Provider FAQs

Yes, there is a minimum requirement of 15 minutes per CPD activity as part of Optometry Australia’s Quality Assurance program. This may include lectures, videos etc.

A CPD activity relevant to scheduled medicines endorsement has been defined by the Optometry Board of Australia as an educational activity that meets the learning needs of the optometrist relevant to any stage of therapeutic management, as described below.

Therapeutic management involves the following stages:

• patient assessment
• differential diagnosis of conditions of the eye
• development of a management plan
• appropriate choice of medicines (this may involve writing a prescription, ceasing medicines, dose adjustment and advising on over-the-counter medicine)
• advice to the patient about the appropriate use of the medication
• development of a treatment plan
• monitoring outcome
• administration
• supply (if required) and completing any necessary documentation
• understanding and engaging in collaborative care models with other health professionals

In order for activities to be quality-assured as therapeutic CPD activities they must meet this definition. A CPD activity relevant to scheduled medicines endorsement shall be denoted with the descriptor ‘T’, which refers to the word ‘therapeutic’, if at least 50% of the educational content relates to any of the stages of therapeutic management as outlined above.

In order for a CPD activity or session to be Quality Assured as interactive, the Provider must show that the format will provide an opportunity for attendees to engage with the presenter and other attendees.  This two-way flow of information must be done in real time and may include technology (e.g. polling), hands on workshop activities or small group discussions.  In order for content to be classified as interactive a substantial proportion (at least an expected 25%) of the activity must involve a two-way flow of information.

CPD activities or sessions will be classified as clinical in nature where the proposed content is related to ocular or systemic conditions involved in the care of a patient. This may include but is not limited to all aspects of a patient examination including history taking, diagnosis, management, referral and prescribing of optical or therapeutic appliances and agents. Clinical activities must deal with ocular conditions, systemic conditions with ocular effects, vision and visual perception, optometric management and/or ophthalmological management.

Non-clinical/Non-scientific activities must be relevant to practice and improve the management of patients in some tangible way. CPD activities or sessions may be classified as non-clinical in nature where the proposed content is not directly related to the clinical care of the patient. This may include but is not limited to topics such as patient billing, business management, law, psychology, foreign languages, first aid, occupational health and safety, cultural awareness and training business or personal development needs.

Each application will be assessed to ensure that the correct classification is attributed to each session and allocated accordingly.