Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 069 - Board of Optometry › Rule 069.00.92-001 - Proposed Changes, Additions, Corrections, Etc. to the Rules and Regulations of Arkansas State Board of Optometry

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
ARTICLE
		  V
RENEWALS
Section
		  3
The license and the current certificate of renewal -of license to
			 practice optometry issued, will always be displayed in a conspicuous place in
			 the office of the holder thereof, and whenever requested the license and the
			 current certificate of renewal will be exhibited or produced before the
			 Arkansas State Board of Optometry, or to its authorized agents.
Any optometrist who performs any of the acts constituting the
			 practice of optometry, or any part thereof, as described in the Arkansas
			 Optometry Law (ann.
			 17-89-101
			 ) or who employs others to perform any or all of the same, shall specify to the
			 State Board of Optometry a designation for each location where full or partial
			 practice takes place. Recognizing that modes of practice vary from location to
			 location, and such modes of practice may include the utilization of a primary
			 office only, a rotation between branch offices, or the combination of a primary
			 office and one or more branch offices, the Board does hereby set forth rules
			 and regulations governing both the definition of office designations and the
			 requirements and restrictions pertaining to the same. It is the express intent
			 of these rules and regulations to ensure that all offices, whether primary
			 offices or branch offices, are regulated in a like manner. The requirements for
			 primary offices must be no less than those for branch offices.
(1) A primary office is defined as: the
		  permanent location at which a licensed optometrist practices full time, or if
		  practicing in more than one location, the office at which he or she practices
		  the greatest percentage of. time, or if practicing with a mobile branch office,
		  that office the licensee utilizes for record storage, equipment maintenance,
		  and patient availability in conjunction with the mobile operation.
(2) A branch office is defined as any office,
		  other than the primary office, at which a licensed optometrist or employee or
		  agent of a licensed optometrist solicits patients either directly or indirectly
		  and in a premeditated fashion for the purpose of rendering any type of
		  optometric services, including the measuring, repairing, ordering, dispensing,
		  verifying, or adjusting of ophthalmic materials or spectacle lens
		  prescriptions.
(a) A fixed branch office is a
		  branch office as defined above which is at a permanent location.
(b) A mobile branch office is a mobile
		  operation utilized for the practice of optometry at multiple
		  locations.
(3)
		  Availability is the reasonable ability to ensure provision of optometric care
		  in a timely manner as warranted by patient needs, including but not limited to
		  emergencies.
A licensee who practices in more than one (1) office location
			 shall make application to the Board for a duplicate license for each branch
			 office for display as required by this section. In issuing a duplicate license,
			 the address of the branch office location and the original certificate number
			 shall be included. At the time of the annual renewal of the license, those
			 optometrists who have been issued a duplicate license for a branch office,
			 shall make application to the Arkansas State Board of Optometry on a form
			 provided by the Board for the renewal of the license. The holder of a
			 certificate for a branch office may cancel it by returning the certificate to
			 the Secretary of the Board.
The fee for a duplicate license for each branch office shall be
			 $50.00, to be renewed annually.
A licensed optometrist practicing in more than one (1) office
			 shall provide information to patients as to how he or she, or another licensed
			 optometrist may be contacted during regular business hours.