The current CE cycle runs from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017. The College does not approve/accredit individual CE courses; instead, members are responsible for ensuring that their CE activities fall into the appropriate categories. A link to the current CE policy can be found here. The CE Policy outlines the requirements for what constitutes Category A and what constitutes Category B CE.

Members registered in the first year of the three-year cycle, i.e. 2015, must obtain 47 credit hours (a minimum of 34 Category A credit hours is required; the remaining 13 credit hours may be Category A or B). Members registered in the second year, i.e. 2016, of the three-year cycle must obtain 24 credit hours (a minimum of 17 Category A credit hours is required; the remaining 7 credit hours may be Category A or B). Members registered in the third year, i.e. 2017, of the three-year cycle have no requirements to obtain credit hours for the remainder of the cycle.

You may claim only CE credit hours that have been completed following your initial registration with the College. Accordingly, any CE credits that you have obtained prior to being registered with the College cannot be used to meet the requirements for the current CE cycle.

For the current CE cycle, all CE credits may be obtained online. However, only online CE that is COPE-accredited with an examination/quiz at the end would qualify as Category A. COPE-accredited CE is designated with an official COPE course I.D. number and an official COPE event number.

No, you will not be able to claim CE credit hours for completing the elearning module.

No, there is no carrying over of CE credits to the next CE cycle.

Contact ARBO by phone at (866) 869-6852 to set up your online OE TRACKER account. You will need your OE TRACKER number and will need to inform ARBO that you are a member of the College of Optometrists of Ontario.

Yes, you must submit all of your CE credit hours (both Category A and B) to OE TRACKER. Please do not send your CE certificates to the College as the College will not be keeping records of members’ CE certificates.Yes, you must submit all of your CE credit hours (both Category A and B) to OE TRACKER. Please do not send your CE certificates to the College as the College will not be keeping records of members’ CE certificates.

When submitting your CE certificates to ARBO, you must indicate the number of CE credit hours and whether the CE credits qualify as Category A or B. Some CE providers send attendance information directly to ARBO. Otherwise, you must submit your own documents by:

• Logging into OE TRACKER and clicking the “Submit Credits into OE TRACKER from CE Certificates” option.
• Emailing to arbo@arbo.org. You can scan or take a picture of your CE certificates and email them to ARBO. The images should be sent in PDF (preferred) or JPEG format.
• Faxing to 1-888-703-4848. You must fill out a fax cover sheet and send it along with the certificate.
•  Downloading the OE TRACKER mobile app and using it to instantly send your attendance data. For more information about the app, visit ARBO’s website.

It will take 3–5 business days before the hours are reflected in the account.

All of the CE credits that you are using to meet your mandatory CE requirements must be marked as Category as A or B in OE TRACKER. To change or update the A and B categories, print out a copy of your OE TRACKER transcript, mark the changes you want made to the A and B categories, and email a scanned copy or a picture of the transcript to arbo@arbo.org. It will take 2 weeks before the changes are reflected in the account.

No, there is no minimum requirement for COPE-accredited CE credit hours. For auditing purposes, the College will only consider the total number of Category A credit hours and the total number of Category B credit hours completed for the current CE cycle.

• Fellowship or diplomate in the American Academy of Optometry or Fellowship in the College of Optometrists in Vision Development: submit a copy of your certificate to OE TRACKER.
• Graduate studies in optometry or a related health discipline: submit a copy of your certificate to OE TRACKER.
• For publication of an article in a refereed optometric, ophthalmologic, or medical journal or publication of a case report in a refereed journal: submit a copy of your publication to OE TRACKER, ensuring that your full name and the original date of publication are indicated in the publication.
• Certification in a Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Heart Saver AED (C) and CPR HCP (Health Care Provider) level with AED: submit a copy of your certification to OE TRACKER.
• For all other Category A equivalencies, you must obtain a letter from the CE provider (e.g., the ACOE-accredited school, the IOBP, or the OEBC, etc.) that confirms your participation in the Category A equivalent activities. Please submit the letter to OE TRACKER.

