STAND. COM. REP. NO. 320-00

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 2000

                                 RE: H.B. No. 1934
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No.
1934 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO OPTOMETRY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to facilitate treatment of
certain eye conditions and diseases with therapeutic
pharmaceutical agents (TPA) by optometrists by:

     (1)  Abolishing the Joint Formulary Advisory Committee
          (Formulary Committee), thereby establishing the Board
          of Examiners in Optometry's (Board) independent role in
          regulating optometrists' prescription of TPA; and

     (2)  Allowing optometrists to prescribe an approved TPA in
          any approved form.

     The Board, the Hawaii Optometric Association, and numerous
individuals testified in support of this measure.  The Hawaii
Medical Association, the Hawaii Psychiatric Medical Association,
the Hawaii Ophthalmological Society, and several individuals
opposed this measure.

     Act 292, Session Laws of Hawaii (SLH) 1996, authorized
optometrists to treat certain eye conditions and infections with
topical TPAs.  Act 292, SLH 1996, also established the Formulary
Committee and required the Board to adopt the Formulary
Committee's recommended topical TPAs for prescription by

 
 
                                 STAND. COM. REP. NO. 320-00
                                 Page 2

 
optometrists.  Your Committee finds that there has been
insufficient time to determine the efficacy of this policy due to
the Formulary Committee's delay in approving topical TPAs.

     Your Committee is hesitant to allow optometrists to
prescribe any TPA in any approved form, especially in light of
the lack of evidence as to the effect of optometrist's
prescribing topical TPAs.  Your Committee, however, is cognizant
to the restrictiveness of Hawaii's TPA laws in comparison to the
nation, but feels that this discussion falls under the
jurisdiction of the Committee on Consumer Protection and
Commerce.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Authorizing the Formulary Committee to recommend,
          instead of establish, the formulary for topical TPAs to
          the Board;

     (2)  Reverting back to the current law that allows
          optometrists to prescribe only topical TPAs; and

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for
          purposes of clarity and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.
1934, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1934, H.D. 1, and
be referred to the Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Health,



                                   ______________________________
                                   ALEXANDER C. SANTIAGO, Chair