As used in the Optometry Act:

A. "practice of optometry" means:

1. (1) the employment of any subjective or objective means or methods, including but not limited to the use of lenses, prisms, autorefractors or other automated testing devices, and includes the prescription or administration of drugs for the purpose of diagnosing the visual defects or abnormal conditions of the human eye and its adnexa;
2. (2) the employing, adapting or prescribing of preventive or corrective measures, including but not limited to lenses, prisms, contact or corneal lenses or other optical appliances, ocular exercises, vision therapy, vision training and vision rehabilitation services, and includes the prescription or administration of all drugs rational for the correction, relief or referral of visual defects or abnormal conditions of the human eye and its adnexa; and

3. (3) does not include the use of surgery or injections in the treatment of eye diseases except for the use of the following types of in-office minor surgical procedures:

   1. (a) non-laser removal, destruction or drainage of superficial eyelid lesions and conjunctival cysts;
   2. (b) removal of nonperforating foreign bodies from the cornea, conjunctiva and eyelid;
   3. (c) non-laser corneal debridement, culture, scrape or anterior puncture, not including removal of pterygium, corneal biopsy or removal of corneal neoplasias;
   4. (d) removal of eyelashes; and

   5. (e) probing, dilation, irrigation or closure of the tear drainage structures of the eyelid; scalpel use is to be applied only for the purpose of use on the skin surrounding the eye;

      B. "ophthalmic lens" means a lens that has a spherical, cylindrical or prismatic value, is ground pursuant to a prescription and is intended to be used as eyeglasses;

      C. "contact lens" means a lens to be worn on the anterior segment of the human eye;

      D. "prescription" means a written order by an optometrist or a physician for an individual patient for:

4. (1) ophthalmic lenses;
5. (2) contact lenses; or

6. (3) a pharmaceutical agent that is regulated pursuant to the New Mexico Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act [Chapter 26, Article 1 NMSA 1978];

   E. "eyeglasses" means an exterior optical device using ophthalmic lenses for the correction or relief of disturbances in and anomalies of human vision; and

   F. "board" means the board of optometry.

History: 1953 Comp., § 67-1-2, enacted by Laws 1973, ch. 353, § 2; 1977, ch. 30, § 1; 1979, ch. 3, § 1; 1985, ch. 241, § 2; 1995, ch. 20, § 2; 2003, ch. 274, § 1; 2007, ch. 277, § 1; 2015, ch. 131, § 1.

ANNOTATIONS

The 2015 amendment, effective June 19, 2015, amended the definition of prescription in the definitions section of the Optometry Act; and in Paragraph (3) of Subsection D, after "a", deleted "topical ocular pharmaceutical agent or an oral".

The 2007 amendment, effective April 2, 2007, added Paragraph (3) of Subsection A.

The 2003 amendment, effective June 20, 2003, rewrote this section to the extent that a detailed comparison is impracticable.

The 1995 amendment, effective July 1, 1995, in Paragraph A(2), inserted "preventive or corrective measures, including" and "and oral pharmaceutical agents as authorized in Section 61-2-10.2 NMSA 1978" in the first sentence, deleted "or any controlled substances" after "injections" and added the proviso at the end of the second sentence; inserted "or for an oral pharmaceutical agent as authorized in Section 61-2-10.2 NMSA 1978" and "Device" in the introductory paragraph of Subsection D; and made stylistic changes throughout the section.

"Optometry". — Optometry and the practice of optometry relate basically to the testing of the loss of eyesight and the correction thereof by the use of optical appliances or other means, not including drugs, medicines or surgery. 1958 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 58-158.

Duplicating of lens as "practice of optometry". — A person who duplicates an ophthalmic lens without a prescription is practicing optometry and as such must be licensed under the act or is in violation of the same. 1954 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 54-5909.

Contact lenses. — Even though not specifically named in former Optometry Practice Act, contact lenses could be considered a lens or other optical appliance. 1958 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 58-158.

Audiometric testing should not be undertaken by optometrist because the various healing arts professions should stay within the confines of their individual professions as defined by the separate licensing acts enacted by the state legislature. 1958 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 58-158.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 61 Am. Jur. 2d Physicians, Surgeons and Other Healers §§ 8, 39, 40.

70 C.J.S. Physicians, Surgeons, and Other Health-Care Providers §§ 3 to 5.