Ontarians will now enjoy better access to eye health care now that optometrists can prescribe medications for sight-threatening conditions like eye infections and glaucoma.
Only those optometrists who have met the requirements established by the College to perform the controlled act of prescribing drugs are authorized to prescribe drugs. Information about individual members is available on the College’s online register by clicking on “Member Register/Find an Optometrist” on this website.
The Designated Drugs and Standards of Practice Regulation, including the list of drugs that optometrists are permitted to prescribe, can be found at the following link: http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/source/regs/english/2011/elaws_src_regs_r11112_e.htm
The amended Prescribed Diseases Regulation can be found at the following link: http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/source/regs/english/2011/elaws_src_regs_r11111_e.htm
The standards of practice and practice guidelines for prescribing drugs can be found at the following links:
- 4.4 The Use and Prescribing of Drugs in Optometric Practice
- 5.2 The Prescription
- 7.2 Patients with Glaucoma
These standards of practice and practice guidelines will be published in the Optometric Practice Reference (OPR).