CA Optometry Jurisprudence flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Optometry Practice Act citation

California Business and Professions Code § 3000 et seq. Establishes the scope of optometric practice, licensure requirements, and grounds for discipline enforced by the Board of Optometry.

Unlicensed practice of optometry

Performing optometric examinations or treatment, or using the title optometrist, without a valid California license. It is a statutory violation and grounds for denial of a future license.

License renewal requirement

A California optometry license must be renewed each cycle with the required fee and continuing education attestation. Practicing after expiration without renewal is unlicensed practice and subject to penalty.

Continuing education obligation

Licensees must complete Board-specified CE hours per renewal cycle in approved categories, retain documentation, and produce records if audited. Failure to comply can block renewal or support discipline.

Glaucoma certification

A separate post-licensure credential allowing a California optometrist to treat glaucoma. It requires Board-approved education and examination, and the license must reflect the certification.

Topical pharmaceutical agent authority

California optometrists may use topical diagnostic and therapeutic pharmaceutical agents only with the appropriate certification reflected on their license. Use without certification exceeds scope of practice.

Address of record

The practice and mailing address a licensee must keep current with the Board. Official correspondence, renewal notices, and accusations are served there, so stale addresses risk default discipline.

Title 16 Division 15

The California Code of Regulations division containing Board of Optometry rules. It implements the Optometry Practice Act and covers fees, CE, examinations, advertising, and records.

Board of Optometry authority

A licensing board within the Department of Consumer Affairs that issues optometry licenses, adopts regulations, investigates complaints, and imposes discipline for violations of law and regulation.

Delinquency fee

An additional charge imposed when a license is renewed after its expiration date. Payment of the delinquency fee plus renewal fee restores the license; practice during the lapse remains unlawful.

CE audit

The Board's process of requiring a licensee to document continuing education hours claimed at renewal. Records must be retained for the period set by regulation and produced on request.

Advertising rules

Board regulations prohibit false, misleading, or deceptive advertising of optometric services, credentials, or fees. Discount offers must state actual prices and material terms clearly.

Prescription release rule

After an examination, the optometrist must provide the patient a spectacle or contact lens prescription on request so the patient may have it filled elsewhere without interference.

Standard of care

The skill, knowledge, and care ordinarily exercised by competent optometrists under similar circumstances. Breach is usually proven through expert testimony comparing the defendant's conduct to that standard.

Components of eye examination

A complete examination includes history, acuity, refraction, binocular and accommodative testing, tonometry, biomicroscopy, ophthalmoscopy, and visual fields when clinically indicated.

Dilation documentation

When dilation is indicated by risk factors or symptoms, the decision and the patient's refusal must be recorded. Failure to dilate when indicated can support a negligence claim.

Referral duty

An optometrist must refer when a condition exceeds scope or competence or needs co-management. The record should show the reason, urgency, and follow-up on the referral.

Record content standard

Records must be legible and contemporaneous and include history, findings, diagnoses, treatment, advice, and follow-up, sufficient for another optometrist to continue the patient's care.

Record ownership and access

The practice owns the physical record, but the patient is entitled to a copy on request, subject to permitted copying fees and limited statutory exceptions.

Contact lens fitting record

Documentation of lens type, parameters, wearing schedule, and patient training that supports the prescription released. Incomplete fitting records undermine the prescription's validity.

Informed consent

Obtaining the patient's agreement after disclosing material risks, benefits, and alternatives for procedures such as dilation, contact lens wear, or therapeutic treatment.

Grounds for discipline

Statutory bases for Board action, including unprofessional conduct, gross negligence, repeated negligent acts, incompetence, false advertising, and aiding unlicensed practice.

Accusation and hearing

The pleading that initiates formal discipline. The licensee files a notice of defense, and the matter proceeds to hearing before an administrative law judge with a proposed decision to the Board.

Disciplinary penalties

Sanctions available to the Board include revocation, suspension, probation with conditions, practice limitation, reprimand, and cost recovery for investigation and prosecution expenses.

Mandatory self-reporting

Licensees must report certain events to the Board within statutory deadlines, including specified criminal convictions and adverse licensing actions taken by other jurisdictions or agencies.

Patient confidentiality duty

Patient information may not be disclosed without authorization except as required or permitted by law, such as subpoena compliance, mandated reporting, or coordinating treatment among providers.

Kickback prohibition

Offering or accepting remuneration for patient referrals violates professional conduct rules. Fee-splitting with unlicensed persons and payments for referrals are prohibited arrangements.

Practicing while impaired

Providing optometric care while affected by alcohol or drugs is a disciplinary ground. The Board may seek interim practice restrictions to protect patients during proceedings.

CMIA confidentiality

California's Confidentiality of Medical Information Act governs disclosure of patients' medical information by providers, including optometrists, and imposes civil penalties for unauthorized release.

HIPAA versus California law

HIPAA sets a federal privacy floor, while California law such as CMIA may be stricter. Where the two differ, the licensee must follow the more protective requirement.

Professional corporation rules

The Moscone-Knox Professional Corporation Act lets optometrists incorporate with licensed professionals to deliver optometric services, subject to registration and ownership restrictions.

Child abuse reporting duty

Under the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, optometrists acting professionally are mandated reporters and must report suspected abuse or neglect to the designated agency.

Bloodborne pathogens standard

Cal/OSHA rules require optometric practices to maintain an exposure control plan, offer hepatitis B vaccination, provide protective equipment, and train staff on infection control.