The recent ASU policy on Laser Medical Surveillance placed the responsibility with the academic units to establish medical surveillance for their personnel using ARRA regulated lasers. Medical surveillance and Laser Safety Training is required for an individual to work with lasers.

Since the ASU Health Center was not able to perform the examinations, a vendor was selected by ASU Purchasing. That vendor is the nationwide Vision Center 2040 E. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe, AZ.

The individual must pay for the eye exam at the time of the appointment and take the original receipt to his/her department for reimbursement. The vision form must be picked up at the Office of Radiation Safety (ORS) prior to the appointment. The fee for this exam is currently (Oct. 2008) is $26. ASU will no longer have a blanket RX vendor number with Nationwide Vision.

The ASU policy for permitting personnel for authorized access into a laser control area includes exams for baseline purposes (including pre-employment for working in laser control areas), injury investigations, and transferring out of the laser control area or terminations.

To be issued a laser permit, the person must submit a record of the eye exam to the ORS.

Recent Radiation Safety Committee Policy established that the laser eye medical records shall be centrally maintained by the Office of Radiation Safety for emergency purposes. (By law Arizona Administrative Code the laser eye exam records must be maintained for thirty years.)