SECTION 140.276. Definitions

The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(1) Act--The Opticians' Registry Act (Act), Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 352.

(2) Applicant--A person who applies for registration under the Act.

(3) Commissioner--The commissioner of the Department of State Health Services.

(4) Consumer--An individual receiving services or obtaining a product from a registered dispensing optician.

(5) Contact lens dispensing--The fabrication, ordering, mechanical adjustment, dispensing, sale, and delivery to the consumer of contact lenses prescribed by and dispensed in accordance with a prescription from a licensed physician or optometrist, together with appropriate instructions for the care and handling of the lenses. The term does not include the taking of any measurements of the eye or the cornea or evaluating the physical fit of the contact lenses, unless that action is directed or approved by a licensed physician.

(6) Contact lens prescription--A written specification by a licensed physician or optometrist for therapeutic, corrective, or cosmetic contact lenses that states the refractive power of the product and other information as required by:

(A) the physician or the Texas Medical Board; or

(B) the optometrist or the Texas Optometry Board.

(7) Department--The Department of State Health Services.

(8) Dispensing optician--A person who provides or offers to provide spectacle or contact lens dispensing services or products to the public.

(9) Dual application--An application by one person as both a registered spectacle dispensing optician and a registered contact lens dispenser.

(10) Examination--A qualifying test administered to eligible applicants by the department or its designee.

(11) Executive Commissioner--The Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.

(12) Registered contact lens dispenser--A person properly registered under the Act as a contact lens dispenser.

(13) Registered spectacle dispensing optician--A person properly registered under the Act as a spectacle dispensing optician.

(14) Registration certificate--A document issued by the department to a qualified person authorizing that person to represent that he or she is registered under the Act.

(15) Spectacle dispensing--The design, verification, fitting, adjustment, sale, and delivery to the consumer of fabricated and finished spectacle lenses, frames, or other ophthalmic devices, other than contact lenses, prescribed by and dispensed in accordance with a prescription from a licensed physician or optometrist. The term includes:

(A) prescription analysis and interpretation;

(B) the taking of measurements of the face, including interpupillary distances, to determine the size, shape, and specification of the spectacle lenses or frames best suited to the wearer's needs;

(C) the preparation and delivery of work orders to laboratory technicians engaged in grinding lenses and fabricating spectacles;

(D) the verification of the quality of finished spectacle lenses;

(E) the adjustment of spectacle lenses or frames to the intended wearer's face; and

(F) the adjustment, repair, replacement, reproduction, or duplication of previously prepared spectacle lenses, frames, or other specially fabricated optical devices, other than contact lenses.

(16) Spectacle prescription--A written specification by a licensed physician or optometrist for therapeutic or corrective lenses that states the refractive power of the product and other information as required by the physician or optometrist.

Source Note: The provisions of this §140.276 adopted to be effective August 14, 2008, 33 TexReg 6394