Legislature(2023 - 2024)BARNES 124
04/08/2024 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB55 | |
| HB313 | |
| SB147 | |
| HB309 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 309 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 394 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 187 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 378 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 313 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 55 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 147 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 309-DELEGATION OF ROUTINE OPTOMETRY SERVICES
3:53:34 PM
CHAIR SUMNER announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 309, "An Act relating to the practice of
optometry; and relating to the delegation of routine services of
optometry."
3:54:14 PM
The committee took an at-ease at 3:55 p.m.
[Chair Sumner passed the gavel to Representative Wright.]
3:55:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE, prime sponsor, presented HB 309. He
said the bill is a simple update to the optometry practice to
allow the delegation of certain duties to an assistant within
the practice. He described the update as a necessary one to
match current optometry business practices.
3:55:57 PM
JAMES SEXTON, Staff, Representative Justin Ruffridge, Alaska
State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Ruffridge, prime
sponsor, gave a PowerPoint presentation, entitled "HB 309
Optometry Practices" [hard copy included in the committee
packet]. He began on slide 2, "Issue," which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
• Optometric practices do not have current statute
language to allow the Board of Examiners of Optometry
to regulate delegation of routine tasks to Optometric
Technicians and Assistants
• Delegation of basic routine tasks are standard
practice in other health professions licensed in
Alaska, as well as optometric practices nationwide
• Without this authority, Optometrists would be
required to perform all preliminary and ancillary
testing on each patient, which would greatly restrict
access to care.
MR. SEXTON continued to slide 3, "Other Healthcare professions
in Alaska," which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
• Professions in Alaska that have solved this problem
with incorporating delegation authority include:
• Medical Doctors, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine,
Podiatry, Physician Assistants (08.64.106)
• Dental (08.32.346)
• Veterinary (08.98.050 (9,B))
• Pharmacy (08.80.030,(9))
• Chiropractic (08.20.168)
MR. SEXTON advanced to slide 4, "Examples of routine tasks,"
which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
• Initial patient medical history and reason for visit
• Initial assessment of vision and current
prescription verification
• Blood pressure screenings and automated measurements
of the eye
• Ocular photography and digital imaging for review by
the doctor
• Assisting in medication refills
• Performing peripheral vision testing for
interpretation by the doctor
MR. SEXTON turned to slide 5, "Current challenges," which read
as follows [original punctuation provided]:
• In the absence of the ability to delegate tasks,
Optometry will be less efficient and effective at
meeting the demand of patient care that exists in the
state currently.
• Optometry is projected to grow in the future.
• Adding a logistical and financial burden to current
and future Optometrists may contribute to the shortage
of healthcare professionals.
MR. SEXTON proceeded to slide 6, "HB 309 Impacts," which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
• This bill will have no impact on billing practices
and will not increase costs to the patient population.
• The impact of passing this bill will be to ensure
that patients continue to receive appropriate and
effective care supervised by licensed Optometric
Physicians in Alaska.
MR. SEXTON concluded on slide 7, "Support," which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
The Alaska Optometric Association supports this
legislative approach and action.
• HB 309 brings Optometrists in line with other health
related professions in Alaska.
3:59:46 PM
BRADLEY CROSS, Chair, Board of Examiners in Optometry, gave
invited testimony during the hearing on HB 309. He said that
optometry is responsible for maintaining the eye health of all
Alaskans, adding that the profession is economically beneficial,
sustainable, and good for Alaska. He said that it is
commonplace elsewhere in the world for technicians to perform
duties to free up the time of optometrists, and that this
legislation would ensure that optometrists have the backing of
our state statutes when they relegate tasks to technicians and
assistants in the practice. He said that the State Board of
Optometry is prepared to spell out guidelines for the regulatory
implementation of HB 309.
4:04:02 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked how to define an agent of an
optometrist.
MR. CROSS said the role of "optometric technician" would be
defined in regulation.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER sought to confirm that an agent would be
an optometric technician, which would be defined by regulation.
MR. CROSS said "what they would be allowed to do" would be
defined in regulation.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked how the board might draft
regulations to specify an agent of optometry's role.
