Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 430 - RULES OF GEORGIA STATE BOARD OF EXAMINERS IN OPTOMETRY › Chapter 430-4 - UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT › Rule 430-4-.01 - Unprofessional Conduct

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through June 27, 2024
(1) By the authority granted under Section
			  43-30-5 of  the Official Code of
			 Georgia Annotated, the Georgia Board of Examiners in Optometry has the
			 authority to adopt, establish, enforce, and maintain rules and regulations
			 applicable to the practice of optometry adequate to put O.C.G.A. Chapter 30,
			 Title 43 into effect and to regulate the practice of optometry as a profession
			 in conformity with and in compliance with accepted professional
			 standards.
(2) Any one or all of
			 the following acts committed by a doctor of optometry licensed in Georgia are
			 in violation of the accepted professional standards for the practice of
			 optometry in this State and shall constitute "unprofessional conduct" within
			 the meaning of the O.C.G.A. Section
			  43-30-9,
as
			 amended
:
(a) Continuing to practice
			 optometry while suffering from any physical or mental disease or disability,
			 which renders the further practice of optometry dangerous to patients or the
			 public;
(b) Habitual intemperance
			 in the use of ardent spirits, narcotics or stimulants to such an extent as to
			 render the licensed doctor of optometry unfit for the careful performance of
			 his professional duties;
(c) The
			 intentional making of any fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive statement in any
			 form of advertising connected with the practice of optometry, including but not
			 limited to the tactic of `bait and switch', whereby a product or service is
			 advertised for a specific price but the consumer must in fact purchase
			 additional products or product or service previously advertised;
(d) Making untruthful or improbable
			 statements or flamboyant or extravagant claims concerning the licensed doctor
			 of optometry's skills which are likely to deceive the public;
(e) Assisting any person other than another
			 licensed doctor of optometry or a doctor of medicine skilled in diseases of the
			 eyes in the prescribing or fitting of a contact lens for a patient, unless the
			 person so assisted is under his direct, personal supervision while upon the
			 same premises. In releasing a prescription for contact lens all parameters
			 necessary for fabrication of the lens must be included;
(f) Practicing or continuing to practice
			 optometry under, or use in connection with his practice of optometry, any
			 assumed name, corporate name, trade name, or any name other than the name under
			 which he is licensed to practice optometry in Georgia except under the
			 following conditions:
1. When doctors of
			 optometry are practicing as partners, they may practice under the full or last
			 names of the partners. Doctors of optometry who are employed by other doctors
			 of optometry shall practice in their own names, but may practice in an office
			 listed under the name of the individual or partnership of doctors of optometry
			 by whom they are employed, provided, however, that their names shall be
			 displayed in a manner similar to the other doctors of optometry in the
			 practice. In the event of the death or retirement of a doctor of optometry or
			 sale of the optometric practice, the surviving doctor or doctors or the
			 purchaser of the practice may continue to use the name of the predecessor in
			 addition to his own name for a period not to exceed two (2) years from the
			 death or retirement of said predecessor. This rule shall not be construed to
			 authorize conduct otherwise prohibited by the Patient Self-Referral Act,
			 codified at O.C.G.A Section
			  43-1B-1
et
			 seq.
(g)
			 Publicly displaying of the licensed doctor of optometry's name upon or in any
			 premises used for the practice of optometry, unless a licensed doctor of
			 optometry is actually present at times optometric services are provided and
			 unless such licensed doctor of optometry is in the practice of optometry at
			 such premises for a minimum of four (4) hours per week;
(h) Failing to advise each patient whenever
			 consultation with an optometric colleague or referral for other professional
			 care seems advisable;
(i) Failing
			 to hold in professional confidence all information concerning a
			 patient;
(j) Exaggerating the
			 patient's condition for the purpose of prescribing or dispensing unnecessary
			 optometric services;
(k) Performing
			 any dishonorable, unethical or unprofessional conduct likely to deceive,
			 defraud or harm the public;
(l)
			 Consistently misdiagnosing or consistently prescribing improper
			 therapy;
(m) Violating, attempting
			 to violate, or conspiring to violate any provision of the laws or rules
			 pertaining to the practice of optometry in this State;
(n) Failing to provide adequate safeguards
			 against patient abandonment. For purposes of this Rule, an optometrist shall be
			 deemed to have provided such safeguards if he/she:
1. makes himself/herself available for
			 twenty-four (24) hour access;
2.
