Practice Management, Ethics, and Professional Standards
Core concepts
Understand the business and legal framework of optometric practice: record keeping, informed consent, billing and coding basics, and compliance with privacy regulations. Know the ethical principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and justice, and how they apply to clinical decisions. Be familiar with scope of practice, referral obligations, and the handling of patient complaints and conflicts of interest.
Traps
Questions often test the difference between ethical and legal obligations. Confidentiality is both ethical and legal; breaching it without consent can lead to liability. Do not confuse informed consent (disclosure of risks and alternatives) with simple permission. Also, avoid conflicts of interest such as accepting gifts that influence clinical decisions.
Worked rule of thumb
When in doubt, document. A clear record of the discussion, the patient's questions, and the decision protects both patient and clinician. For any procedure with material risk, obtain and document informed consent, including alternatives and the consequences of declining.