the treatment of diseases of the eye and adnexa
shall mean those
					 drugs identified in paragraph (g) of subdivision (1) of section 7101-a  of the
					 Education Law.
(4)
Acceptable accrediting agency
shall
					 mean an organization accepted by the department as a reliable authority for the
					 purpose of accrediting at the postsecondary level, applying its criteria for
					 granting accreditation in a fair, consistent, and nondiscriminatory manner,
					 such as an agency recognized for these purposes by the United States Department
					 of Education.
(5)
Education Review Committee
shall mean
					 that committee appointed by the commissioner in consultation with the
					 chancellor of the State University of New York, pursuant to subdivision 9 of
					 section 7101-a  of the Education Law, whose function is to advise and assist the
					 commissioner in evaluating acceptable clinical training.
(6)
Temporary Evaluation Committee
shall
					 mean that committee appointed by the commissioner of education to advise the
					 commissioner in the evaluation of optometric use of therapeutic pharmaceutical
					 agents, pursuant to section 3 of Chapter 517 of the Laws of 1995.
(b)
Certification requirements.
(1) Topical therapeutic pharmaceutical agents. To receive a
					 certificate issued by the department to use topical therapeutic pharmaceutical
					 agents, an optometrist shall be licensed in New York and meet the clinical
					 training requirements set forth in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of this
					 section and the examination requirements set forth in subdivision (d) of this
					 section. After certification, such topical therapeutic pharmaceutical agents
					 shall be used in accordance with the provisions of Article 143 of the Education
					 Law.
(2) Topical therapeutic pharmaceutical agents for the
					 treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension. To receive a certificate issued
					 by the department to use topical therapeutic pharmaceutical agents for the
					 treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension, an optometrist shall be licensed
					 in New York and certified in the use of topical therapeutic pharmaceutical
					 agents, as set forth in paragraph (1) of this subdivision, and meet the
					 clinical training requirements set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of
					 this section and the examination requirements set forth in subdivision (d) of
					 this section. After certification, such topical therapeutic pharmaceutical
					 agents for the treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension shall be used in
					 accordance with the provisions of Article 143 of the Education Law.
(3) Oral therapeutic pharmaceutical agents solely for the
					 treatment of diseases of the eye and adnexa. To receive a certificate issued by
					 the Department to use oral therapeutic pharmaceutical agents, an optometrist
					 shall be licensed in New York and certified in the use of diagnostic drugs as
					 set forth in subdivision (b) of section
					 66.4  of this part, topical
					 therapeutic pharmaceutical agents as set forth in paragraph (1) of this
					 subdivision, and topical therapeutic pharmaceutical agents for the treatment of
					 glaucoma and ocular hypertension as set forth in paragraph (2) of this
					 subdivision, and meet the certification course requirements set forth in
					 paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of this section and the examination
					 requirements set forth in subdivision (d) of this section. After certification,
					 such oral therapeutic pharmaceutical agents shall be used in accordance with
					 the provisions of Article 143 of the Education Law.
(c)
Clinical training and course requirements for
					 certification.
(1) To meet the clinical training requirements for
					 certification in the use of topical therapeutic pharmaceutical agents, the
					 applicant shall present satisfactory evidence of any of the following:
(i) graduation after January 1, 1993 from a professional
					 program of study in optometry that is registered by the department pursuant to
					 Part 52 of this Title, or is accredited by an acceptable accrediting agency, or
					 determined by the department to be the equivalent of such a registered or
					 accredited program; or
(ii) graduation on or before January 1, 1993 from a
					 professional program of study in optometry that is registered by the department
					 pursuant to Part 52 of this Title, or is accredited by an acceptable
					 accrediting agency, or determined by the department to be the equivalent of
					 such a registered or accredited program; and completion of at least 300 hours
					 of acceptable clinical training, as prescribed in subdivision 4(a) and 9-a of
					 section 7101-a  of the Education Law; or
(iii) certification to use topical therapeutic
					 pharmaceutical agents in another jurisdiction, provided that such optometrist
					 has been certified for at least five years to use topical therapeutic
					 pharmaceutical agents in another jurisdiction during which time such use was
					 demonstrated in independently managed patients, meaning that the optometrist
					 demonstrated that he or she has treated patients with topical therapeutic
					 pharmaceutical agents without consultation with a licensed physician.