			 arranges alternative coverage by a licensed practitioner or other appropriate
			 healthcare facility; or
3. advises
			 prospective patients, in writing, at the time of their first visit that it is
			 his/her policy not to be available during non-office hours;
(o) Assisting, allowing, or permitting an
			 unlicensed person, firm, association or corporation to practice optometry in
			 this State;
(p) Accepting any
			 direct or indirect payment, gift, or other remuneration of any optometric
			 service not actually rendered;
(q)
			 Placing his license at the disposal or in the service or control of any person,
			 firm, association or corporation not licensed to practice optometry in this
			 State;
(r) Entering into any
			 agreement that allows an unlicensed person, firm, association, or corporation
			 to control or attempt to control the professional judgment, the manner of
			 practice, or the practice of a doctor of optometry. For purposes of this
			 section,"control or attempt to control the professional judgment, the manner
			 of practice, or the practice of the doctor of optometry" shall include but not
			 be limited to:
1. setting or attempting to
			 influence the professional fees of a doctor of optometry;
2. restricting or attempting to restrict a
			 doctor of optometry's freedom to see patients on an appointment
			 basis;
3. terminating or
			 threatening to terminate any lease, agreement, or other relationship in an
			 effort to control the professional judgment, manner of practice, or practice of
			 a doctor of optometry;
4. making or
			 guaranteeing a loan to a doctor of optometry in excess of the value of the
			 collateral securing the loan;
5.
			 agreeing to divide or split fees received for professional services with any
			 person, firm, association, or corporation for the solicitation or referral of a
			 patient, provided that the following acts shall not be construed as
			 unprofessional conduct under this regulation unless the person, firm,
			 association, or corporation controls or attempts to control the practice of the
			 doctor of optometry:
(i) entering into a bona
			 fide lease or rental agreement based upon a percentage of gross
			 income;
(ii) advertising in a
			 truthful, non-deceptive manner, or paying for such advertising based upon a
			 percentage of gross income, as long as such advertising otherwise complies with
			 Rules  430-4-.01(2)(c),(d) and (f)  and other applicable statutes and
			 regulations.
(iii) nothing in this
			 rule shall be construed to prohibit professional relationships between
			 optometrists, medical doctors, health maintenance organizations and/or
			 hospitals. This rule shall not be construed to authorize conduct otherwise
			 prohibited by the Patient Self-Referral Act, codified at O.C.G.A. Section
			  43-1B-1
et
			 seq.
(s) It is the intent of subsection (r) to
			 prevent manufacturers, wholesalers, or retailers of optical goods from
			 controlling or attempting to control the professional judgment, manner of
			 practice or the practice of a doctor of optometry, and the provisions of this
			 section shall be liberally construed to carry out this intent.
(t) Subsection (r) shall not apply where the
			 manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer of ophthalmic goods is a licensed doctor
			 of optometry or a licensed physician or legal entity 100 percent owned and
			 controlled by one or more licensed doctors of optometry or licensed physicians;
			 however, the exception set forth in this subsection shall not apply where the
			 doctor of optometry or legal entity has offices at more than three (3)
			 locations.
(u) Failing to release
			 patient records within a reasonable period of time to a Physician or another
			 Doctor of Optometry upon written authorization from the patient.
1. The patient shall be responsible to pay
			 the costs of search, retrieval, copying and mailing the patient
			 record.
(v) Failing to
			 respond within the time specified to a subpoena from the Board or the Board's
			 agent.