AB 1226

Under current law, an optometrist may be subject to professional discipline for

engaging in unprofessional conduct. The Optometry Examining Board has

promulgated rules specifying that unprofessional conduct includes failing to release,

at no cost to the patient, a copy of the patient's spectacle lens prescription or contact

lens prescription following release of the patient from contact lens fitting and initial

follow-up care. The board's rules further define “contact lens prescription” and “lens

prescription,” so as to specify the minimum requirements for such prescriptions.

This bill codifies into statute that unprofessional conduct by an optometrist

includes failing to release, at no cost to the patient, a copy of the patient's spectacle

lens prescription or contact lens prescription following release of the patient from

contact lens fitting and initial follow-up care. The bill further provides that the

board must define by rule what such prescriptions must include. However, the bill

specifically requires that a spectacle lens prescription include a measurement of the

patient's pupillary distance, which is not required under the board's current rules.