For purposes of this chapter:

(1) "Contact lenses" means a lens placed directly on the surface of the eye, regardless of whether it is intended to correct a visual defect, and includes, but is not limited to, cosmetic, therapeutic, and corrective lenses.

(2) "Dispense" means the act of providing a pair of spectacles or contact lenses to a patient.

(3) "Eye examination" means an assessment of all or a portion of the ocular health profile, which must include a complete written or electronic medical history, as well as an assessment of the visual status of a patient.

(4) "Kiosk" means automated equipment or an automated application, which is designed to be used on a phone, computer, or Internet-based device that can be used in person or remotely to provide refractive data or information.

(5) "Patient" means a person who submits to an eye examination in this State.

(6) "Prescription" means a provider's handwritten or electronic order to correct refractive error that is based on an eye examination.

(7) "Provider" means an individual licensed by the South Carolina Board of Examiners in Optometry or the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners.

(8) "Spectacles" means an optical instrument or device worn or used by an individual that has one or more lenses designed to correct or remediate vision deficits or needs of the individual wearer and are commonly known as glasses, including spectacles that may be adjusted by the wearer to achieve different types or levels of visual correction or enhancement, and excluding over-the-counter spectacles not intended to correct or enhance vision or sold without consideration of the visual status of the individual using the spectacles.

(9) "Visual status" means the assessment of the visual acuity, accommodation amplitudes at the discretion of the provider, and ocular alignment of the eyes in an uncorrected state and the best corrected visual acuity achievable with the aid of a spectacle or contact lens prescription; however, the assessment must not be based solely on objective refractive data or information generated by an automated testing device, including an auto refractor or other electronic refractive-only testing device, to provide a medical diagnosis or to establish a refractive error for a patient as part of an eye examination.

HISTORY: 2016 Act No. 173 (S.1016), Section 1, eff May 19, 2016.