Statutes, codes, and regulations
New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 13 - LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETYChapter 38 - NEW JERSEY STATE BOARD OF OPTOMETRISTS
Subchapter 6 - RECORDS
Section 13:38-6.1 - Availability of records

N.J. Admin. Code § 13:38-6.1

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Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024
Section 13:38-6.1 - Availability of records
(a) For purposes of this subchapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Authorized representative" means a person who has been designated, pursuant to a court order or a signed writing by the patient, to exercise the patient's rights under this section. An authorized representative may be the patient's attorney or an employee of an insurance carrier with whom the patient has a contract which provides that the carrier be given such access in order to assess a claim for reimbursement. If the patient is a minor, a parent or guardian shall be deemed to be an authorized representative except where a court order makes a specific designation to the contrary.

"Patient" means any person who is the recipient of optometric services rendered by a licensee for the purpose of examination, treatment, or consultation relating to the treatment.

(b) The patient record, or a copy thereof, shall be released upon written request, to the patient, the patient's authorized representative, or to another optometrist or physician acting on behalf of the patient. A patient record or portion thereof shall be released to any person or other entity only upon the receipt of a signed release from the patient whose records are being requested. An optometrist may charge a fee for the reproduction of records, which shall be no greater than $.50 per page or $ 100.00 for the entire record, whichever is less. If the record requested is 10 pages, the optometrist may charge up to $ 10.00 to cover postage and the miscellaneous costs associated with retrieval of the record. If agreeable to the individual requesting the record, the optometrist may send a summary in lieu of the actual record and the charge for the summary shall not exceed the cost that would be charged for the actual record.
(c) An optometrist shall, free of charge, release the contact lens prescription directly to the patient upon completion of the contact lens fitting. An optometrist shall, free of charge, release a copy of a patient's contact lens prescription directly to a licensed ophthalmologist, optometrist, ophthalmic dispenser or patient's authorized representative, upon either the verbal or written request of a patient. Upon the release of a contact lens prescription directly to a patient, an optometrist, shall provide the patient with a written warning, which shall include the following language in boldface, underlined and in capital letters: WARNING: YOU SHOULD BE AWARE THAT YOUR EYES MAY CHANGE WITH TIME AND CONTACT LENSES THAT WERE INITIALLY FITTING PROPERLY MAY NO LONGER BE APPROPRIATE AND MAY ENDANGER YOUR EYE HEALTH. YOU SHOULD SEE YOUR EYE DOCTOR PERIODICALLY TO ENSURE YOUR LENSES ARE FITTING PROPERLY.
1. As used in this section, a "contact lens prescription" shall include those specifications contained within the doctor's records that are necessary for the preparation of contact lenses for a patient. A contact lens prescription is not complete unless and until a patient has been fitted for the contact lenses being prescribed and the fit has been fully evaluated over at least one follow-up visit and determined to be satisfactory. A contact lens prescription shall include a date of expiration that cannot exceed two years from the date of the last contact lens evaluation and may be of shorter duration depending on the professional judgment of the optometrist.
(d) After the completion of a patient's comprehensive eye examination, and upon the patient's request, a copy of the patient's prescription for eyeglasses shall be given, free of charge, to the patient, the patient's authorized representative or to another optometrist, ophthalmologist or ophthalmic dispenser acting on the patient's behalf.
(e) If a licensee ceases to engage in practice or it is anticipated that he or she will remain out of practice for more than three months, the licensee or designee shall:
1. Establish a procedure by which patients may obtain their records or transfer those records to another licensee who will assume the responsibilities of the practice;
2. Publish a notice of the cessation and the established procedure for the retrieval of records in a newspaper of general circulation in the geographic location of the licensee's practice, at least once a month for the first three months after the cessation; and
3. File a notice of the established procedure for the retrieval of records with the Board of Optometrists.

N.J. Admin. Code § 13:38-6.1

R.1978 d.242, effective 7/21/1978.
See: 10 N.J.R. 119(a), 10 N.J.R. 352(b).
Amended by, R.1979 d.465, effective 11/27/1979.
See: 11 N.J.R. 462(b), 12 N.J.R. 48(c).
Amended by R.1989 d.252, effective 5/15/1989.
See: 20 N.J.R. 2361(b), 21 N.J.R. 1366(b).
Added new (d) regarding application of preceding subsections.
Amended by R.1995 d.524, effective 9/18/1995.
See: 27 N.J.R. 2092(a), 27 N.J.R. 3617(a).
Amended by R.2006 d.126, effective 4/3/2006.
See: 37 N.J.R. 3780(a), 38 N.J.R. 1574(b).
Rewrote (c); in (d), added "After completion of a patient's comprehensive eye examination, and upon" and made technical changes by substituting "ophthalmic dispenser" for "optician"; deleted former (e); recodified former (f) as (e).
Amended by R.2012 d.077, effective 4/16/2012.
See: 43 N.J.R. 822(a), 44 N.J.R. 1272(a).
In the introductory paragraph of (c), deleted "or" preceding "ophthalmic", inserted "or patient's authorized representative," and substituted "verbal" for "oral"; and in (d), inserted ", the patient's authorized representative".