CHAPTER 7

 

GROUNDS FOR DISCIPLINE

  

 

 Section 1. Authority. The Board is authorized under Wyoming Statute 33‑23‑110, ‑116, and the WAPA to promulgate rules and regulations related to the discipline of optometrists in Wyoming. 

 

 Section 2. Grounds for Disciplinary Action. The Board may take disciplinary action or refuse to issue or renew a license for one (1) or more of the following acts or conduct:

 

 (a) A violation of the Act or Board Rules, including:

 

  (i) Denial of a license to practice optometry, or any disciplinary action against a licensee, by any other state, territory, or country;

 

  (ii) Failing to report to the Board known or suspected violations of the laws and regulations governing the practice of optometry in Wyoming;

 

  (iii) Submitting false information to the Board;

 

  (iv) Failing to notify the Board of a malpractice final judgment or settlement within thirty days;

 

  (v) Aiding or abetting the practice of optometry in Wyoming by any person not licensed to practice in Wyoming;

 

  (vi) Fraudulent billing;

 

  (vii) Using any term other than "optometrist" or "Doctor of Optometry" to reflect licensure; or

 

  (viii) Loaning of a license issued by the Board.

 

 (b) A conviction involving moral turpitude, including:

 

  (i) A felony or misdemeanor involving a patient or adversely relating to the practice of optometry. A plea of nolo contendere shall be considered a conviction;

 

  (ii) Violating professional boundaries by soliciting, encouraging, threatening, forcing, or engaging in any sexual act or relationship with or upon a patient, regardless of consent. A consensual sexual relationship shall not be deemed moral turpitude if the optometrist-patient relationship was terminated prior to the relationship;

 

  (iii) Sexual harassment of a patient or staff member;

 

 (c) Habitual intemperance or being habitually addicted includes the use of any drug, narcotic, chemical, alcohol or mind altering material that renders the licensee unfit or incompetent to:

 

  (i) Practice optometry with reasonable skill and safety to patients; or

 

  (ii) Conform to essential standards of acceptable optometry practice, in which case actual injury need not be established.

 

 (d) Incompetence, malpractice, or unethical conduct includes:

 

  (i) Practicing in a manner that is not in the best interest of the public and endangers public health, safety, and welfare;

 

  (ii) Practicing optometry:

 

   (A) In violation of any limitations or restrictions imposed on a license, or practicing optometry while a license is suspended or has expired;

 

   (B) With a mental or physical impairment which renders the licensee incapable of practicing optometry with reasonable skill and safety; or

 

  (iii) Performing any procedure in the course of a patient's care, which:

 

   (A) Is beyond the licensee's training and competence;

 

   (B) Deviates from the customary and accepted standard of care in the profession;

 

  (iv) Failing to:

 

   (A) Advise a patient to seek the attention of a physician or other health care provider for an eye disease or disorder discovered during an examination which, in the opinion of the licensee, requires additional diagnosis and medical treatment. Such advice shall not be required for any previously diagnosed disease or disorder;

 

   (B) Provide patients with accurate and complete information regarding the extent and nature of services available to them;

 

   (C) Maintain confidentiality of all information obtained in the course of the optometrist-patient relationship, except that disclosure of confidential information is permissible with the expressed written consent of the patient, or as required by law;

 

   (D) Maintain the confidentiality of any examination related to obtaining a license to practice optometry;

 

   (E) Ensure that a patient's welfare is not compromised in any experimentation or research involving that patient;

 

   (F) Obtain informed written consent from the patient for any experimentation or research;

 

   (G) Obtain approval from any regulatory entity, in which approval is customarily or lawfully required, in order to conduct experimentation or research;

 

   (H) Comply with any regulatory standards customarily or lawfully required for the continuation of experimentation or research;

 

   (I) Release a spectacle lens prescription to the patient in accordance with federal law;

 

   (J) Release a contact lens prescription to the patient in accordance with federal law without all of the following information: expiration date, wearing schedule, care regimen, and all necessary parameters essential to fabricating a contact lens;

 

  (v) Billing patients for services provided which are not justified and are not necessary for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes;

 

  (vi) Administering, dispensing, or prescribing any controlled substance other than in the course of legitimate professional practice as authorized by law;

 

  (vii) Knowingly making any false or fraudulent statement, written or oral, in connection with the practice of optometry, including falsifying entries on patient records;

 

  (viii) Representing that a non-correctable condition can be permanently corrected;

  

  (ix) Interfering with the free choice of any patient when selecting a physician or other health care practitioner; and

 

  (x) Incurring any judgment against the licensee for malpractice or negligence.

  

 (e) Unprofessional and dishonest conduct includes:

 

  (i) Advertising professional services through statements that are untruthful, improbable, misleading, or impossible;

 

  (ii) Announcing services available in the licensee's practice that expresses or implies specialization;

 

  (iii) Failing to display a license at all times in a conspicuous and readily accessible location to all patients at the optometrist's place of business;

 

  (iv) Failure to comply with a term, condition or obligation of a Board order; or

 

  (v) Failure to appropriately supervise.