| 4 | 11 | | |
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| 5 | 12 | | AN ACT CONCERNING CONSUMER PROTECTION IN EYE CARE. |
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| 6 | 13 | | |
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| 7 | 14 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: |
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| 8 | 15 | | |
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| 9 | 16 | | Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2017) (a) As used in this section: |
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| 10 | 17 | | |
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| 11 | 18 | | (1) "Contact lens" means any lens placed directly on the surface of the eye, regardless of whether or not the lens is intended to correct a visual defect, including, but not limited to, any cosmetic, therapeutic or corrective lens; |
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| 12 | 19 | | |
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| 13 | 20 | | (2) "Eye examination" means a physical assessment of the ocular health and visual status of a patient that may include, but does not consist solely of, objective refractive data or information generated by an automated testing device, including, but not limited to, a remote refractive device, in order to establish a medical diagnosis or for the correction of vision disorders; |
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| 14 | 21 | | |
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| 15 | 22 | | (3) "Initial prescription" means a provider's handwritten or electronic contact lens prescription, as defined in 15 USC 7610, that the provider issues the first time the provider fits a patient with a contact lens; |
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| 16 | 23 | | |
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| 17 | 24 | | (4) "In-person evaluation" means a patient evaluation conducted by a provider who is at the same physical location as the location of the patient; |
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| 18 | 25 | | |
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| 19 | 26 | | (5) "Provider" means an optometrist licensed pursuant to chapter 380 of the general statutes or a physician licensed pursuant to chapter 370 of the general statutes who specializes in ophthalmology; and |
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| 20 | 27 | | |
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| 21 | 28 | | (6) "Remote refractive device" means automated equipment or an application designed to be used on a telephone, computer or Internet-based device that can be used either in person or remotely to conduct a test to determine the refractive status of the eyes. |
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| 22 | 29 | | |
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| 23 | 30 | | (b) A provider may not use the data or information obtained from the administration of a test using a remote refractive device as the sole basis for issuing an initial prescription or renewing an initial prescription. No provider shall issue an initial prescription to or renew an initial prescription for a patient without having performed an in-person evaluation and an eye examination of the patient. |
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| 31 | + | |
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| 32 | + | (c) The expiration date of (1) an initial contact lens prescription shall be one year after the date of issuance, and (2) a contact lens prescription that is a renewal of an initial contact lens prescription shall not be earlier than one year after the date of issuance or later than two years after the date of issuance, unless the patient's history or current circumstances establish a reasonable probability of changes in the patient's vision of sufficient magnitude to necessitate reexamination earlier than one year after the issuance of the prescription, or the presence or probability of visual abnormalities related to ocular or systemic disease indicate the need for reexamination of the patient earlier than one year after the issuance of the prescription. If the expiration date of a prescription is less than one year for an initial contact lens prescription or a renewal of an initial contact lens prescription, the provider shall document the health-related reasons for the limitation in the patient's medical record. No provider shall issue a prescription with an expiration date that is less than the period of time recommended by such provider for reexamination of the patient. For the purposes of this subsection, the date of issuance is the date the patient receives a copy of the prescription. |
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| 33 | + | |
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| 34 | + | |
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| 35 | + | |
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| 36 | + | |
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| 37 | + | This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: |
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| 38 | + | Section 1 October 1, 2017 New section |
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| 39 | + | |
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| 40 | + | This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: |
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| 41 | + | |
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| 42 | + | Section 1 |
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| 43 | + | |
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| 44 | + | October 1, 2017 |
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| 45 | + | |
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| 46 | + | New section |
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| 47 | + | |
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| 48 | + | |
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| 49 | + | |
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| 50 | + | PH Joint Favorable Subst. |
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| 51 | + | |
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| 52 | + | PH |
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| 53 | + | |
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| 54 | + | Joint Favorable Subst. |
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