Optometry, Board of Examiners in

Optometry, Board of Examiners in

Chapter 1: General Provisions

Effective Date: 04/05/2023 to Current

Rule Type: Current Rules & Regulations

Reference Number: 056.0001.1.04052023

CHAPTER 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 1. Authority. These Board Rules are adopted to implement the Board's authority under the Act as it relates to the licensure and discipline of an optometrist and regulation of the practice of optometry in Wyoming.

Section 2. Definitions.

1. (a) 'Act' means Wyoming Statute §§ 33-23-101 through -117.
2. (b) 'AOA' means American Optometric Association.
3. (c) 'ARC' means Application Review Committee.
4. (d) 'ARBO' means Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry.
5. (e) 'Asynchronous' means the instructor and licensee are not together at the same time, there is no real time communication between the instructor and the licensee, the licensee does not receive immediate feedback, and content is created and made available for attendance at a later date.
6. (f) 'Board Rules' means the administrative rules promulgated by the Board.
7. (g) 'CE' means continuing education.
8. (h) 'CELMO' means The Council on Endorsed Licensure Mobility for Optometrists.
9. (i) 'COPE' means Council on Optometric Practitioner Education.
10. (j) 'IC' means Investigative Committee.
11. (k) 'Incompetence' means an act or omission that presents a danger to an individual's life, health, or safety and is likely to cause death or injury.
12. (l) 'NBEO' means National Board of Examiners in Optometry.
13. (m) 'OE Tracker' means an ARBO program that captures and stores CE information for optometrists.
14. (n) 'Permissible removal of foreign bodies' means removal of superficial ocular foreign bodies not penetrating the intraocular spaces or tissues.
15. (o) 'Pharmaceutical Agents' means those Food and Drug Administration approved pharmaceutical agents related to the practice of optometry.

(p) “Surgery” means the penetration by manual operation into the intraocular tissues or spaces for healing diseases, deformations, or injuries.

(q) “Synchronous” means the instructor and licensee are together at the same time, there is real time communication between the instructor and the licensee, the licensee can receive immediate feedback, and the course is on a fixed schedule where learning takes place only once at a specific date and time.

(r) “WAPA” means the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act, W.S. §§ 16-3-101 through -115.

Section 3. Board Office. The Board Office shall be located at 2001 Capitol Avenue, Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Section 4. Board Meetings. The Board shall establish a regular meeting by resolution. The Board may call special meetings as necessary.

Section 5. Reference by Incorporation. The Board hereby incorporates by reference the following uniform rules:

(a) Each rule and code incorporated by reference is further identified as follows:

(i) Chapter 2 - Uniform Procedures, Fees, Costs, and Charges for Inspection, Copying, and Producing Public Records, adopted by the Department of Administration and Information and effective on September 6, 2016, available on the Board’s website at http://optometry.wyo.gov/rules.

(ii) Chapter 2 - Uniform Rules for Contested Case Practice and Procedure, adopted by the Office of Administrative Hearings and effective on July 20, 2017, available on the Board’s website at http://optometry.wyo.gov/rules.

(b) For these rules incorporated by reference:

(i) The Board has determined that incorporation of the full text in these rules would be cumbersome or inefficient given the length or nature of the rules;

(ii) The incorporation by reference does not include any later amendments or editions of the incorporated matter beyond the applicable date identified in subsection (a) of this section; and

(iii) The incorporated rules are maintained at the Board Office and are available for public inspection and copying at cost at the same location.

Section 6. Public Records Inspection. Public records inspections shall be conducted pursuant to the Department of Administration and Information’s rules concerning public records.

Section 7. Change Name, Address, or Telephone Number. Each applicant and licensee shall notify the Board in writing of any change to their legal name, home address, business address, e-mail address, or telephone number within thirty (30) days of the change.