SB 5874-S - DIGEST

(AS OF SENATE 2ND READING 2/14/00)

     Directs the board to establish, by rule, specific guidelines for the prescription and administration of drugs by optometrists, so that licensed optometrists and persons filling their prescriptions have a clear understanding of which drugs and which dosages or forms are included in the authority granted by this act.

     Provides that no optometrist shall prescribe, dispense, or administer a controlled substance for more than seven days in treating a particular patient for a single trauma, episode, or condition.

     Declares that the prescription or administration of drugs as authorized in this act is specifically limited to those drugs appropriate to treatment of diseases or conditions of the vision system that are within the scope of practice of optometry.  The prescription or administration of drugs for any other purpose is not authorized by this act.