50 N.J.R. 2043(a)

VOLUME 50, ISSUE 19, OCTOBER 1, 2018
RULE PROPOSALS

Reporter
50 N.J.R. 2043(a)
NJ - New Jersey Register  >  2018  >  OCTOBER  >  OCTOBER 1, 2018  >  RULE PROPOSALS  >  LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY -- DIVISION OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS

Interested Persons Statement

INTERESTED PERSONS
Interested persons may submit comments, information or arguments concerning any of the rule proposals in this issue until the date indicated in the proposal. Submissions and any inquiries about submissions should be addressed to the agency officer specified for a particular proposal.

The required minimum period for comment concerning a proposal is 30 days. A proposing agency may extend the 30-day comment period to accommodate public hearings or to elicit greater public response to a proposed new rule or amendment. Most notices of proposal include a 60-day comment period, in order to qualify the notice for an exception to the rulemaking calendar requirements of    N.J.S.A. 52:14B-3. An extended comment deadline will be noted in the heading of a proposal or appear in a subsequent notice in the Register.

At the close of the period for comments, the proposing agency may thereafter adopt a proposal, without change, or with changes not in violation of the rulemaking procedures at    N.J.A.C. 1:30-6.3. The adoption becomes effective upon publication in the Register of a notice of adoption, unless otherwise indicated in the adoption notice. Promulgation in the New Jersey Register establishes a new or amended rule as an official part of the New Jersey Administrative Code.
Agency

Proposed Amendment:  N.J.A.C. 13:38-7.3
Text

Continuing Education on Prescription of Hydrocodone or Opioids in General

Authorized By: New Jersey State Board of Optometrists, Renee Clark, Executive Director.

Authority: N.J.S.A. 45:12-4 and P.L. 2015, c. 65.

Calendar Reference: See Summary below for explanation of exception to calendar requirement.
Proposal Number: PRN 2018-088.
Submit written comments by November 30, 2018, to:

   Renee Clark, Executive Director
   New Jersey State Board of Optometrists
   124 Halsey Street
   PO Box 45012
   Newark, New Jersey 07101
   or electronically at http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/Proposals/Pages/default.aspx.

The agency proposal follows:

Summary

The New Jersey State Board of Optometrists (the Board) is proposing amendments to  N.J.A.C. 13:38-7.3 to incorporate the requirement at N.J.S.A. 45:12-9.3 that one of the 50 credits of continuing education (CE) required of an optometrist with an active registration renewal be on hydrocodone or opioids in general. The Board is proposing to add  N.J.A.C. 13:38-7.3(a)1 to incorporate this one credit requirement to the 30 credits required, at minimum, on therapeutic pharmaceutical agents (TPAs). The proposed amendment provides that this one credit cannot be carried over from one biennial period to the next in the event a licensee has completed more than the required 50 credits of CE. The Board is also proposing new  N.J.A.C. 13:38-7.3(a)1i to allow a registrant to seek a waiver of the one credit on hydrocodone or opioids in general, consistent with  N.J.A.C. 13:38-7.7. The Board is also proposing to amend  N.J.A.C. 13:38-7.3(b) to specify that applicants who receive a certificate of registration in the first year of a biennial period shall complete the one credit on hydrocodone or opioids in general, out of the 15 credits on TPAs they are required to complete.

The Board has determined that the comment period for this notice of proposal is 60 days; therefore, pursuant to  N.J.A.C. 1:30-3.3(a)5, this notice is excepted from the rulemaking calendar requirement.

Social Impact

The Board believes the proposed amendments will have a positive impact on the regulated community because they will broaden licensees' knowledge on hydrocodone or opioids in general, and the effect of these prescribed medications on the public. The proposed amendments will help protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public by ensuring consumers are treated by optometrists who are knowledgeable on opiates and can share information with consumers who are prescribed such medication.

