Board of Optometry Communication Related to COVID-19 Outbreak

During this crisis, the Washington State Board of Optometry is working to assist the optometry community by providing information about governmental actions and working on developing messages, policies, or rules to further support the profession.

 

Renewal deadlines and continuing education

The secretary of health has extended all health profession license expiration dates for licenses up for renewal between April 1 and September 30, 2020. This extension will allow health professionals to focus on patient care and continued patient safety during the COVID-19 event. More information about the extension is available here.

 

The board is working with the Department of Health to address licensees’ concerns about cancellation of continuing education (CE) trainings. The extension of license expiration dates means licensees whose licenses are scheduled for renewal between now and September 30, 2020 will not be required to show compliance with the CE rules until September 30. Because you still need to meet CE requirements, the board is considering other options to address concerns about CE credits, and will provide additional updates as the situation changes.

 

Office operations, essential procedures

Governor Inslee issued a proclamation (Proclamation 20-25) limiting activities in Washington to those considered “essential.” The Governor’s Office provided guidance that states health care providers and caregivers are essential. All essential businesses that remain open must comply with social distancing and sanitation measures established by the United States Department of Labor and the DOH Guidelines.

The Governor’s proclamation 20-05 restricts non-emergency medical procedures.  This proclamation prohibits hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and dental, orthodontic, and endodontic offices from performing services that require personal protective equipment and that can be delayed. Optometrists were not specifically identified in the proclamation but the principal does apply. Optometrists must use their professional judgement to determine whether a procedure is necessary and whether deferring it might cause patient harm. Examples of procedures that might cause patient harm if deferred include significant changes in vision, post-operative complications, or injury to the eye.

The CDC recommends that health care providers should prioritize urgent and emergency visits and procedures, and postpone routine visits. For optometrists, this recommendation means postponing routine eye care visits.

Optometrists who supervise medical assistants (MAs) should be aware of the Governor’s Proclamation 20-32, which includes several waivers relating to medical assistants (MAs). The Proclamation waives part of RCW 18.360.010(11), allowing all MAs to perform duties during the waiver period without a supervising health care practitioner physically present in the facility, so long as the practitioner is “immediately available.”  This means that if the MA calls their supervising health care practitioner by phone, he or she must be able to answer or return the call immediately.

 

Resources

The Governor’s Office is available to answer questions about the proclamations. For questions about the essential business requirements, please use this form on the Governor’s Office website to ask for clarification.

 

The Optometric Physicians of Washington (OPW) has collected COVID-19 resources for practitioners here. The American Optometric Association has resources as well.