North Dakota Century Code Title 43. Occupations and Professions § 43-13-13.2. Practice of optometry--Requirements to practice optometry--Informed consent

1. Any person engaged in visual training procedures or who employs or prescribes lenses, prisms, filters, ophthalmic instruments, or combinations thereof, held either in contact with the eye, or in frames or mounting, to aid, relieve, or correct any visual or ocular anomaly, or holds out as being able to do so, is deemed to be engaged in the practice of optometry.

2. An optometrist may not dispense therapeutic pharmaceutical agents, except an optometrist may:

3. An optometric telemedicine provider-patient relationship is established when a patient seeks optometric services from a provider, and the provider agrees to provide optometric services to the patient, except in an emergency. The provider-patient relationship may be expressly created or created through implication; however, the provider-patient relationship is not created through receipt of patient health information by the provider unless a prior provider-patient relationship exists. The initial patient relationship must be established through an eye examination conducted by a licensed optometrist with a physical location in this state.

4. A licensed optometrist may act as a distant site provider and use telemedicine to provide care in accordance with standards of practice established by the board by rule. Telemedicine services may include consultation, diagnosis, and treatment for ocular diseases, provided that the optometrist complies with the regulations under this section. Before providing any optometric services to a patient via telemedicine, the provider first shall provide appropriate verification of the provider's identification, licensure, and current contact information.

5. Informed consent regarding the optometric services to be provided via telemedicine must include, at a minimum, information regarding the provider's technology used to provide optometric services via telemedicine and how to mitigate or resolve any technological disconnection or issue.