O-7, r. 11 - Regulation respecting the medications that may be administered and prescribed for therapeutic purposes by an optometrist and respecting the eye care that may be provided by an optometrist

Updated to 1 September 2012

This document has official status.

chapter O-7, r. 11

Regulation respecting the medications that may be administered and prescribed for therapeutic purposes by an optometrist and respecting the eye care that may be provided by an optometrist

Optometry Act

(chapter O-7, s. 19.4, 2nd par.).

DIVISION I GENERAL

1. An optometrist who holds a permit referred to in the second paragraph of section 19.2 of the Optometry Act (chapter O-7) may, in cases presenting conditions of mild morbidity of the eye and adnexa that require no invasive procedure, administer and prescribe for therapeutic purposes the medications in the categories listed in Schedule I, in accordance with the terms and conditions determined in this Regulation.

An optometrist may also, in accordance with the same terms and conditions, remove a superficial foreign body from the eye, provided there is no laceration or injury to the ocular globe.

O.C. 1025-2003, s. 1.

2. An optometrist must refer the patient to a physician if the patient’s condition does not adequately respond to treatment in the accepted or anticipated amount of time. An optometrist must also refer the patient to a physician if the signs and symptoms suggest a condition that is not one of mild morbidity, or that requires a physician to take charge of the patient.

O.C. 1025-2003, s. 2.

3. An optometrist who administers or prescribes medications must refer the patient to a physician if there is no clear and positive improvement within 72 hours of the beginning of the treatment, in the following cases:

(1)  an infectious ulcer smaller than 1 mm outside of the pupillary zone;

(2)  the presence of epithelial dendrites without stromal injury with infiltrate or melting, and without inflammation in the anterior chamber;

(3)  corneal infiltrates smaller than 1 mm, with no epithelial defect; and

(4)  sectorial inflammation of the episclera, without ischemia or melting.

The optometrist must also refer the patient to a physician in those cases if the condition does not resolve within the accepted or anticipated amount of time, or at the latest, within 7 days of the beginning of the treatment.

An optometrist may not intervene in cases in which the conditions are more serious than those described in the first paragraph.

O.C. 1025-2003, s. 3.

4. An optometrist who uses medications to treat an inflammation of the anterior chamber without hypopyon, vitritis or lesion of the cornea must refer the patient to a physician within 72 hours of the beginning of the treatment.

O.C. 1025-2003, s. 4.

DIVISION II GLAUCOMA

5. Notwithstanding section 1, an optometrist who holds a permit referred to in the second paragraph of section 19.2 of the Optometry Act (chapter O-7) may, in cases of glaucoma, renew or change a prescription for anti-glaucoma medications.

The optometrist must, however, prior to every renewal or change, obtain verbal or written approval from the original prescribing physician or from the physician designated by the original prescribing physician. The optometrist must, in addition, write the name and professional permit number of the physician from whom consent was obtained on the prescription.

O.C. 1025-2003, s. 5.

6. As of 23 October 2003, this division applies to optometrists whose professional domicile at the time the prescription is renewed or changed is in the territory of one of the following regions, as described in Schedule I to the Décret concernant la révision des limites des régions administratives du Qubec (chapter D-11, r. 1), as it reads on the date it applies:

(1)  Abitibi-Témiscamingue ;

(2)  Bas-Saint-Laurent;

(3)  Centre-du-Québec;

(4)  Mauricie;

(5)  Montérégie; or

(6)  Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean;

As of 23 October 2004, this section also applies to optometrists whose professional domicile at the time the prescription is renewed or changed is in the territory of one of the following regions, as described in Schedule I to the Décret concernant la révision des limites des régions administratives du Québec:

(1)  Chaudière-Appalaches;

(2)  Côte-Nord;

(3)  Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine;

(4)  Lanaudière; or

(5)  Outaouais;

As of 23 October 2005, this division applies throughout Québec.

O.C. 1025-2003, s. 6.

7. (Omitted).

O.C. 1025-2003, s. 7.

SCHEDULE I

(s. 1)

Note: The medications without specifications are to be administered topically.

(1) Mydriatics

(2) Local anesthetics, except cocaine, to remove a superficial foreign body from the eye

(3) Anti-allergic agents

— Antihistamines

— Mast cell stabilizers

(4) Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications

(5) Corticosteroids

(6) Anti-infectives

— Antibiotics

— Miscellaneous anti-infectives

— Antivirals

(7) Corticosteroids and anti-infectives in combination

(8) Lubricants

(9) Miscellaneous ophthalmic: hyperosmotic agents

(10) Oral vitamins, except those listed in Schedule F to the Food and Drug Regulations (C.R.C., c. 870)

(11) Vasoconstrictor agents

(12) Anti-glaucoma medications, in the cases and conditions set out in Division II

O.C. 1025-2003, Sch. I.

REFERENCES

O.C. 1025-2003, 2003 G.O. 2, 3139