WSR 15-08-027
PERMANENT RULES
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
(Board of Optometry)
[Filed March 25, 2015, 9:06 a.m., effective April 25, 2015]
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: WAC 246-851-420, removes the requirement in WAC 246-851-420(1) for optometrists to include the letters "TX" on a prescription for legend drugs for therapeutic purposes signifying that the optometrists had completed required training. Statutory changes in 2006 required that all licensed optometrists complete required training and be certified to prescribe legend drugs for therapeutic purposes making it no longer necessary to include the letters "TX."
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 246-851-420 Optometrist with prescriptive authority.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 18.54.070(2).
Other Authority: RCW 18.53.010.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 14-20-026 on September 22, 2014.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: March 25, 2015.
Christopher Barry, O.D., Chair
Board of Optometry
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 91-06-025, filed 2/26/91, effective 3/29/91)
WAC 246-851-420 Optometrist with prescriptive authorization.
(((1) Each prescription issued by an optometrist, who is certified by the board to prescribe legend drugs for therapeutic purposes, shall include on the prescription his/her license number and the letters "TX." These letters shall represent the authority which has been granted to the practitioner by the board and will serve to assure pharmacists that the prescription has been issued by an authorized practitioner. When the prescription is orally transmitted to a pharmacist, this information shall be included or shall be on file at the pharmacy.
(2))) Any optometrist who ((issues a prescription without having: (a) Received appropriate certification from the board, or (b) fails to include the identifying information on the prescription, or (c))) prescribes outside their scope of practice or ((for other than therapeutic or diagnostic purposes, or (d))) violates any state or federal law or regulations applicable to prescriptions, may be found to have committed an act of unprofessional conduct and may be disciplined in accordance with the provisions of chapter 18.130 RCW.