An Act to establish educational standards for the expanded practice of optometry.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota:
Section 1. That 36-7-1 be AMENDED:
36-7-1. The practice of optometry is declared to be a profession and is defined as:
(1) The
examination of the human eye and its appendages,
and the;
(2) The
employment of any means for the measurement of the powers of visions,
or any visual, muscular, neurological, interpretative, or anatomical
anomalies of the visual processes,
and the;
(3) The
prescribing or employment of lenses, prisms, frames, mountings, and
visual training
procedure,
the procedures;
(4) The
prescribing or
administration,
except by injection
of pharmaceutical agents rational to the diagnosis and treatment of
the human eye and its appendages,
and any other;
(5) Other
means or method
methods
for the
correction, remedy, or relief of any insufficiencies or abnormal
conditions of the visual processes of the human eye and its
appendages
except surgery. However, an optometrist may remove;
(6) The
removal of
superficial foreign bodies from the eye.
The prescription;
(7) The
prescribing of
contact lenses, except by a practitioner
physician
licensed under
chapter 36-4,
constitutes the practice of optometry. An optometrist is one who
practices optometry under the provisions of this chapter;
and
(8) Any of the following procedures, subject to the provisions of section 2 of this Act:
(a) Debridement of corneal epithelium;
(b) Removal of corneal epithelium;
(c) Injections for the treatment of conditions or diseases of the eye or eyelid, excluding intraocular injections penetrating the globe;
(d) The use of a local anesthetic in conjunction with the primary treatment of an eyelid lesion;
(e) Removal and biopsy of eyelid lesions without characteristics or obvious signs of malignancy, excluding lesions involving the eyelid margin or larger than five millimeters in size;
(f) Incision and curettage of a chalazion;
(g) Simple repair of an eyelid laceration no larger than two and one-half centimeters and no deeper than the orbicularis muscle and not involving the eyelid margin or lacrimal drainage structures;
(h) Corneal cross-linking; and
(i) Laser capsulotomy, laser peripheral iridotomy, and laser trabeculoplasty.
Any procedure authorized by this section and undertaken by a licensed optometrist, in accordance with this chapter, does not constitute the practice of medicine for purposes of chapter 36-4.
Section 2. That chapter 36-7 be amended with a NEW SECTION:
Before an optometrist may perform any procedure listed in subdivision 36-7-1(8), the optometrist shall apply for authorization, in the manner prescribed by the board. The board shall authorize the performance of the procedures if the optometrist:
(1) Received a passing score on the laser and surgical procedures examination offered by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry; or
(2) Satisfactorily completed a training session approved by the board and proctored by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist authorized to perform the procedure in this or any other state.
Section 3. That 36-7-24 be AMENDED:
36-7-24.
The board
may, in
compliance with chapter 1-26,
mayimpose
disciplinary sanctions against
any on
an optometrist
for
the following causes:
(1) Conviction of a felony,
as shown by a certified copy of the record of the court of
conviction;
(2) Obtaining, or attempting to obtain, a license by fraudulent misrepresentation;
(3) Malpractice;
(4) Continued practice when knowingly having an infectious or contagious disease, or after sustaining a physical or mental disability that renders further practice potentially harmful or dangerous;
(5) Use of alcohol or other substances that renders the optometrist unfit to practice with reasonable skill and safety;
(6) Engaging in any procedure listed in subdivision 36-7-1(8), prior to meeting the requirements set forth in section 2 of this Act;
(7) Unprofessional conduct, as defined in 36-7-25; or
(7)(8) Failure
to submit to or cooperate with the
a
criminal
background investigation
check
requested by
the board
under 36-7-12.2.
Section 4. That 36-7-1.2 be REPEALED:
No optometrist may
prescribe, administer, or dispense any oral therapeutic agent to any
child under twelve years of age, or any oral steroid to any person,
without prior consultation with a physician licensed pursuant to
chapter 36-4.