(2) To meet the clinical training requirements for
					 certification in the use of topical therapeutic pharmaceutical agents for the
					 treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension, the applicant shall present
					 satisfactory evidence of any of the following:
(i) Graduation after January 1, 1993 from a professional
					 program of study in optometry that is registered by the department pursuant to
					 Part 52 of this Title, or is accredited by an acceptable accrediting agency, or
					 determined by the department to be the equivalent of such a registered or
					 accredited program; or
(ii) Graduation on or before January 1, 1993 from a
					 professional program of study in optometry that is registered by the department
					 pursuant to Part 52 of this Title, or is accredited by an acceptable
					 accrediting agency, or determined by the department to be the equivalent of
					 such a registered or accredited program and completion of at least an
					 additional 100 hours over that obtained for certification to use topical
					 therapeutic pharmaceutical agents of acceptable clinical training, as
					 prescribed in subdivisions 4(b) and 9-a of section 7101-a  of the Education Law;
					 or
(iii) Certification to use topical therapeutic
					 pharmaceutical agents for the treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension in
					 another jurisdiction, provided that such optometrist has been certified for at
					 least five years to use topical therapeutic agents for the treatment of
					 glaucoma and ocular hypertension in another jurisdiction during which time such
					 use was demonstrated in independently managed patients, meaning that the
					 optometrist demonstrated that he or she has treated patients with topical
					 therapeutic pharmaceutical agents for the treatment of glaucoma and ocular
					 hypertension without consultation with a licensed physician.
(3) To meet the course requirements for certification in
					 the use of oral therapeutic pharmaceutical agents, the applicant shall present
					 satisfactory evidence of either:
(i) graduation after January 1, 2022 from a professional
					 program of study in optometry that is registered by the department pursuant to
					 part 52 of this Title, or is accredited by an acceptable accrediting agency, or
					 determined by the department to be the equivalent of such a registered or
					 accredited program, and that the applicant has taken and successfully passed
					 the National Board of Examiners in Optometry examination or an examination
					 acceptable to the Department; or
(ii) graduation on or before January 1, 2022 from a
					 professional program of study in optometry that is registered by the department
					 pursuant to Part 52 of this Title, or is accredited by an acceptable
					 accrediting agency, or determined by the department to be the equivalent of
					 such a registered or accredited program, and that the applicant has completed a
					 course of at least 40 hours, as prescribed in paragraph (c) of subdivision 4 of
					 section 7101-a  of the Education Law.
(4) Applicants who meet the clinical training requirements
					 for certification by complying with the requirements of subparagraph (ii) of
					 paragraph (1) or subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (2) of this subdivision shall
					 submit a written application to the department in a form approved by the
					 department. The department shall submit each application to the education
					 review committee for its review and recommendation, as prescribed in
					 subdivisions 9 and 9-a of section 7101-a  of the Education Law.
(d)
Examination.
(1) To meet the examination requirement for either
					 certification in the use of topical therapeutic pharmaceutical agents or
					 certification in the use of topical therapeutic pharmaceutical agents for the
					 treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension, the applicant shall present
					 evidence of passing of:
(a) the treatment and management of ocular diseases portion
					 of the examination of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry; or
(b) an examination determined by the State Board for
					 Optometry to be equivalent in scope and content to the ocular diseases portion
					 of the examination of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry.
(2) To meet the examination requirement for certification
					 in the use of oral therapeutic pharmaceutical agents, the applicant shall
					 present evidence of passing an examination as prescribed in paragraph (c) of
					 subdivision 4 of section 7101-a  of the Education Law, and which is acceptable
					 to the Department. Provided, however, that pursuant to subparagraph (v) of
					 paragraph (c) of subdivision 4 of section 7101-a  of the Education Law, such
					 examination requirement shall not apply to applicants who meet the course
					 requirements prescribed in subparagraph (i) or paragraph (3) of subdivision (c)
					 of this section.
(e)
Reporting requirement.
An optometrist
					 certified to use topical therapeutic pharmaceutical agents for the treatment of
					 glaucoma and ocular hypertension shall file with the temporary evaluation
					 committee a report for each patient treated with topical therapeutic
					 pharmaceutical agents for the treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension
					 within seven days following the initial and each subsequent visit by the same
					 patient. The report shall be in a form developed by the temporary evaluation
					 committee and approved by the commissioner.