SECTION 505:10-5-16. Therapeutic Pharmaceutical Agent certificate required after June 30, 2006

  The Board recognizes that the widespread use by optometrists of therapeutic pharmaceutical agents, as authorized by law and under the regulation of the Board, has provided profound benefits for the ocular health of Oklahoma citizens who are patients of doctors of optometry. The Board further recognizes that only a small number of licensed optometrists in Oklahoma have not been certified to administer therapeutic pharmaceutical agents and that patients of those doctors may find themselves at a disadvantage because they cannot obtain the full range of treatment necessary to guarantee their visual welfare. Therefore, the Board shall not renew the license of any optometrist to practice after June 30, 2006 unless that optometrist has completed the necessary education and secured from the Board a certificate to administer therapeutic pharmaceutical agents.

[Source: Added at 19 Ok Reg 2978, eff 9-13-02]