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- Referred to higher education
- Referred to higher education
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Requires the department of education to study the use of therapeutic drugs in optometric practice
In Assembly Committee · Higher Education · Sponsor Joseph Morelle
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act in relation to authorizing and directing the state education department to re-evaluate the use of therapeutic drugs in optometric practice
Purpose or general idea of bill
To direct the Commissioner of Education to undertake a study and evaluation of the use of therapeutic pharmaceutical agents in optometric practice as currently authorized by Education Law § 7101-a.
Summary of specific provisions
Section one consists of legislative findings. It notes that there are a number of concerns about the current law which permits optometrists to use and prescribe therapeutic drugs. These concerns include optometrists who lack the legally mandated qualifications to write prescriptions but who do so nevertheless; optometrists prescribing controlled substances or medications not within their legally mandated scope of practice; optometrists prescribing oral medications; and optometrists prescribing drugs intended for conditions unrelated to the eye. It also states that the Legislature finds that a further evaluation of the use of therapeutic drugs in optometric practice as currently permitted by law is appropriate and necessary in order to ensure patient safety and quality of care.
Read the full memo (733 words)
Section two (a) of the bill directs the Commissioner of Education, with the Commissioner of Health, to study and evaluate the use and prescription of drugs by optometrists as permitted under current law. It specifically directs the Commissioner to look at:
(1) whether every optometrist who has written a prescription under the authority of Education Law § 7101-a has the qualifications required to prescribe those drugs; (2) whether any optometrists have exceeded their-authorization by prescribing controlled substances or medications not within their legally mandated scope of practice; and (3) whether any optometrists have exceeded their authorization by prescribing drugs that are intended to treat conditions unrelated to the eye.
Should the Commissioner find that any of these practices are regularly occurring, the bill directs the Commissioner to make recommendations to ensure that medications are prescribed in accordance with the practitioner's legal prescribing authority, including improving safeguards at the pharmacy level.
Section two (b) of the bill ensures that the Commissioner may, upon learning of a violation of Education Law § 7101-a or any other section of law, take such actions as are appropriate to remedy such violation and, if appropriate, to refer such violation to the proper enforcement authority.
Section two (c) directs the Commissioner to submit a report of findings and recommendations, if any, to the Governor and the Legislature within one year of the effective date of this act. Section three of the bill is the effective date.
Existing law
Current law does not provide for a review of optometrist prescribing practices under Education Law § 71O1-a.
Justification
In recent years, legislation has been introduced in both houses of the State Legislature that would expand the scope of practice for optometrists by allowing prescription writing privileges for a wide range of oral medications. NDHealth maintains a database that is of one of the industry's largest repositories of prescription, prescriber and pharmacy information available. NDHealth reviewed over 160,000 prescriptions written by optometrists licensed in New York for the period August 2004 through July 2005 and found a number of disturbing and apparently illegal situations, including:
- optometrists who did not qualify under Education Law § 7101-a but who had written prescriptions; and optometrists who were certified under Education Law § 7101-a, but who wrote prescriptions for substances for which no authority is granted under Education Law § 7101-a, including controlled substances and erectile dysfunction drugs. Public policy and patient safety require a thorough analysis of the 1995 statute which initially expanded the scope of practice of optometrists to include specified, topically applied therapeutic drugs. This legislation directs the Commissioner of Education to evaluate how drugs have been used in optometric practice since enactment of Education Law §7101-a. A comprehensive review of prescriptions issued by optometrists, conducted by the Commissioner of Education in conjunction with the Commissioner of Health, will provide the Governor and the Legislature with useful information about Education Law § 7101-a, identify problems that may be occurring under the current law. It will also enable the Commissioner to address such problems where the authority to do so currently exists, and to offer legislative recommendations where such authority does not currently exist.
Prior legislative history
2007-09: Senate Higher Education Committee/Assembly Higher Education Committee
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.