Bill > A02202

This bill amends the New York Education Law to expand the definitions of diagnostic and therapeutic pharmaceutical agents used by optometrists. The changes broaden the scope of where these drugs can be applied from just "the surface of the eye" to include the "eye and adnexa" (the surrounding eye structures), and remove the previously enumerated specific types of drugs within each category. Instead of listing exact types of drugs, the bill now allows optometrists to use FDA-approved and commercially available topical therapeutic pharmaceutical agents for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The legislation also modifies certification requirements for optometrists, allowing those certified in other jurisdictions for at least five years and who have demonstrated independent patient management to be eligible for certification in New York. These changes effectively provide optometrists with more flexibility in using pharmaceutical agents for eye care, while maintaining the requirement that all drugs must be FDA-approved and commercially available for topical use.

Education

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A2202