1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to health; requiring optometrists and 
  1.3             ophthalmologists to give patients copies of their 
  1.4             prescriptions for contact lenses; establishing other 
  1.5             requirements for access to and the content of 
  1.6             prescriptions for contact lenses; proposing coding for 
  1.7             new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 145. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  [145.711] [DEFINITIONS.] 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [APPLICATION.] For purposes of sections 
  1.11  145.711 to 145.714, the following definitions apply. 
  1.12     Subd. 2.  [DISPENSING.] "Dispensing" means the retail 
  1.13  delivery of ophthalmic goods to a patient.  
  1.14     Subd. 3.  [FITTING.] "Fitting" means the performance of 
  1.15  mechanical procedures and measurements necessary to adapt and 
  1.16  fit contact lenses after an eye examination and supervision of 
  1.17  the trial wearing of the contact lenses, which may require 
  1.18  revisions during the trial period. 
  1.19     Subd. 4.  [OPHTHALMIC GOODS.] "Ophthalmic goods" means 
  1.20  eyeglasses, one or more eyeglass components for which a 
  1.21  prescription is required, or contact lenses. 
  1.22     Subd. 5.  [OPHTHALMIC SERVICES.] "Ophthalmic services" 
  1.23  means the measuring, fitting, adjusting, fabricating, or 
  1.24  prescribing of ophthalmic goods after an eye examination.  
  1.25     Subd. 6.  [OPTOMETRIST.] "Optometrist" means an individual 
  1.26  licensed to practice optometry under sections 148.52 to 148.62. 
  2.1      Subd. 7.  [PATIENT.] "Patient" means a person who has had 
  2.2   an eye examination. 
  2.3      Subd. 8.  [PRESCRIPTION.] "Prescription" means a written 
  2.4   directive from an optometrist or physician for contact lenses 
  2.5   that must include the manufacturer's brand name, power, base 
  2.6   curve, the name and telephone number of the prescribing 
  2.7   optometrist or physician, patient's name, and the expiration 
  2.8   date of the prescription.  If applicable, the prescription may 
  2.9   also include diameter, axis, add power, cylinder, peripheral 
  2.10  curve, optical zone, or center thickness. 
  2.11     Subd. 9.  [PHYSICIAN.] "Physician" means an individual 
  2.12  licensed to practice medicine under chapter 147. 
  2.13     Sec. 2.  [145.712] [REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTACT LENSES 
  2.14  PRESCRIPTIONS.] 
  2.15     Subdivision 1.  [COPY OF PRESCRIPTION.] An optometrist or 
  2.16  physician must provide a patient with a copy of the patient's 
  2.17  prescription upon completion of the patient's eye examination 
  2.18  and fitting.  An optometrist or physician may refuse to give a 
  2.19  patient a copy of the patient's prescription until after the 
  2.20  patient has paid for the eye examination and fitting, but only 
  2.21  if the optometrist or physician would have required immediate 
  2.22  payment from that patient if the examination had revealed that 
  2.23  no ophthalmic goods were required. 
  2.24     Subd. 2.  [PRESCRIPTION EXPIRATION DATE.] A prescription 
  2.25  written by an optometrist or physician must expire two years 
  2.26  after it is written, unless a different expiration date is 
  2.27  warranted by the patient's ocular health.  If the prescription 
  2.28  is valid for less than two years, the optometrist or physician 
  2.29  must note the medical reason for the prescription's expiration 
  2.30  date in the patient's record and must orally explain to the 
  2.31  patient at the time of the eye examination the reason for the 
  2.32  prescription's expiration date. 
  2.33     Subd. 3.  [PRESCRIPTION VERIFICATION.] An optometrist or 
  2.34  physician must promptly respond to any request received from a 
  2.35  physician, optometrist, optician, or contact lens retailer to 
  2.36  verify a patient's prescription information in order for the 
  3.1   person requesting the information to accurately dispense the 
  3.2   contact lenses.  Verification must be requested by telephone, 
  3.3   fax, or through electronic communications during the 
  3.4   prescriber's normal business hours.  Consistently failing to 
  3.5   respond to verification requests within a reasonable period of 
  3.6   time is grounds for disciplinary action by the respective 
  3.7   regulatory board.  
  3.8      Subd. 4.  [PROHIBITED CONDUCT.] When filling a contact lens 
  3.9   prescription, no optometrist, physician, or contact lens 
  3.10  retailer may: 
  3.11     (1) substitute or in any way dispense a different contact 
  3.12  lens than the contact lens ordered on the prescription; 
  3.13     (2) dispense a contact lens for a period of time beyond the 
  3.14  written expiration date; or 
  3.15     (3) dispense contact lenses that are not based on 
  3.16  prescription parameters pursuant to a valid prescription.  
  3.17     Subd. 5.  [DISPENSING RECORDS.] A copy of the dispensing 
  3.18  records must be kept on file at the dispensing location for a 
  3.19  period of no less than two years. 
  3.20     Sec. 3.  [145.713] [OPTOMETRIST AND PHYSICIAN PRACTICES.] 
  3.21     Subdivision 1.  [PROHIBITED CONDUCT.] No optometrist or 
  3.22  physician may: 
  3.23     (1) condition the availability of an eye examination or the 
  3.24  release of a prescription to a patient on a requirement that the 
  3.25  patient agree to purchase ophthalmic goods from the optometrist 
  3.26  or physician who performed the eye examination or from another 
  3.27  specified optometrist or physician; 
  3.28     (2) charge a patient a fee in addition to the optometrist's 
  3.29  or physician's examination and fitting fees as a condition of 
  3.30  releasing the prescription to the patient.  An optometrist or 
  3.31  physician may charge a reasonable additional fee for fitting 
  3.32  ophthalmic goods dispensed by another practitioner if that fee 
  3.33  is imposed at the time the fitting is performed; or 
  3.34     (3) prescribe a manufacturer's brand name contact lens that 
  3.35  can only be dispensed through the prescribing physician or 
  3.36  optometrist's office. 
  4.1      Subd. 2.  [CONTRAINDICATIONS FOR CONTACT LENSES.] If an 
  4.2   optometrist or physician determines that a patient's ocular 
  4.3   health presents a contraindication for contact lenses, the 
  4.4   optometrist or physician must orally inform the patient of the 
  4.5   contraindication and must document the contraindication in the 
  4.6   patient's records.  An optometrist or physician may exclude 
  4.7   categories of contact lenses where clinically indicated. 
  4.8      Subd. 3.  [WAIVERS OF LIABILITY PROHIBITED.] No optometrist 
  4.9   or physician may place on a patient's prescription, require a 
  4.10  patient to sign, or deliver to a patient a form or notice 
  4.11  waiving liability or responsibility for the accuracy of the eye 
  4.12  examination or the accuracy of the ophthalmic goods and 
  4.13  ophthalmic services dispensed by another practitioner.  
  4.14  Prohibiting waivers of liability under this subdivision does not 
  4.15  impose liability on an optometrist or physician for the 
  4.16  ophthalmic goods or ophthalmic services dispensed by another 
  4.17  practitioner pursuant to the optometrist's or physician's 
  4.18  prescription. 
  4.19     Sec. 4.  [145.714] [ENFORCEMENT.] 
  4.20     Failure to comply with sections 145.711 to 145.713 shall be 
  4.21  grounds for disciplinary action by the board of optometry or the 
  4.22  board of medical practice.