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Level licensure to come for Minnesota
Maine optometrists came close to needing a separate license for dispensing.
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Legislation that creates one level of licensure for optometrists is scheduled to take effect in 2012 in Minnesota, while ODs in Maine managed to avert legislation that would have required a separate license for dispensing.
Level licensure in Minnesota
Beginning in January 2013, any optometrist with a Minnesota license must be certified for therapeutic pharmaceutical agents to continue practicing.
In 2008, the Minnesota Optometric Association supported a law that changed the optometry statutes for level licensures.
“The language states any optometrist who does not meet therapeutic drug certification by Aug. 1, 2012, will not have the opportunity to renew their license after that date,” Laurie E. Mickelson, executive director of the Minnesota Board of Optometry, told Primary Care Optometry News.
Ms. Mickelson estimates that about 50 OD licensees out of roughly 1,000 practicing optometrists will be affected by this law. The vast majority of practicing ODs in the state “are already at this level,” she said. Those who are not “must apply for and be issued a certificate of therapeutic drug certification.”
To qualify, an individual needs 100 hours of education in the treatment and management of ocular disease and must pass the national exam for the treatment and management of ocular disease, which is currently administered by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry.
“However, anyone who graduated after 1993 would have had that particular education in their optometric training,” Ms. Mickelson said. No grandfather clause or other exceptions exist.
Since 2008, the Minnesota Board of Optometry has been in contact with the affected optometrists “on numerous occasions, providing them information on where they can fulfill the 100 hours, as those courses are offered by optometry schools,” Ms. Mickelson said.
The affected optometrists have also been notified that the required exam has changed from a standalone treatment and management of ocular disease test to one “where those questions are part of a larger exam.”
According to Sherry L. Cooper, associate director of state government relations for the American Optometric Association, “Ten states have adopted requirements that provide optometrists plenty of notice – in one instance about 8 years – that they need to complete additional education, testing and training by a specified renewal date or their license will not be renewed.”
Ms. Cooper said such state legislation has been gradual over the past decade or so, starting with Illinois, which was the first state to enact change, but not the first to implement because of the lengthy lead time.
“My personal opinion is that the longer we go forward in time, the less need there may be for other states to enact similar legislation because attrition will accelerate,” she said. “Many of the other states likely have very few licensees left who do not hold prescriptive authority at the highest level and believe over the next several years that these doctors may retire from practice.”
That said, Ms. Cooper predicts it is possible that some additional states will pass single-license laws, particularly in those states with a high population of licensees “who did not choose to do what it took to be licensed with full prescriptive authority. But it’s hard to read. Initially, I thought we might see a big spurt of state action. However, 10 states in 10 years is not overly aggressive.”
Dispensing license averted
In December, the Maine Optometric Association (MOA) became aware of an emergency rule passed by the Maine Board of Pharmacy to regulate the supply of home oxygen equipment in the state. The rule also encroached on local optometrists by requiring them to secure a separate license from the pharmacy board to dispense glasses or contact lenses.
“We were concerned for all ODs in the state that this ruling might affect us directly and make our jobs more difficult,” Kathryn D. Gurney, OD, MOA president-elect who practices in Farmington, Maine, told PCON. “We were blindsided by the ruling, as we were not the intended purpose.”
The MOA’s legal team presented written and oral testimony to the pharmacy board at a hearing on Jan. 6, which was taken into consideration and acknowledged by the chair, who indicated that the rule was too broad and needed to be addressed before final passage.
“As a result, the requirement of ODs needing to have an additional license for glasses or contact lenses was removed from the final version,” Dr. Gurney said. – Bob Kronemyer
Sherry L. Cooper is associate director of state government relations for the American Optometric Association. She can be reached at 243 N. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63141; (314) 983-4266; slcooper@aoa.org.
Kathryn D. Gurney, OD, is president-elect of the Maine Optometric Association. She can be reached at P.O. Box 190, Farmington, ME 04938; (207) 778-2100; eyedoc@beeline-online.net.
Laurie E. Mickelson is executive director of the Minnesota Board of Optometry. She can be reached at 2829 University Ave. SE, Suite 550, Minneapolis, MN 55414; (651) 201-2762; laurie.mickelson@state.mn.us.