Washington Administrative Code
Title 246 - Health, Department of
PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS AND LICENSING
Chapter 246-851 - Optometrists
FACILITIES AND PRACTICE MANAGEMENT STANDARDS
Section 246-851-400 - Certification required for use of pharmaceutical agents
Current through Register Vol. 24-18, September 15, 2024
(1) Licensed optometrists using pharmaceutical agents in the practice of optometry shall have a minimum of sixty hours of didactic and clinical instruction in general and ocular pharmacology as applied to optometry, and for therapeutic purposes an additional minimum seventy-five hours of didactic and clinical instruction, and certification from an institution of higher learning, accredited by those agencies recognized by the United States Office of Education or the Council on Post-Secondary Accreditation to qualify for certification by the optometry board to use drugs for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
(2) Optometrists must obtain the required instructions in both diagnostic and therapeutic categories in order to be eligible to qualify for certification to use drugs for therapeutic purposes.
(3) The instruction in ocular therapeutics must cover the following subject area in order to qualify for certification training:
Each subject area shall be covered in sufficient depth so that the optometrist will be informed about the general principles in the use of each drug category, drug side effects and contra indications, and for each disease covered the subjective symptoms, objective signs, diagnosis and recommended treatment and programs.
Statutory Authority: RCW 18.54.070. 91-22-061 (Order 210B), § 246-851-400, filed 11/1/91, effective 12/2/91; 91-06-025 (Order 119B), recodified as § 246-851-400, filed 2/26/91, effective 3/29/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 18.53.010. 89-17-040 (Order PM 853), § 308-53-330, filed 8/11/89, effective 9/11/89.
