PROPOSED RULES
(Board of Optometry)
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 03-04-043.
Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: WAC 246-851-160 and 246-851-170, optometrist continuing education.
Hearing Location(s): Red Lion Hotel, Yakima Center, 607 East Yakima Avenue, Yakima, WA 98901, (509) 248-5900, on September 17, 2004, at 11:00 a.m.
Date of Intended Adoption: September 17, 2004.
Submit Written Comments to: Judy Haenke, Program Manager, P.O. Box 47870, Olympia, WA 98504-7870, e-mail judy.Haenke@doh.wa.gov, fax (360) 586-4359, by September 10, 2004.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Judy Haenke, Program Manager, by September 10, 2004, TTY (1-800) 833-6388 or 711 for Relay.
Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: The proposed rule WAC 246-851-170 combines two current rules related to independent activities including writing reports and preprogrammed educational materials such as videotapes, CD's and internet courses.
The proposed rule allows for up to ten credit hours for reports on professional optometric literature and twenty-five credit hours for preprogrammed educational materials in any two-year reporting period. The combined total of the reports and preprogrammed materials per reporting period cannot exceed twenty-five credit hours. The proposed rule does not add additional continuing education requirements for licensees. It does not repeal continuing education course categories. The proposed rule amends the maximum number of hours that can be obtained in the reports on professional literature and preprogrammed educational materials categories from forty-five to twenty-five.
Independent study is viewed as a valid method for obtaining required hours. The consensus of those involved in the development of this rule is that a well-rounded continuing education program should include opportunities for interaction and exchanges with course presenters and peers. Reducing the independent activity hours to twenty-five will cause licensees to broaden their continuing educational activities to include more interactive exchanges.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 18.54.070(2).
Statute Being Implemented: RCW 18.53.040(2).
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Name of Proponent: Board of Optometry, governmental.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting, Implementation and Enforcement: Judy Haenke, P.O. Box 47870, Olympia, WA 98504-7870, (360) 236-4947.
A small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW.
The proposed rule allows for up to ten credit hours for reports on professional optometric literature and twenty-five credit hours for preprogrammed educational materials in any two-year reporting period. The combined total of the reports and preprogrammed materials per reporting period cannot exceed twenty-five credit hours.
Currently, the two rules allow for up ten credit hours for reports on professional optometric literature; up to ten hours for correspondence courses and preprogrammed material and up to twenty-five hours for preprogrammed materials that are offered by an approved college of optometry and require an examination in any two-year reporting period. Total currently allowed in these categories is forty-five credits in a two-year reporting period. Optometrists are required to submit a total of fifty hours of continuing education every two years. Under the current system, all but five hours could be obtained through independent, unsupervised activities.
The proposed rule does not add additional continuing education requirements for licensees. It does not repeal continuing education course categories. The proposed rule amends the maximum number of hours that can be obtained in the reports on professional literature and preprogrammed educational materials categories from forty-five to twenty-five.
As currently written, a licensee could obtain forty-five of the required fifty hours through independent study. While independent study is viewed as a valid method for obtaining required hours, the consensus of those involved in the development of this rule is that a well-rounded continuing education program should include opportunities for interaction and exchanges with course presenters and peers.
2. Is a Small Business Economic Impact Statement (SBEIS) Required for this Rule? Yes.
3. Which Industries Are Affected by this Rule? The following SIC coded industries are affected by these rules because they hire staff that may require training.
| SIC | Description | Total Units | Total Employment | Smallest 90% | Largest 10% | ||||
| 3827 | Optical Instruments/lenses | 4 | 10 | N/A* | N/A* | ||||
| 3851 | Ophthalmic goods | 17 | 269 | 1.5 | 6 | ||||
| 8042 | Offices and clinics of optometrists | 379 |
1627 | 3.7 | 13.5 | ||||
| 8099 | Health and allied services | 93 | 1484 | 143.3 | 64.3 | ||||
4. What Are the Costs of Complying with this Rule for Small Businesses (Those with Fifty or Fewer Employees) and for the Largest 10% of Businesses Affected? The cost for complying with the rule would remain substantially the same since there are a variety of categories that are available with varying costs. Most significantly is the Board of Optometry annual post graduate seminar, which offers from 14-15 credit hours per year, or a total of thirty in a two-year reporting period. The costs of the seminar are paid out of the revenue from the optometry program. There are no additional costs to licensees.
| WAC REFERENCE | CATEGORY | MAXIMUM HOURS* |
| WAC 246-851-130 | Post-graduate education program ( Brd of Optometry). | Not specified |
| WAC 246-851-140 | Preparation for admission to optometric scientific groups or participation in local, county, state or federal standard review or planning organization. | 5 credits/two yrs |
| WAC 246-851-150 | Individual research, publications and small group study. | credits/two yrs |
| WAC 246-851-180 | Credit for lecturing. | 10 credits/two yrs |
| WAC 246-851-190 | Credit for CPR training. | 10 credits/two yrs |
| WAC 246-851-230 | Credit for practice management courses. | 10 credits/two yrs |
Specific Cost Categories:
| • | Reporting: There is no additional reporting requirement. |
| • | Record keeping: There is no additional record-keeping requirement. |
| • | Compliance costs: None. |
| • | Professional services: No special services are required. |
| • | Equipment: No equipment is required. |
| • | Supplies: None. |
| • | Labor: None. |
6. If the Rule Imposes a Disproportionate Impact on Small Businesses, What Efforts Were Taken to Reduce That Impact (or Why is it Not "Legal and Feasible" to Do So) By? The rules do not impose a disproportionate impact on small businesses.
