PA Optometry Jurisprudence flashcards
PA Optometry Jurisprudence · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Board of Optometry authority
- The Pennsylvania State Board of Optometry licenses optometrists, sets continuing education and certification requirements, investigates complaints, and may suspend, revoke, or restrict licenses for violations.
- Licensure prerequisites
- Graduation from an accredited optometry school, passage of the NBEO examinations, and passage of the state jurisprudence examination are required before a Pennsylvania optometry license is issued.
- Biennial license renewal
- Pennsylvania optometry licenses renew every two years, requiring a renewal application, fee, and attestation of completed continuing education; practicing on an expired license is unlicensed practice.
- Continuing education hours
- Licensees must complete 24 continuing education hours per two-year renewal period, including required jurisprudence and, for therapeutically certified licensees, pharmacology or therapeutics hours.
- Inactive license status
- A licensee may request inactive status in writing; while inactive the licensee may not practice, and reactivation requires satisfying current CE, fee, and any Board reactivation requirements.
- Address change notification
- Licensees must notify the Board of a change of name or practice address within the regulatory timeframe; failing to receive a renewal notice does not excuse late renewal.
- Grounds for discipline
- Disciplinary grounds include fraud in obtaining a license, unlicensed practice, felony conviction, practicing while impaired, and violating the Practice Act, Board regulations, or a Board order.
- Standard of care defined
- The degree of care, skill, and judgment that a reasonably prudent optometrist would exercise in similar circumstances; departure from it supports a negligence or unprofessional conduct finding.
- Patient record requirements
- Each patient record must be legible and sufficient to justify the diagnosis and treatment, including history, examination findings, test results, diagnosis, treatment plan, and dated entries.
- Informed consent documentation
- Before risk-bearing procedures or therapeutic prescribing, the optometrist must discuss risks, benefits, and alternatives, obtain patient agreement, and document that discussion in the record.
- Delegation to assistants
- Unlicensed assistants may perform only delegated tasks not requiring optometric judgment; refraction, diagnosis, and treatment decisions remain the licensed optometrist's responsibility and require supervision.
- Prohibited fee splitting
- Paying or receiving compensation for patient referrals, or splitting fees in ways not authorized by law, is unprofessional conduct, as is misleading or untruthful advertising.
- Practicing while impaired
- Practicing optometry while impaired by alcohol, drugs, or a physical or mental condition that affects competence is a disciplinary offense and an independent basis for license action.
- Patient boundary violations
- Sexual contact with a patient or exploitation of the professional relationship for personal gain is unprofessional conduct subject to discipline, regardless of apparent patient consent.
- Child abuse reporting duty
- Pennsylvania licensees are mandated reporters and must report suspected child abuse to ChildLine; failure to report is a violation and may be prosecuted under the Child Protective Services Law.
- Duty to cooperate
- Refusing to produce patient records, appear at a Board interview, or otherwise cooperate with a Board investigation is itself an independent ground for disciplinary action.
- DPA certification
- Diagnostic pharmaceutical agent certification authorizes the optometrist to use topical diagnostic agents such as dilating and anesthetic drops for examination purposes only, not for treatment.
- TPA certification requirements
- Therapeutic certification requires an accredited degree, active license, Board-approved pharmacology education, and passage of the TPA/TMOD examination before the licensee may prescribe therapeutic agents.
- Glaucoma certification
- A separate credential beyond TPA certification, requiring additional Board-approved glaucoma education or training and passage of a recognized glaucoma examination before treating glaucoma.
- Scope without glaucoma certification
- A TPA-certified optometrist who lacks glaucoma certification may detect and refer suspected glaucoma but may not initiate or manage glaucoma treatment or prescribe glaucoma medications.
- Controlled substance limits
- Optometric prescribing is limited to topical and oral agents for ocular conditions within scope; Schedule II controlled substances and treatment of systemic disease fall outside optometric authority.
- Prescription documentation
- Before prescribing, the optometrist must document history, allergies, current medications, contraindications, and clinical findings supporting the drug, dose, and directions, and counsel the patient.
- Certification maintenance
- Therapeutic and glaucoma certifications must be maintained through renewal and required pharmacology continuing education; a lapsed certification removes prescribing authority until reinstated.
- Emergency care authority
- An optometrist may render emergency care within the scope of training but must refer the patient for definitive follow-up and document the emergency findings and the referral made.
- Contact lens prescription copy
- Under the FTC Contact Lens Rule, after a contact lens fitting the prescriber must automatically give the patient a copy of the prescription at no charge, even if not requested.
- Contact lens prescription contents
- The prescription must state patient name, examination and issue dates, prescriber name and contact information, lens power, base curve, diameter, brand, material, and expiration date.
- Contact lens prescription expiry
- A contact lens prescription expires no earlier than one year after issuance unless state law sets a different period; shorter periods require documented clinical justification.
- Eight business hour rule
- A seller must directly contact the prescriber to verify a contact lens prescription; if the prescriber does not respond within eight business hours, the prescription is presumed verified.
- Prescriber verification duty
- Prescribers must respond to contact lens verification requests within eight business hours and may refuse only for documented clinical reasons, retaining records of requests and refusals.
- Seller recordkeeping
- Contact lens sellers must retain prescriptions and verification records for at least three years and may not fill lenses without a valid prescription verified under the Rule.
- Eyeglass Rule copy duty
- The FTC Eyeglass Rule requires the prescriber to provide the patient a copy of the eyeglass prescription immediately after the examination, at no charge and without requiring a purchase.
- No waiver for eyeglasses
- A prescriber may not require a patient to sign a waiver or pay a fee to obtain an eyeglass prescription; patients may shop elsewhere for glasses and lenses.