Code of Massachusetts Regulations
235 CMR - BOARD OF REGISTRATION OF DISPENSING OPTICIANS
Title 235 CMR 2.00 - Definitions, Board Procedures and Requirements for Full Licensure
Section 2.04 - Definitions

As used in 235 CMR, the following terms shall have the following meanings, unless the context in which they are used clearly requires otherwise:

American Board of Opticianry or ABO. The American Board of Opticianry.

Apprentice Optician. An individual who is registered with the Board and the Division of Apprentice Standards as an apprentice optician pursuant to M.G.L. c. 112, § 73K and 235 CMR 4.03: Application for Registration as an Apprentice Optician, is obtaining the experience and training in opticianry required in order to qualify for a license as a dispensing optician pursuant to 235 CMR 2.07 or 2.08, and performs or provides opticianry functions or services under the supervision of an individual who meets the requirements of 235 CMR 4.07: Employment and Supervision of Apprentice Opticians and in accordance with the applicable requirements of 235 CMR 4.00: Apprenticeship Requirements and Procedures.

Board. The Massachusetts Board of Registration of Dispensing Opticians, established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 13, § 48.

Business Organization or Entity. Any sole proprietorship; any partnership; any domestic or foreign business corporation; any domestic or foreign professional corporation; any limited liability company or foreign limited liability company as defined in M.G.L. c. 156C, § 2; any registered limited liability partnership or foreign registered limited liability partnership as defined in M.G.L. c. 108A, § 2; any association; or any other business organization or entity, however named and whether or not it is conducted for profit.

Commission on Opticianry Accreditation or COA. The Commission on Opticianry Accreditation, which grants accreditation to college or university-based educational programs in opticianry.

Contact Hour. A unit of not less than 50 consecutive minutes of organized learning experience in an approved continuing education course, program, seminar, workshop or other approved continuing education activity.

Contact Lens Prescription. A written order bearing the original handwritten or electronic signature of a duly licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist, or an oral order issued directly by a duly licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist, which authorizes the provision of specified rigid or soft contact lenses to a patient.

Contact Lens Registry Examination. The Contact Lens Registry Examination developed and administered by the National Contact Lens Examiners and/or its agents.

Continuing Education Activities. Any course, program, seminar, workshop or other educational activity which provides information or knowledge which contributes directly to the professional competence of dispensing opticians and which meets the requirements of 235 CMR 3.04: Verification of Continuing Education Activities.

Dispensing Optician. An individual who prepares and dispenses lenses, spectacles, eyeglasses, contact lenses and/or appliances thereto to the intended wearer or user thereof pursuant to written contact lens or eyeglass prescriptions from a duly licensed physician or duly registered optometrist, and who, in accordance with such prescriptions, interprets, measures, adapts, fits and adjusts such lenses, spectacles, eyeglasses, contact lenses, or appliances to the human eyes and/or face for the purpose of aiding or correcting visual or ocular anomalies of the human eyes.

Division of Apprentice Standards. The Division of Apprentice Standards within the Massachusetts Department of Labor and Workforce Development, established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 23, §§ 11E through 11L.

Employer. A licensed dispensing optician, an optometrist duly registered to practice optometry in Massachusetts, or a duly licensed physician registered to practice medicine in Massachusetts who employs and supervises an apprentice optician while that apprentice optician obtains the experience and training in opticianry required in order to qualify for a license as a dispensing optician pursuant to 235 CMR 2.07 or 2.08.

Eyeglass Prescription. A written order bearing the original handwritten or electronic signature of a duly licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist, or an oral order issued directly by a duly-licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist, authorizing the provision of specified ophthalmic lenses or spectacle eyeglasses to a patient.

License. A license certificate, issued by the Board pursuant to M.G.L. c. 112, § 73E and 235 CMR 2.07 or 2.08 which authorizes a named individual to lawfully engage in the practice of opticianry in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Licensed Dispensing Optician. A dispensing optician who meets the qualifications set forth in M.G.L. c. 112, § 73E and 235 CMR 2.07 or 2.08 and who is licensed by the Board to engage in the practice of opticianry in accordance with 235 CMR.

National Contact Lens Examiners or NCLE. The National Contact Lens Examiners.

National Opticianry Competency Examination. The National Opticianry Competency Examination developed and administered by the American Board of Opticianry and/or its agents.

Optical Goods Establishment. Any business organization or entity, however named and whether or not it is conducted for profit, which engages in selling, furnishing or otherwise providing ophthalmic lenses, eyeglasses, spectacles, or contact lenses to members of the general public.

Optometrist. An individual who is duly licensed to practice optometry in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Optometry pursuant to M.G.L. c. 112, §§ 66 through 73B and 246 CMR; or an individual who is duly licensed or registered to practice optometry pursuant to the laws of another state, territory or political subdivision of the United States (including but not limited to the District of Columbia or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico).

Physician. An individual who is duly licensed to practice medicine in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine pursuant to M.G.L. c. 112, § 2 and 243 CMR; or an individual who is duly licensed or registered to practice medicine pursuant to the laws of another state, territory or political subdivision of the United States (including but not limited to the District of Columbia or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico).

Practice of Opticianry. Includes, but shall not necessarily be limited to, the performance of the following functions and/or services:

(a) Preparing ophthalmic lenses, contact lenses, spectacles, eyeglasses and/or associated appliances pursuant to, and in accordance with, the terms of a contact lens prescription or eyeglass prescription issued by a duly registered optometrist or duly licensed ophthalmologist;

(b) Verifying that ophthalmic lenses, contact lenses, spectacles, eyeglasses and/or associated appliances conform to the terms of the applicable contact lens prescription or eyeglass prescription issued by a duly registered optometrist or duly licensed ophthalmologist;

(c) Dispensing ophthalmic lenses, contact lenses, spectacles, eyeglasses and/or associated appliances to the intended wearer or user thereof, except as set forth in 235 CMR 5.06: Restrictions on Practice of Opticianry by Business Organizations or Entities;

(d) Interpreting or measuring ophthalmic lenses, contact lenses, spectacles, eyeglasses and/or associated appliances for the purpose of aiding or correcting visual or ocular anomalies of the eyes of the intended wearer or user of such lenses, spectacles, eyeglasses or appliances; and

(e) Adapting, fitting or adjusting ophthalmic lenses, contact lenses, spectacles, eyeglasses and/or associated appliances to the human face and/or eyes of the intended wearer or user for the purpose of aiding or correcting visual or ocular anomalies.

Registered Pharmacy. Any business organization or entity which is registered, licensed or otherwise authorized to operate as a pharmacy, wholesale druggist or drug business in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy pursuant to M.G.L. c. 112, §§ 24 through 42A and 247 CMR.