Reference is to Printer's Date 4/21/16-H.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting language and inserting:
/SECTION 1. Title 40 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 40-24-10. For purposes of this
chapter:
(1) 'Contact lenses'
means a lens placed directly on the surface of the eye,
regardless of whether it is intended to correct a visual defect,
and includes, but is not limited to, cosmetic, therapeutic, and
corrective lenses.
(2) 'Dispense' means
the act of providing a pair of spectacles or contact lenses to a
patient.
(3) 'Eye examination'
means an assessment of all or a portion of the ocular health
profile, which must include a complete written or electronic
medical history, as well as an assessment of the visual status
of a patient.
(4) 'Kiosk' means
automated equipment or an automated application, which is
designed to be used on a phone, computer, or internet-based
device that can be used in person or remotely to provide
refractive data or information.
(5) 'Patient' means a
person who submits to an eye examination in this State.
(6) 'Prescription'
means a provider's handwritten or electronic order to correct
refractive error that is based on an eye examination.
(7) 'Provider' means an
individual licensed by the South Carolina Board of Examiners in
Optometry or the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners.
(8) 'Spectacles' means
an optical instrument or device worn or used by an individual
that has one or more lenses designed to correct or remediate
vision deficits or needs of the individual wearer and are
commonly known as glasses, including spectacles that may be
adjusted by the wearer to achieve different types or levels of
visual correction or enhancement, and excluding over-the-counter
spectacles not intended to correct or enhance vision or sold
without consideration of the visual status of the individual
using the spectacles.
(9) 'Visual status'
means the assessment of the visual acuity, accommodation
amplitudes at the discretion of the provider, and ocular
alignment of the eyes in an uncorrected state and the best
corrected visual acuity achievable with the aid of a spectacle
or contact lens prescription; however, the assessment must not
be based solely on objective refractive data or information
generated by an automated testing device, including an auto
refractor or other electronic refractive-only testing device, to
provide a medical diagnosis or to establish a refractive error
for a patient as part of an eye examination.
Section 40-24-20. (A)
A person in this State may not dispense
spectacles or contact lenses to a patient without a valid
prescription from a provider.
(B) To be valid, a
prescription must contain an expiration date on spectacles or
contact lenses of one year from the date of examination by the
provider or a statement of the reasons why a shorter time is
appropriate based on the medical needs of the patient. The
prescription must take into consideration medical findings made
and refractive error discovered during the eye examination. If a
provider determines a patient is a suitable candidate for a
prescription for contact lenses or spectacles, a provider may
not thereafter refuse to issue a prescription for spectacles or
contact lenses to a patient.
(C) A prescription for
spectacles or contact lenses may not be based solely on the
refractive eye error of the human eye or be generated by a
kiosk.
(D) Violation of this
section constitutes misconduct as provided for in Sections
40-37-110 and 40-47-110. A provider who violates this section is
subject to the penalties authorized in Chapter 37, Title 40 or
Chapter 47, Title 40, as applicable."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.