Colorado § 12-275-105 - Persons entitled to practice optometry - title protection of optometrists.

§ 12-275-105. Persons entitled to practice optometry - title protection of optometrists.

It shall be unlawful for any person to practice optometry in this state except those who are duly licensed optometrists pursuant to the provisions of this article 275. A person licensed as an optometrist pursuant to the provisions of this article 275 may use the title "optometrist", the initials "O.D.", or the term "doctor of optometry". No other person shall use the title "optometrist", "O.D.", "doctor of optometry", or any other word or abbreviation to indicate or induce others to believe that one is licensed to practice optometry in this state.

Source: L. 2019: Entire title R&RE with relocations, (HB 19-1172), ch. 136, p. 1412, § 1, effective October 1.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 12-40-104 as it existed prior to 2019.

ANNOTATION

Annotator's note. The following annotations include a case decided under a former provision similar to this section.

This section prohibits an unlicensed person or optician fitting or adapting contact lenses to the human eye. Burt v. People ex rel. Dunbar, 161 Colo. 193, 421 P.2d 480 (1966).

Where an injunction forbids the use of any optical instrument or the performance of any act when done "for the purpose of fitting or adapting contact lenses to the human eye" unless licensed to do so prior thereto, the trial court erred in finding that the optician had violated its order and in adjudging him in contempt, because nothing in the act prohibits an optician from examining and commenting on the physical characteristics of contact lenses. Burt v. People ex rel. Dunbar, 161 Colo. 193, 421 P.2d 480 (1966).

Where the evidence shows that there was no prescribing or fitting or adapting of lenses to eyes, and the optician exercised no medical judgment by his acts and gave no medical advice, his comments relating merely to the physical characteristics of the lenses presented, even the placing of the nonprescription dye in the eyes and looking at the lenses when they were on, so long as he did not attempt to do anything about what he saw, is not within the prohibition of either this section or the injunction. Burt v. People ex rel. Dunbar, 161 Colo. 193, 421 P.2d 480 (1966).