Pursuant to Section 20-127(c), Connecticut General Statutes, Connecticut-licensed optometrists may acquire and use therapeutic pharmaceutical agents for the purpose of treating or alleviating the effects of abnormal conditions or diseases of the human eye or eyelid excluding the lacrimal drainage system, lacrimal gland and structures posterior to the iris. TPAs  do not include any controlled substance or drug administered by injection.

Eligibility 

Optometrists who were first licensed in Connecticut on and after January 1, 1991, and who have graduated from an accredited school or college of optometry on or after January 1, 1991, are eligible to acquire, administer, dispense and prescribe ocular agents-t in accordance with the limitations specified above.

Pursuant to Section 20-127(c), Connecticut General Statutes, optometrists who were first licensed in Connecticut prior to January 1, 1991, are permitted to acquire, administer, dispense and prescribe TPAs only after the optometrist has  successfully completed:

A course conducted by an accredited optometric or medical school which included a minimum of 96 classroom hours and 14 clinical hours in the didactic and clinical use of therapeutic ocular agents for treating deficiencies, deformities, diseases, or abnormalities of the eye, including the removal of foreign bodies from the eye and adnexae, and which included the successful completion of an examination administered by the duly accredited school or college of optometry or medical school conducting the course; and

A course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation offered by an accredited hospital, the American Heart Association, or comparable body.

The Department does not individually review and approve courses.  Courses designed for optometrists to qualify for the use of TPAs must satisfy the specific requirements outlined above.

Experience such as residency training or continuing education can not be substituted for the required coursework.  The Department of Public Health or the Connecticut Board of Examiners in Optometry does not have the authority to grant waivers of the statutory requirements or to deem other training equivalent.  The total 110 coursework hours, whether completed at one or more than one academic institution, must be credited in full by the institution conducting the course and the final summative examination. 

The Department of Public Health does not issue authorizations to engage in the use of TPAs or verify to third parties that the optometrist is authorized to acquire and use TPAs.  It is the responsibility of each optometrist wishing to engage in this activity to ensure that requirements have been met and to maintain appropriate documentation of the same.

Evidence of course completion should not be submitted to the Department of Public Health or Connecticut Board of Examiners in Optometry.  Institutions conducting courses should submit rosters, of Connecticut-licensed graduates to the Department of Consumer Protection.

Connecticut licensed optometrists who acquire and use TPAs as outlined above, must post in a conspicuous location in each office waiting room, a standardized notice stating that the optometrist is authorized to use TPAs within the scope of the optometrists’ practice.  For your information, the Department recommends the use of the following standardized language: