STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.
District 18 (Middlesex)
Senator SHIRLEY K. TURNER
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Cryan, Pou, Singleton, Burgess, Cruz-Perez, McKnight, Timberlake and Holzapfel
SYNOPSIS
Updates scope of practice of optometrists.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the practice of optometry and amending various parts of the statutory law.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.45:12-1 is amended to read as follows:
45:12-1. Optometry is hereby declared to be a profession, and the practice of optometry is defined to be the employment of objective or subjective means, or both, for the examination of the human eye and adnexae for the purposes of ascertaining any departure from the normal, measuring its powers of vision and adapting lenses [or], prisms, or vision training for the aid thereof[, or the use and prescription of pharmaceutical agents, excluding injections, except for injections to counter anaphylactic reaction, and excluding controlled dangerous substances as provided in sections 5 and 6 of P.L.1970, c.226 (C.24:21-5 and C.24:21-6), except as otherwise authorized by section 9 of P.L.1991, c.385 (C.45:12-9.11),] and the administration and performance of any diagnostic or therapeutic modality reasonable for the purposes of diagnosing and treating deficiencies, deformities, diseases, or abnormalities of the human eye and adnexae, including [the removal of superficial foreign bodies from the eye and adnexae. The practice of optometry shall include the administration of immunizations against coronaviruses and influenza by any route or modality, provided that administration of the immunization is consistent with recommendations issued by the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices in the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and complies with the requirements of section 2 of P.L.2021, c.101 (C.45:12-1.1)], but not limited to:
a. the employment of any means for the measurement of the powers of vision or the adaptation of lenses or prisms for the aid thereof;
b. the use of testing appliances for the purposes of measurement of the powers of vision or the diagnosis or any ocuolar deficiency, disease, or deformity, or visual or muscular anomaly of the human eye;
c. prescribing of lenses, prisms, eyeglass lenses, prosthetic eyes, vision therapy, orthotic therapy or ocular exercises for the correction, relief or rehabilitation of any (1) ocular deficiency or deformity, (2) visual or muscular anomaly or (3) disease of the human eye or the process of vision;
d. the use and prescription of pharmaceutical agents by any route of administration including controlled dangerous substances;
e. the prescription or administration, or both, of epinephrine or equivalent medication to counteract anaphylaxis or anaphylactic reactions;
f. the removal of superficial foreign bodies from the eye and adnexae;
g. the performance or ordering of procedures and laboratory tests appropriate for the diagnosis of conditions or diseases of the eye, adnexae, and visual system;
h. the administration of immunizations against coronaviruses, influenza, and varicella-zoster virus by any route or modality, provided that administration of the immunization is consistent with recommendations issued by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An optometrist shall not administer an immunization against a coronavirus, influenza, or varicella-zoster virus pursuant to this section to any patient who is younger than 18 years of age. An immunization against a coronaviruses, influenza, and varicella-zoster virus administered to a patient by an optometrist under this section shall be reported by the optometrist to the New Jersey Immunization Information System established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2004, c.138 (C.26:4-134) for inclusion in the patients registry;
i. simple ophthalmologic procedures including non-invasive application of laser and ultrasound, reasonable and limited to the diagnosis and treatment of conditions or disease of the eye, adnexae, and visual systems, including but not limited to trabeculoplasty, capsulotomy, and iridotomy performed with topical anesthesia, as determined solely by the New Jersey State Board of Optometrists;
j. minor procedures including simple ophthalmologic procedures including, but not limited to, treatment of chalazions, excision of skin tags and other lesions without clinical characteristics of malignancy, performed with a local anesthesia as determined by the New Jersey State Board of Optometrists, except that these applications and minor procedures shall not include:
(1) invasive, intra-ocular surgery, defined as those surgical procedures which require a full thickness incision of the globe of the eye;
(2) orbital surgery including strabismus surgery or any surgical procedure which requires an incision of the orbital septum, surgical procedures, or repair of wounds which require suturing in layers; and
(3) any surgical procedure performed under general anesthesia or the administration of general anesthesia; and
k. provision of pre- and post-operative care of procedures included in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection j. of this section.
An optometrist [utilizing pharmaceutical agents], for the purposes of treatment of ocular conditions and diseases, shall be held to a standard of patient care [in the use of such agents] commensurate to that of a [physician utilizing pharmaceutical agents for treatment purposes] licensee of the State Board of Medical Examiners performing the same procedures.
A person shall be deemed to be practicing optometry within the meaning of this chapter who in any way [advertises himself as an optometrist, or who shall employ any means for the measurement of the powers of vision or the adaptation of lenses or prisms for the aid thereof, practice, offer or attempt to practice] practices optometry as herein defined, either on his own behalf or as an employee or student of another, whether under the personal supervision of his employer or perceptor or not, or to use testing appliances for the purposes of measurement of the powers of vision or diagnose any ocular deficiency or deformity, visual or muscular anomaly of the human eye and adnexae or prescribe lenses, prisms or ocular exercise for the correction or the relief thereof, or who uses or prescribes pharmaceutical agents for the purposes of diagnosing and treating deficiencies, deformities, diseases or abnormalities of the human eye and adnexae or who holds himself out as qualified to practice optometry.
(cf: P.L.2021, c.101, s.1)
<