7. How are Small Businesses Involved in the Development of This Rule? Business, public, and licensee involvement was solicited through mailing from the Board of Optometry. A mailing was sent to optometrists and other stakeholders on the interested persons list including professional associations and educators. Opportunity for comments was provided during different stages of the development of the rule. This effort has produced a rule that is the least burdensome to practitioners.
A copy of the statement may be obtained by contacting Judy Haenke, P.O. Box 47870, Olympia, WA 98504-7870, phone (360) 236-4947, fax (360) 586-4359, e-mail judy.Haenke@doh.wa.gov.
A cost-benefit analysis is required under RCW 34.05.328. A preliminary cost-benefit analysis may be obtained by contacting Judy Haenke, P.O. Box 47870, Olympia, WA 98504, phone (360) 236-4947, fax (360) 586-4359, e-mail judy.Haenke@doh.wa.gov.
July 6, 2004
Steven Saxe
Executive Director
OTS-6760.2
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 97-12-088, filed 6/4/97,
effective 7/5/97)
WAC 246-851-170
((Credit for preprogrammed educational
materials.)) Self-study educational activities.
((Subject to
approval by the board, continuing education credit may be
granted for viewing and participation in the use of formal
preprogrammed optometric educational materials. Preprogrammed
educational materials include, but are not limited to:
(1) Correspondence courses taken through magazines or other publications, cassettes, videodiscs, videotapes, teaching machines, computer software, CD-ROM, diskettes or internet, other than those that qualify under subsection (2) of this section. No more than ten credit hours will be granted under this subsection to any licensee in any two-year reporting period. Requests for credit must be submitted to the board at least sixty days prior to the end of the reporting period and should include the title, date issued or released, author or source and the length of time spent viewing, listening or responding to the material.
(2) Cassettes, videodiscs, videotapes, teaching machines, computer software, CD-ROM, diskettes or internet, which are offered by a board-approved school or college of optometry or other entity or organization approved by the board for credit under this section and require successful completion of an examination for certification of completion. No more than twenty-five credit hours will be granted under this subsection to any licensee in any two-year reporting period.)) The board may grant continuing education credit for participation in self-study educational activities. The board may grant a licensee a total of twenty-five credit hours under this section for any two-year reporting period. Self-study educational activities may include:
(1) Credit for reports. The board may grant continuing education credit for reports on professional optometric literature. Licensees must submit requests for credit at least sixty days before the end of the reporting period. The request must include a copy of the article, including publication source, date and author. The report must be typewritten and include at least ten descriptive statements from the article.
(a) Professional literature approved for these reports are:
(i) Optometry and Physiological Optics;
(ii) American Optometric Association News;
(iii) Contact Lens Spectrum;
(iv) Optometry;
(v) Journal of Optometric Education;
(vi) Journal of Optometric Vision Development;
(vii) Optometric Management;
(viii) Review of Optometry;
(ix) Primary Care Optometry News;
(x) 20/20 Magazine; and
(xi) Other literature as approved by the board.
(b) Each report qualifies for one credit hour. The board may grant a licensee up to ten credit hours under this subsection if the combined total of twenty-five hours for all types of self-study CE is not exceeded.
(2) Credit for preprogrammed educational materials. The board may grant a licensee continuing education credit for viewing and participating in board-approved formal preprogrammed optometric educational materials. The preprogrammed materials must be approved by the Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (COPE), or offered by a board-approved school or college of optometry or other entity or organization approved by the board for credit under this section; and must require successful completion of an examination for certification. The preprogrammed educational materials include, but are not limited to:
(a) Correspondence courses offered through magazines or other sources;
(b) Cassettes;
(c) Videotapes;
(d) CD-ROM;
(e) Internet.
The board may grant a licensee up to twenty-five credit hours under this subsection if the combined total for all types of self-study CE does not exceed twenty-five hours in any two-year reporting period.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 18.54.070(2). 97-12-088, § 246-851-170, filed 6/4/97, effective 7/5/97. Statutory Authority: RCW 18.54.070. 91-22-061 (Order 210B), § 246-851-170, filed 11/1/91, effective 12/2/91; 91-06-025 (Order 119B), recodified as § 246-851-170, filed 2/26/91, effective 3/29/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 18.54.070(2). 89-10-030 (Order PM 839), § 308-53-146, filed 4/27/89. Statutory Authority: RCW 18.54.070(5). 80-04-054 (Order PL 331), § 308-53-146, filed 3/21/80.]
The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed:
| WAC 246-851-160 | Credit for reports. |