MR. CROSS said the agent would be defined as the optometric
technician and the assistant to the optometrist. Required
training and oversight would also be defined.
4:05:58 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK asked whether optometrists are currently
required to work within the practice of an ophthalmologist.
MR. CROSS answered no. In addition to a follow up question from
Representative Carrick, he explained that eye care provided
outside the scope of optometry would not be addressed by HB 309.
REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE, in response to Representative Carrick,
he explained that an optometrist could delegate a machine-
driven, routine service in a rural community to an on-site
technician and analyze the results remotely with a telehealth
visit.
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK inquired about the restrictions on an
optometrist providing remote telehealth services.
REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE said that is some of the impetus behind
this bill, as the board has been unable to draft regulations to
address that question.
MR. CROSS agreed that telehealth would necessitate that an
optometry licensee be supervising an optometric assistant. He
noted that the board has precluded complete eye exams with
determination of a refraction from being performed via
telehealth. Consequently, the telehealth component for
optometry would be consultation and follow up more so than
ancillary testing.
4:10:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether there is national
certification for optometric technicians.
MR. CROSS answered yes, the American Optometric Association has
created a program and guidelines for that certification.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether national certification
should be a regulatorily defined requirement for someone to
function as an optometric technician.
MR. CROSS said while it would be valuable, most technicians are
trained on the job so the requirement would be unnecessary. In
response to a follow up question, he said passage of the bill
would prevent increased costs for patients.
4:12:26 PM
ELIZABETH STEVENS, Executive Director, Alaska Optometric
Association (AKOA), gave invited testimony in support of HB 309,
which would grant the board the authority to draft regulation
regarding the delegation of routine optometric services. She
said the AKOA strongly supports the bill.
4:13:44 PM
DAMIEN DELZER, President-Elect, Alaska Optometric Association
(AKOA), gave invited testimony in support of HB 309. He
explained that HB 309 is legislation requested by the Board of
Examiners in Optometry due to the statute being outdated. He
said that it is industry standard for optometry practices to
relegate tasks to technicians and associates, and HB 309 would
bring Alaska up to speed with the rest of the country. He said
the bill would would reduce demand on optometrists and free them
up for consultation and treatment. It would also allow
technicians to provide assistance to optometrists via statute.
He emphasized the AKOA's strong support for HB 309.
4:17:26 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER questioned the value of using national
certification as a qualifier for providing optometric services.
MR. DELZER reiterated that most optometric assistance receive
training on the job and would have the opportunity to sit for
various levels of examinations given by the American Optometric
Association to obtain additional qualifications as they
progress. Ultimately, he opined that using the national
certification as a prerequisite would be a barrier.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether the examinations for the
national certifications occur every year or level by level.
MR. DELZER said the American Optometric Association has four
levels of examination for paraoptometric certification. In
response to a follow up question, he confirmed that a technician
who received increasing levels of certification would receive
higher levels of compensation.
4:20:57 PM
CHAIR WRIGHT opened public testimony on HB 309. After
ascertaining that no one wished to testify, he closed public
testimony and announced that the bill would be held over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB 309 presentation.pdf |
HL&C 4/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
HB 309 |
| HB 309- support as of 4.724.pdf |
HL&C 4/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
HB 309 |
| HB 309 AAO Letter_AK_House Labor & Commerce.pdf |
HL&C 4/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
HB 309 |
| HB 309 Sectional Analysis.pdf |
HL&C 4/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
HB 309 |
| HB 309 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HL&C 4/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
HB 309 |
| HB 309 fiscal note DCCED_Coprs,Businesses, Prof licensing as of 3.15.24.pdf |
HL&C 4/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
HB 309 |
| HB 309- Memo regarding Delegation Authority.pdf |
HL&C 4/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
HB 309 |
| HB226 Version U (CS for HLC).pdf |
HL&C 4/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
HB 226 |
| HB226 Explanation of Changes Ver. S to Ver. U.pdf |
HL&C 4/8/2024 3:15:00 PM |
HB 226 |