HF 3720

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to health; requiring optometrists to provide 
  1.3             patients with copies of prescriptions for eyeglasses 
  1.4             and contact lenses; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 148. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [148.5705] [PATIENT ACCESS TO PRESCRIPTIONS FOR 
  1.8   EYEGLASSES AND CONTACT LENSES.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITION.] (a) For purposes of this 
  1.10  section, the following terms have the meanings given them. 
  1.11     (b) "Eye examination" means the process of determining the 
  1.12  refractive condition of a person's eyes or the presence of any 
  1.13  visual anomaly by the use of objective or subjective tests. 
  1.14     (c) "Patient" means any person who is given an eye 
  1.15  examination by an optometrist. 
  1.16     (d) "Prescription" means the written specifications for 
  1.17  eyeglass lenses or contact lenses that are derived from an eye 
  1.18  examination by an optometrist. 
  1.19     Subd. 2.  [COPIES OF PRESCRIPTIONS TO PATIENTS.] A licensed 
  1.20  optometrist must provide a patient with one copy of the 
  1.21  patient's prescription for eyeglass lenses or contact lenses 
  1.22  immediately after completing the patient's eye examination.  An 
  1.23  optometrist may refuse to give a patient a copy of the patient's 
  1.24  prescription until after the patient has paid for the eye 
  1.25  examination, but only if that optometrist would have required 
  2.1   immediate payment from the patient if the examination revealed 
  2.2   that no eyeglasses, components of eyeglasses, or contact lenses 
  2.3   were needed by the patient. 
  2.4      Subd. 3.  [EXEMPTION.] This section does not apply to any 
  2.5   optometrist employed by any federal, state, or local government 
  2.6   entity.