Please note that no more than 35 hours per CE cycle may be obtained through Category A equivalencies.

For the current CE cycle and for the upcoming CE cycle (January 1, 2018–December 31, 2020), the College will be paying the OE TRACKER subscription fees for all members.

No. The College does not provide legal or accounting advice. The College recommends that members consult a lawyer or accountant for advice regarding incorporation.

Only optometrists who are registered in Ontario and members of the College may be shareholders in an Optometry Professional Corporation (OPC). This applies both to voting and non-voting shares. Holding/numbered companies may not own or be shareholders in an OPC. Family members cannot be shareholders in an OPC, unless they are also optometrists and licensed in Ontario (NB: currently only dentists and physicians are allowed to have family members as shareholders in their professional corporations).

No. The corporation profile report does not need to be certified and may be obtained from the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services. For additional assistance, contact the MGCS’s Companies Branch Help Line at 416-314-8880 or toll-free at 1-800-361-3223 or online at www.mgs.gov.on.ca.

If all application requirements have been met, the processing time for both new and renewal certificates of authorization is approximately one to three weeks.

No. The effective date of the certificate will be the date a completed application is reviewed and approved by the College.

Yes. This is in accordance with Section 23(2)3. of the Health Professions Procedural Code. Accordingly, members are recommended to use their practice address as their Registered Corporate Address.

Submit your renewal application immediately with the appropriate payment, including late payment fee. If the College has not received a renewal application by the renewal date, it will issue a notice of revocation to the Optometry Professional Corporation, which gives the corporation 60 days to submit a completed renewal application. If the renewal application is not received or is incomplete by the imposed revocation date, the certificate of authorization will be revoked. No further extensions will be provided.

Upon amalgamation with another corporation, an optometry professional corporation ceases to exist as an entity separate from the newly amalgamated corporation, and its certificate of authorization becomes invalid on the date of amalgamation.

The amalgamated corporation must apply for and obtain a new certificate of authorization before it may practise as a professional corporation. The amalgamated corporation must meet all of the eligibility conditions and requirements for issuance of a certificate of authorization.

If changes, such as a name change, have been made to the corporation since incorporation or the last renewal and articles of amendment were filed with the Ministry, then a copy of the articles of amendment must be submitted with the renewal application. For renewal applications, do not submit the original articles of incorporation copies or originals of certificate of authorization originally sent by the College.

Yes. While the Business Corporation Act specifies how OPCs must be named, the choice of practice name is comparatively more flexible. Practice names must comply with advertising standards and may differ from the name of your OPC.

Yes.

Yes, however optometrists must not provide optometric services (either diagnostic or dispensing) under an optical business with non-optometrist partners. Under the Optometry Act, optometrists are prohibited from sharing fees related to the practice of optometry with non-members (the only exception being physicians), therefore practising optometry within this type of arrangement is not allowed.

Optometrists wishing to practise with such a corporation must do so as independent contractors.

Reminder: The College does not provide legal or accounting advice to members. Questions such as this one should be directed to the appropriate professional for advice.

Optometrists are permitted to practise in a variety of settings, many of which require them to have a written Independent Contractor Agreement (“Agreement”) in place.

The circumstances in which members do NOT need to have an Agreement are the easiest to determine. You do not need an Agreement if you practise:

• on your own
• with another member of the College who is engaged in the practice of the profession
• with an Ontario-registered physician who is engaged in the practice of medicine

Ontario Regulation 119/94 also creates an exception so that optometrists who work in hospitals, government, or universities with others are NOT required to have Agreements.

