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Committee hears hours of testimony on expanding optometrists’ scope; SF 1144 laid over
Summary
Senate File 1144, which would expand optometrists’ authority to prescribe certain oral medications and perform limited in‑office injections, drew lengthy testimony and was laid over by the Senate Health and Human Services Finance and Policy Committee on Feb. 25.
Senate File 1144, a measure to expand the scope of practice for doctors of optometry in Minnesota, drew extended testimony on Feb. 25 from optometrists, ophthalmologists, academic medical centers and patients. The committee laid the bill over for further consideration rather than voting it out of committee.
Sponsor Sen. McQuaid described the bill as a modernization of scope that would align Minnesota with many other states. The proposal would allow doctors of optometry to prescribe oral antivirals for ocular conditions, permit oral steroids for up to 14 days, remove a seven‑day limit on prescribing oral carbonic anhydrase inhibitors for eye pressure, and authorize routine in‑office injections for numbing surface skin and treating minor eyelid conditions. The sponsor and supporters said those changes would increase access to…
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