This chapter may be cited as the Optometry Law.
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Repealed or Renumbered
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A licensee may remove superficial foreign bodies from the eye and its appendages. This section is not intended to permit a licensee to perform invasive surgery.
There is created the Board of Examiners in Optometry to regulate and control the practice of optometry and to protect and promote the public health, welfare, and safety.
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Article 02. LICENSING
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A person who violates this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $500, or by imprisonment for a term of not less than 10 days nor more than 90 days, or by both.
Article 04. GENERAL PROVISIONS
The board consists of five persons.
The department shall collect all fees and keep a record of each transaction, and shall remit to the Department of Revenue all money received.
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Four board members shall be licensed, practicing optometrists who have been residents for at least three years. One board member shall be a public member.
A person may not falsely personate a licensed optometrist, or buy, sell, or fraudulently obtain a license issued to another or advertise the practice of optometry in violation of regulations of the board. Practicing or offering to practice optometry without a license is sufficient evidence of a violation of this chapter.
Except for AS 08.72.275 , this chapter and regulations adopted under this chapter do not limit the practice of an optician licensed under AS 08.71.
The board shall adopt regulations
(1) necessary for the proper performances of its duties;
(2) governing the applicants and applications for licensing;
(3) for the licensing of optometrists;
(4) necessary to govern the practice of optometry;
(5) prescribing requirements that a person licensed under this chapter must meet to demonstrate continued professional competency.
The board shall admit to the examination a person who furnishes proof that the person
(1) [Repealed, Sec. 3 ch 94 SLA 1996].
(2) [Repealed, Sec. 3 ch 94 SLA 1996].
(3) has had education equivalent to four years attendance at a state high school;
(4) is a graduate of a recognized school or college of optometry.
A license may be revoked by the superior court upon proof of violation of law or for a cause for which the board may refuse admittance to its examination. The attorney general shall prosecute appropriate judicial proceedings upon request of a member of the board.
The department shall set fees under AS 08.01.065 for the following:
(1) examination;
(2) reexamination;
(3) licensure by credentials;
(4) license;
(5) renewal;
(6) branch office license and renewal.
(a) A licensed optometrist who temporarily practices optometry away from the optometrist's regular place of business shall display a license and deliver to each patient or person fitted or supplied with glasses or contact lenses a receipt showing the optometrist's permanent place of business or post office address and the amount charged.
(b) This section may not be construed as permitting peddling or canvassing by licensed optometrists.
Article 03. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
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An applicant shall apply for the examination by filing an application with the department together with the examination fee by the deadline established by the department in regulations. The department may require the applicant to submit a photograph of the applicant for its files; however, the photograph may not be forwarded with the application to the board for review. Upon successful completion of the examination by the applicant and payment of the license fee, the board shall issue a license to the successful applicant. The applicant may practice optometry in the state upon receipt of the license.
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(a) A licensee may prescribe and use a pharmaceutical agent in the practice of optometry if
(1) the pharmaceutical agent is a drug topically applied to the human eye and its appendages; and
(2) the person holds a license endorsement issued by the board authorizing the prescription and use of pharmaceutical agents.
(b) A licensee may not purchase, possess, prescribe, or use a pharmaceutical agent unless the licensee has obtained a license endorsement under AS 08.72.175 .
(a) A person may not practice, attempt to practice, or offer to practice optometry without first obtaining a license from the board.
(b) A person not licensed as an optometrist may not fit, sell, or dispose of or take, receive, or solicit an order for fitting, sale, or disposition of spectacles, eyeglasses, or lenses for the correction or relief of an optical or visual defect of the human eye or sell spectacles, eyeglasses, or lenses from house to house, or in the streets or highways. This chapter does not apply to the sale of toy glasses, goggles consisting of plano-white or plano-colored lenses or ordinary colored glasses, or complete ready-made spectacles and eyeglasses sold only as merchandise, or the sale or repair of eyeglass frames, or repair or replacement of lenses without pretense of adapting them to the eyes.
(a) The examination must consist of two sections: (1) all or part of a national or international examination designated by regulation by the board; and (2) an examination approved by the board that is designed to test the applicant's knowledge of the laws of Alaska governing the practice of optometry and the regulations adopted under those laws.
(b) [Repealed, Sec. 9 ch 49 SLA 1988].
(c) An applicant who fails a portion of the examination may take a reexamination in the portion failed upon payment of a reexamination fee established under AS 08.01.065 .
(d) An applicant who fails more than one portion of the examination shall retake the entire examination and pay the examination fee.
(a) The board or a member designated by the board may issue subpoenas, administer oaths, and take testimony concerning any matter within the board's jurisdiction.
(b) The board may
(1) adopt a seal;
(2) define professional conduct and adopt rules of professional conduct.
(c) The board shall
(1) elect a president and secretary from among its members;
(2) order a licensee to submit to a reasonable physical examination if the licensee's physical capacity to practice safely is at issue.
(d) [Repealed by Sec. 3 ch 59 SLA 1966].
(e) [Repealed by Sec. 23 ch 75 SLA 1980].
(f) [Repealed by Sec. 3 ch 59 SLA 1966].