Economic Impact

The Board believes that the proposed amendments will not impose new significant costs on licensees. The required one credit course on hydrocodone or opioids in general is part of the 50-credit CE requirement licensees must meet before the end of each biennial period. As a result, the Board anticipates that the proposed amendments will maintain the existing economic impact the rules have had on licensees.

Federal Standards Statement

A Federal standards analysis is not required because the proposed amendments are governed by N.J.S.A. 45:12-4 et seq., and P.L. 2015, c. 65, and are not subject to any Federal standards or requirements.

Jobs Impact
The Board does not anticipate that the proposed amendments will increase or decrease jobs in the State.

Agriculture Industry Impact
The proposed amendments will have no impact on the agriculture industry in the State.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

If, for the purpose of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (the Act), N.J.S.A. 52:14B-16 et seq., any of the approximately 1,500 licensed optometrists in New Jersey are considered small businesses, then the following analysis applies.

The proposed amendments continue existing reporting, recordkeeping, and compliance requirements. A licensee will be required, upon request from the Board, to demonstrate their compliance with the CE requirements, including the proposed one credit on hydrocodone or opioids in general. They will be required to maintain, for at least four years, records showing completion of continuing education courses, including the one credit on opiates proposed in this rulemaking. Lastly, a licensee will still need to comply with the requirement that at least 50 credits of CE be taken during each biennial period.

Housing Affordability Impact Analysis

The proposed amendments will have an insignificant impact on the affordability of housing in New Jersey and there is an extreme unlikelihood that the proposed amendments would evoke a change in the [page=2044] average costs associated with housing because the proposed amendments concern continuing education for optometrists.

Smart Growth Development Impact Analysis

The proposed amendments will have an insignificant impact and there is an extreme unlikelihood that the proposed amendments would evoke a change in housing production in Planning Areas 1 or 2, or within designated centers, under the State Development and Redevelopment Plan in New Jersey because the proposed amendments concern continuing education for optometrists.

Racial and Ethnic Community Criminal Justice and Public Safety Impact

The proposed amendments will have an insignificant impact on pretrial detention, sentencing, probation, or parole policies concerning juveniles and adults in New Jersey because the proposed amendments concern continuing education requirements for optometrists.

Regulations

Full text of the proposal follows (additions indicated in boldface thus; deletions indicated in brackets [thus]):

SUBCHAPTER 7.   CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL OPTOMETRIC EDUCATION

13:38-7.3   Credit hour requirements

(a) An applicant for an active registration renewal certificate shall complete, during the preceding biennial period, a minimum of 50 credits of continuing professional optometric education. At least 30 of the 50 credits shall consist of courses or programs classified as therapeutic pharmaceutical agents (TPA) credits and shall be primarily devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and management of ocular disease, ocular pathology, or the ocular manifestation of systemic disease, of which 10 of the 30 continuing professional optometric education credits shall be in oral TPA. The remaining 20 general continuing professional optometric education credits shall be in content areas set forth in  N.J.A.C. 13:38-7.4.

1.Out of the 30 credits required, at minimum, for continuing education on TPAs, one credit shall be in educational programs or topics that concern the prescription of hydrocodone, or the prescription of opioid drugs in general, including responsible prescribing practices, the alternatives to the use of opioids for the management and treatment of pain, and the risks and signs of opioid abuse, addiction, and diversion. This credit shall not be eligible to be carried over as described in (d) below.

i. A licensee may seek a waiver of this one credit consistent with  N.J.A.C. 13:38-7.7.

(b) An applicant who initially obtains a certificate within the first year of a biennial period shall complete at least 25 of the minimum required credits of continuing professional optometric education. At least 15 of the 25 credits shall consist of courses or programs classified as TPA credits and shall be devoted to the subject matter set forth in (a) above. Of the 15 credits, one credit shall be in educational programs or topics that concern the prescription of hydrocodone, or the prescription of opioid drugs in general, including responsible prescribing practices, the alternatives to the use of opioids for the management and treatment of pain, and the risks and signs of opioid abuse, addiction, and diversion. This credit shall not be eligible to be carried over as described in (d) below.

(c)-(e) (No change.)