Updated Indiana Optometry Board Rules and Their Effects on Continuing Education Requirements

  The Indiana Optometry Board has updated rules on Continuing Education for optometrists in Indiana. These changes took effect on September 29, 2012. You can read all of the rule changes here:
http://www.in.gov/legislative/iac/20120926-IR-852120164FRA.xml.html
  There are several significant changes to the continuing education requirements that will affect the license renewal in 2014 and each renewal thereafter.
  Optometry License
  Twenty (20) hours of continuing education is still required for renewal of an optometry license. However, effective for the license period ending April 1, 2014, and every license period thereafter, optometrists are required, as part of the twenty (20) hour requirement to complete two (2) hours of continuing education in any of the following areas:
  1. Medical charting.
  2. Billing and coding.
  3. Health care compliance.
  4. Compliance with federal or Indiana state laws or regulations.
Courses that are approved by the Indiana Optometry Board or COPE in the area of jurisprudence and medical record keeping will be accepted under this section. Practice management courses are not eligible for continuing education credit.
  Optometric Legend Drug Certificate
  Twenty (20) hours of continuing education is still required for renewal of an optometric legend drug certificate.
  Continuing education credit units or clock hours:
  1. must be obtained within the biennial renewal period; and
  2. may not be carried over from one (1) licensure period to another.
A course is eligible for credit only once in a renewal cycle regardless of the number of times it is attended.
  Any continuing education hours that are counted toward the renewal of a licensee's optometry license may not be counted toward the renewal of the licensee's optometric legend drug certificate.
  Courses approved by COPE in the following areas are automatically approved for optometric legend drug continuing education:
  1. Glaucoma (GL).
  2. Perioperative management of ophthalmic surgery (PO).
  3. Refractive surgery management (RS).
  4. Treatment and management of ocular disease: anterior segment (AS).
  5. Pharmacology (PH).
  6. Systemic and ocular disease (SD).
  7. Oral pharmaceutical (OP).
  Self Study and Online Courses
  Another major change is in the area of credit for self-study, which includes online courses, among others. Self-study continuing education for an optometry license and optometric legend drug certificate renewal is limited to a total of eight (8) hours biennially. This means that you can no longer complete all of your legend drug continuing education requirements through self-study. You can choose how to distribute your self-study credit. For example, you could choose to take eight hours of self-study courses that meet the requirements for legend drug continuing education and apply them all to the renewal of your legend drug certificate. You would then need to obtain the remaining twelve (12) hours of legend drug continuing education and all twenty (20) hours of continuing education for your license renewal by attending live courses.
  CPR and BLS
  The IOB passed a rule that will allow you to claim up to two (2) hours of optometric license continuing education credit each renewal period for completion of a basic life support (BLS) or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) course approved by the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, or a provider approved by the board.
  Lecturers and Presenters
  Finally, the new rules allow an optometrist who acts as a speaker, lecturer, or other presenter to be awarded one hour of continuing education credit for each hour of the continuing education course taught. Speakers can earn up to four (4) hours of credit for each renewal period; but the presentation is eligible for credit only once regardless of the number of times it is presented.
  Please keep in mind that these changes are effective for the current license period and you must comply with them in order to renew your license and legend drug certificate in 2014.
  Sources: Indiana Optometry Board (http://www.in.gov/legislative/iac/20120926-IR-852120164FRA.xml.html) and Indiana Optometry (http://www.ioa.org)