Optometry Practice Act: Scope of Practice and Definitions
What this domain covers
This domain tests the Connecticut Optometry Practice Act (Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 20-127 et seq., Chapter 380) and the boundary between optometric care and other health professions. Expect definition questions, scope questions, and referral scenarios.
Core rules
- Licensure required. A person may not practice optometry without a Connecticut license issued by the Department of Public Health (DPH) through the Board of Examiners for Optometrists.
- Practice defined. Optometry includes examining the eye by subjective and objective means to detect defects or abnormal conditions; prescribing and adapting lenses, prisms, and contact lenses; orthoptics; and other services authorized by statute and regulation.
- TPA authority. Licensed optometrists may use and prescribe pharmaceutical agents for diagnosis and treatment of conditions of the eye and adnexa, subject to the statutory formulary and training requirements. Authority is not a general medical license.
- Excluded acts. Surgery, invasive procedures, and treatment of systemic disease outside the ocular/adnexal scope are not authorized unless a specific statute or regulation permits the act.
- Referral duty. When findings exceed optometric scope or require co-management, the optometrist must refer promptly and document the reason.
- Delegation limits. Assistants may perform delegated tasks, but they may not diagnose, make independent clinical judgments, or prescribe.
Worked example
A patient presents with a red eye. The optometrist stains the cornea, diagnoses bacterial conjunctivitis, and prescribes a topical antibiotic. That is within TPA authority. If the same eye shows a hyphema, decreased vision, and trauma history, the optometrist should stabilize, document, and refer for ophthalmologic evaluation rather than treat beyond scope. The key is not the diagnosis label but whether the required act is authorized.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating "optometry" as unlimited primary care because the optometrist can prescribe some drugs.
- Missing that contact lens fitting and prescription release are part of optometric practice.
- Delegating clinical judgment to unlicensed staff.
- Failing to document a referral or the reason for it.
- Assuming a listed procedure is permitted without checking the statute or regulation.