Section 148.575 Certificate Required for Use of Topical Legend Drugs

MINNESOTA STATUTES AND CODES

Section 148.575 Certificate Required for Use of Topical Legend Drugs

148.575 CERTIFICATE REQUIRED FOR USE OF TOPICAL LEGEND DRUGS.

Subdivision 1.Certificate required for use of legend drugs.

A licensed optometrist must be board certified to use legend drugs for therapy under section 148.576.

Subd. 2.Board certified defined.

"Board certified" means that a licensed optometrist has been issued a certificate by the Board of Optometry certifying that the optometrist has complied with the following requirements for the use of legend drugs described in section 148.576:

(1) successful completion of at least 60 hours of study in general and ocular pharmacology emphasizing drugs used for examination or treatment purposes, their systemic effects and management or referral of adverse reactions;

(2) successful completion of at least 100 hours of study in the examination, diagnosis, and treatment of conditions of the human eye with legend drugs;

(3) successful completion of two years of supervised clinical experience in differential diagnosis of eye disease or disorders as part of optometric training or one year of that experience and ten years of actual clinical experience as a licensed optometrist; and

(4) successful completion of a nationally standardized examination approved or administered by the board on the subject of treatment and management of ocular disease.

Subd. 3.Display of certificate required.

A certificate issued under this section to a licensed optometrist by the Board of Optometry supersedes any previously issued certificate limited to topical ocular drugs described in sections 148.571 to 148.574 and must be displayed in a prominent place in the licensed optometrist's office.

Subd. 4.Accreditation of courses.

The Board of Optometry may approve courses of study in general or ocular pharmacology and examination, diagnosis, and treatment of conditions of the human eye only if they are taught by an institution that meets the following criteria:

(1) the institution has facilities for both didactic and clinical instruction in pharmacology and ocular disease treatment;

(2) the institution certifies to the Board of Optometry that the course of instruction is comparable in content to courses of instruction required by other health-related licensing boards whose license holders or registrants are permitted to administer pharmaceutical agents in their professional practice for either diagnostic or therapeutic purposes or both; and

(3) the institution is accredited by a regional or professional accrediting organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation or its successor agency.

Subd. 5.Notice to Board of Pharmacy.

The Board of Optometry shall notify the Board of Pharmacy of each licensed optometrist who meets the certification requirements in this section.

Subd. 6.Board certification required.

Optometrists who were licensed in this state prior to August 1, 2007, must have met the board certification requirements under this section by August 1, 2012, in order to renew their license.