In this chapter,
(1) 'board' means the Board of Examiners in Optometry;
(2) 'department' means the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development;
(3) 'optometry' means the examination, diagnosis, and treatment of conditions of the human eyes and visual system, other than by use of laser, x-rays, surgery, or pharmaceutical agents, other than those permitted under AS 08.72.272 ; 'optometry' includes the employment of methods that a person licensed under this chapter is educationally qualified to use, as established by the board;
(4) 'practicing optometry' means the performance of, or offer to perform, optometry for compensation;
(5) 'recognized school or college of optometry' means a school or college approved by the American Optometric Association or a committee of the American Optometric Association.
(a) The board may issue a license endorsement authorizing a licensee to prescribe and use the pharmaceutical agents described in AS 08.72.272, if the licensee or applicant for a license passes the written and practical portions of an examination on ocular pharmacology, approved by the board, that tests the licensee's or the applicant's knowledge of the characteristics, pharmacological effects, indications, contraindications, and emergency care associated with the prescription and use of pharmaceutical agents. The endorsement expires at the same time as the license to which it attaches. The endorsement may be renewed upon satisfactory completion of continuing education requirements established by the board by regulation.
(b) A pharmacist or pharmaceutical supplier may supply a licensee with pharmaceutical agents as provided under AS 08.72.272 upon presentation of evidence that the licensee holds a license endorsement under this section.
(a) [Repealed, Sec. 49 ch 94 SLA 1987].
(b) An optometrist licensed in this state and serving in the military service of the United States, while in the discharge of official duties, may maintain eligibility to practice in this state without paying a renewal fee by registering the optometrist's name and place of residence with the department.
(c) An application for license renewal must contain the name, office and post office address, date and license number of the licensee, and other information the board considers necessary.
(d) Before a license may be renewed, the licensee shall submit to the board evidence of 24 hours of postgraduate continuing education instruction as prescribed by regulations of the board. The board may specify by regulation those circumstances under which the requirements of this subsection may be waived.
(e) Before a license may be renewed, the licensee shall provide evidence of continued professional competency in accordance with the regulations adopted by the board under AS 08.72.050 (5).
(a) A person may not fabricate, distribute, sell, exchange, deliver or possess with intent to distribute, sell, exchange or deliver eyeglasses or sunglasses unless they are fitted with plastic lenses, laminated lenses, heat-treated glass lenses, or glass lenses made impact resistant by other methods. All plastic and heat-treated glass lenses, before they are mounted in frames, shall be capable of withstanding the impact of a five-eighths inch steel ball dropped on the lens from a height of 50 inches. The impact test shall be conducted at room temperature, with the lens supported by a plastic tube one inch inside diameter, one and one-fourth inch outside diameter, with a one-eighth inch by one-eighth inch neoprene gasket on the top edge.
(b) A person may not fabricate, distribute, sell, exchange, deliver or possess with intent to distribute, sell, exchange or deliver eyeglasses or sunglasses having frames manufactured from cellulose nitrate or other highly flammable materials.
(c) A licensee may sell, exchange, or deliver eyeglasses or sunglasses that do not meet the requirements of (a) of this section if the sale, exchange, or delivery is authorized in a written request signed by the patient.
(d) A person who violates this section is punishable by a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $100.
The board shall issue a license by credentials to an applicant who
(1) has had education equivalent to four years of attendance at a state high school;
(2) is a graduate of a recognized school or college of optometry;
(3) has passed a written examination approved by the board that is designed to test the applicant's knowledge of the laws of Alaska governing the practice of optometry and the regulations adopted under those laws;
(4) holds a current license to practice optometry in another state or territory of the United States or in a province of Canada;
(5) at some time in the past, received a license to practice optometry from another state or territory of the United States or from a province of Canada that required the person to successfully complete an examination in optometry;
(6) was engaged in the active licensed clinical practice of optometry in a state or territory of the United States or in a province of Canada for at least 3,120 hours during the 36 months preceding the date of application under this section;
(7) has not committed an act in any jurisdiction that would have constituted a violation of this chapter or regulations adopted under this chapter at the time the act was committed; and
(8) has not been disciplined by an optometry licensing entity in another jurisdiction and is not the subject of a pending disciplinary proceeding conducted by an optometry licensing entity in another jurisdiction.
The board may impose disciplinary sanctions when the board finds after a hearing that a licensee
(1) secured a license through deceit, fraud, or intentional misrepresentation;
(2) engaged in deceit, fraud, or intentional misrepresentation in the course of providing professional services or engaging in professional activities;
(3) advertised professional services in a false or misleading manner;
(4) has been convicted of a felony or other crime which affects the licensee's ability to continue to practice competently and safely;
(5) intentionally or negligently engaged in or permitted the performance of patient care by persons under the licensee's supervision which does not conform to minimum professional standards regardless of whether actual injury to the patient occurred;
(6) failed to comply with this chapter, with a regulation adopted under this chapter, or with an order of the board;
(7) continued to practice after becoming unfit due to
(A) professional incompetence;
(B) failure to keep informed of or use current professional theories or practices;
(C) addiction or severe dependency on alcohol or other drugs which impairs the licensee's ability to practice safely;
(D) physical or mental disability;
(8) engaged in lewd or immoral conduct in connection with the delivery of professional service to patients;
(9) failed to refer a patient to a physician after ascertaining the presence of ocular or systemic conditions requiring management by a physician.
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