Florida Statutes
Chapter 463 - Optometry
463.0055 - Administration and Prescription of Ocular Pharmaceutical Agents.

(1)(a) Certified optometrists may administer and prescribe ocular pharmaceutical agents as provided in this section for the diagnosis and treatment of ocular conditions of the human eye and its appendages without the use of surgery or other invasive techniques. However, a licensed practitioner who is not certified may use topically applied anesthetics solely for the purpose of glaucoma examinations, but is otherwise prohibited from administering or prescribing ocular pharmaceutical agents.
(b) Before a certified optometrist may administer or prescribe oral ocular pharmaceutical agents, the certified optometrist must provide proof to the department of successful completion of a course and subsequent examination, approved by the board, on general and ocular pharmaceutical agents and the side effects of those agents. The course shall consist of 20 contact hours, all of which may be web-based. The first course and examination shall be presented by October 1, 2013, and shall be administered at least annually thereafter. The course and examination shall be developed and offered jointly by a statewide professional association of physicians in this state accredited to provide educational activities designated for the American Medical Association Physician’s Recognition Award (AMA PRA) Category 1 credit and a statewide professional association of licensed practitioners which provides board-approved continuing education on an annual basis. The board shall review and approve the content of the initial course and examination if the board determines that the course and examination adequately and reliably satisfy the criteria set forth in this section. The board shall thereafter annually review and approve the course and examination if the board determines that the content continues to adequately and reliably satisfy the criteria set forth in this section. Successful completion of the board-approved course and examination may be used by a certified optometrist to satisfy 20 hours of the continuing education requirements in s. 463.007(3), only for the biennial period in which the board-approved course and examination are taken. If a certified optometrist does not complete a board-approved course and examination under this section, the certified optometrist is only authorized to administer and prescribe topical ocular pharmaceutical agents.

(2)(a) The board shall establish a formulary of topical ocular pharmaceutical agents that may be prescribed and administered by a certified optometrist. The formulary shall consist of those topical ocular pharmaceutical agents that are appropriate to treat or diagnose ocular diseases and disorders and that the certified optometrist is qualified to use in the practice of optometry. The board shall establish, add to, delete from, or modify the topical formulary by rule. Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 120 to the contrary, the topical formulary rule becomes effective 60 days from the date it is filed with the Secretary of State.
(b) The formulary may be added to, deleted from, or modified according to the procedure described in paragraph (a). Any person who requests an addition, deletion, or modification of an authorized topical ocular pharmaceutical agent shall have the burden of proof to show cause why such addition, deletion, or modification should be made.
(c) The State Surgeon General shall have standing to challenge any rule or proposed rule of the board pursuant to s. 120.56. In addition to challenges for any invalid exercise of delegated legislative authority, the administrative law judge, upon such a challenge by the State Surgeon General, may declare all or part of a rule or proposed rule invalid if it:
1. Does not protect the public from any significant and discernible harm or damages;
2. Unreasonably restricts competition or the availability of professional services in the state or in a significant part of the state; or
3. Unnecessarily increases the cost of professional services without a corresponding or equivalent public benefit.
However, there shall not be created a presumption of the existence of any of the conditions cited in this subsection in the event that the rule or proposed rule is challenged.

(d) Upon adoption of the formulary required by this section, and upon each addition, deletion, or modification to the formulary, the board shall mail a copy of the amended formulary to each certified optometrist and to each pharmacy licensed by the state.

(3) In addition to the formulary of topical ocular pharmaceutical agents established by rule of the board, there is created a statutory formulary of oral ocular pharmaceutical agents, which includes the following agents:
(a) The following analgesics or their generic or therapeutic equivalents, which may not be administered or prescribed for more than 72 hours without consultation with a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 who is skilled in diseases of the eye:
1. Tramadol hydrochloride.
2. Acetaminophen 300 mg with No. 3 codeine phosphate 30 mg.

(b) The following antibiotics or their generic or therapeutic equivalents:
1. Amoxicillin with or without clavulanic acid.
2. Azithromycin.
3. Erythromycin.
4. Dicloxacillin.
5. Doxycycline/Tetracycline.
6. Keflex.
7. Minocycline.

(c) The following antivirals or their generic or therapeutic equivalents:
1. Acyclovir.
2. Famciclovir.
3. Valacyclovir.

(d) The following oral anti-glaucoma agents or their generic or therapeutic equivalents, which may not be administered or prescribed for more than 72 hours:
1. Acetazolamide.
2. Methazolamide.

Any oral ocular pharmaceutical agent that is listed in the statutory formulary set forth in this subsection and that is subsequently determined by the United States Food and Drug Administration to be unsafe for administration or prescription shall be considered to have been deleted from the formulary of oral ocular pharmaceutical agents. The oral ocular pharmaceutical agents on the statutory formulary set forth in this subsection may not otherwise be deleted by the board, the department, or the State Surgeon General.

(4) A certified optometrist shall be issued a prescriber number by the board. Any prescription written by a certified optometrist for an ocular pharmaceutical agent pursuant to this section shall have the prescriber number printed thereon. A certified optometrist may not administer or prescribe:
(a) A controlled substance listed in Schedule III, Schedule IV, or Schedule V of s. 893.03, except for an oral analgesic placed on the formulary pursuant to this section for the relief of pain due to ocular conditions of the eye and its appendages.
(b) A controlled substance for the treatment of chronic nonmalignant pain as defined in s. 456.44(1)(f).

History.—ss. 6, 21, ch. 86-289; s. 69, ch. 91-137; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 2, ch. 93-101; s. 223, ch. 96-410; s. 81, ch. 2008-6; s. 3, ch. 2013-26; s. 20, ch. 2016-105; s. 16, ch. 2018-13.