OAR 852-060-0025: Disciplinary Action

(1) When disciplining an optometric physician or any other person, the Oregon Board of Optometry may do any of the following: (a) Deny an initial license; (b) Suspend, refuse to renew or revoke a license; (c) Impose probation on any licensee; (d) Limit the practice of any licensee; and (e) Take other disciplinary action as the Board in its discretion finds proper, including the assessment of the costs of the disciplinary proceedings as a civil penalty, the assessment of a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each violation, or both. (2) The Board may discipline any optometric physician or person, where appropriate, for the following causes: (a) Conviction of a felony or misdemeanor where such an offense bears a demonstrable relationship to the duties of an optometric physician. The record of conviction, or a copy thereof certified by the clerk of the court or by the judge in whose court the conviction is held, is conclusive evidence of such conviction; (b) Practicing optometry without a license; (c) Securing a license by practicing fraud or deceit upon the Board; (d) Unprofessional conduct; (e) Gross ignorance or inefficiency in the practice of optometry; (f) Failing to comply with the requirements of continuing education; (g) Obtaining any fee by fraud or misrepresentation; (h) Employing directly or indirectly any suspended or unlicensed optometrist to perform any work covered by ORS 683.010 to 683.335; (i) Advertising optometric services or treatment or advice in which untruthful, improbable, misleading or deceitful statements are made; (j) Habitual, excessive or unlawful use of intoxicants, drugs or controlled substances; (k) Permitting another person to use the optometrist’s license; (l) Using advertisements that do not indicate that a licensed optometrist is practicing at the advertised location or locations or advertising optometric services without having a licensed optometrist at the location or locations; (m) Advertising professional methods or professional superiority; (n) Violating the federal Controlled Substances Act; (o) Prescribing controlled substances without a legitimate optometric purpose, or without following accepted procedures for examination of patients or for record keeping; (p) Failing to report to the Board within 10 calendar days any adverse action taken against the optometrist or person by another licensing jurisdiction, health regulatory board, peer review body, health care institution, professional optometric society or association, governmental agency, law enforcement agency or court for acts similar to conduct that would constitute grounds for disciplinary action as described in this section; (q) Having been disciplined by any health regulatory board of another state based on acts similar to acts described in this section. A certified copy of the record of disciplinary action is considered conclusive evidence of the action; (r) Any violation of the provisions of ORS 683.010 to 683.335; or (s) Practicing optometry in a location not reported to the Board. (t) Failing to report the suspected prohibited or unprofessional conduct of another health care licensee to the appropriate board within 10 working days as required in ORS 676.150 and 683.340. (u) Operating a business that violates the requirements of OAR 852-020-0045. (3) The Board must report all disciplinary action taken by the Board to the National Practitioner Data Bank.