Members practising in almost every other setting MUST have an Agreement in place, including but not limited to the following situations:

• Members who practise at an optical store, even if it is only once a week
• Members engaged in practice with corporations that coordinate mobile eye clinics
• Members engaged in practice with an optometrist, group of optometrists, or corporation owned by optometrists, where some or all of the optometrists are not licensed to practise in Ontario
• Members engaged in practice with an optometrist or a physician who is strictly acting as a manager and not seeing patients
• Members who are practising in association with a surgical centre (and are not employed by an ophthalmologist performing the surgeries)

The College recommends that members entering into Agreements include the following wording (taken from (O. Reg. 119/94 under the Optometry Act, subsection 4(5) in their contracts):

The parties hereby acknowledge and agree that the optometrist, ___________ (enter name):

1. shall control the professional services provided to a patient;
2. shall control who he or she may accept as a patient;
3. shall provide every patient or his or her authorized representative with a copy of his or her prescription;
4. shall set the fee charged or collected in respect of any professional service;
5. shall control the maintenance, custody and access to the records required to be kept in respect of the practice of the profession;
6. shall have access, along with his or her staff, to the premises where the member practises and to the books and records related to his or her practice, at any time of the day or night; and
7. shall ensure that any advertising relating to the professional services provided by the member meets the requirements set out in regulations made under the Act. O. Reg. 24/14, s. 1.

Agreements must include:

• Terms for reasonable rent for office space and equipment that is paid regularly and is not based on volume of business or fees generated by the optometrist

Agreements cannot include the following:

• Terms requiring the transfer of patient records to non-optometrists (i.e., opticians/corporations) upon termination of any agreement
• Terms that require sharing of fees (as fee sharing is expressly prohibited by the regulation)
• Terms whereby the optical/corporation controls the following:
  • fees
  • schedule/types of appointments
  • vacation/days off
  • attire
  • how patients receive the copy of their prescriptions
  • a requirement to disclose revenues/volume of business

The College does not have the capacity to approve members’ Agreements. Members are encouraged to ask their own lawyers to review any Agreement prior to signing to ensure it is in compliance with the regulation.

Yes. Informational advertising respects patient choice and is permitted. However, advertised promotions must be truthful and verifiable and must not be misleading or presented in such a manner as to demean the integrity of the profession.

Yes and no. Because travel reward points (e.g., Air Miles) confer only a nominal benefit, they would represent an acceptable incentive that may be offered to patients. Conversely, an incentive involving a trip to Miami would surpass this threshold, constituting a benefit under the conflict-of-interest regulation, and may not be offered to patients.

No. Optometrists may not offer or confer benefits for the referral of patients. This does not apply to “benefits of a nominal value,” which means small items or rebates that are not worth more than a few dollars.

Receipts for spectacles should be itemized to include separate values for frames and lenses, for patient information and as a third-party payor (insurance company) would require. However, optometrists may charge retail pricing for spectacles and are free to set their own prices for frames and lenses.

Yes. A prescription must be given to the patient when two requirements are met:

• you have assessed the patient’s eyes

AND

• a prescription is clinically indicated for the patient

In this case you would have met both requirements because you conducted the exam and a prescription is clinically indicated for the patient, even if nothing has changed. Therefore, you must give the patient a copy of the prescription at the conclusion of the eye exam.

Yes, but not exclusively. Patients should leave your clinic in possession of their prescriptions. A prescription may be written or printed, and handed to the patient on paper. Alternatively, the prescription may be delivered electronically in PDF format to the patient’s smartphone or connected device, if receipt can be verified in office. Optical prescriptions should only be delivered electronically at the request or preference of patients.

You should insist that the patient take the prescription. If they refuse to accept it, then keep the written, signed, and dated copy of the prescription in the patient’s record and let the patient know they can pick it up at any time. You should note in the record that the patient declined the prescription. You should explain to patients that you’re required to give them a copy of their prescription and that it’s in their interests to keep a copy for their records should they need it to replace broken, stolen, or lost glasses.

No. Because the patient visit didn’t involve refractive considerations, no prescription is indicated.

The patient should be given a copy of the prescription after a major (or comprehensive) eye exam and at interim visits whenever a refraction result suggests the prescription needs changing.

No. Although there might be a refractive result (either small or absent), you must write a prescription only where one is clinically indicated.

Appliance-specific information, including the specifications of contact lenses (or “contact lens prescription”), need only be given upon patient request. Once you’ve established that, in your clinical judgment, the contact lens fitting is complete and the fees related to it have been paid in full, you must release the specifications if the patient requests.