Standards of Conduct, Complaints, and Discipline
Standards of conduct
Licensees must practice competently, obtain informed consent, protect patient confidentiality, maintain legible records, follow infection-control requirements, and avoid deceptive advertising, fee-splitting, and abandonment. Supervision of assistants must be adequate; unlicensed staff may not make optometric judgments. Referral is required when a condition exceeds scope or competence.
Complaints and discipline
Complaints go to the Board and DPL. After screening, the Board may investigate, request records, offer a conference, or issue a show-cause order. Formal discipline requires notice and an opportunity to be heard; sanctions include reprimand, probation, suspension, revocation, fines, and CE conditions. Summary suspension may occur when continued practice poses immediate harm. The Board applies the preponderance-of-evidence standard, not the malpractice damages standard.
Worked example
An optometrist sees a patient with a painful red eye, diagnoses conjunctivitis, and sends the patient home without checking acuity, pupils, or corneal status. The patient later has acute angle-closure glaucoma. The Board may discipline for failure to meet the standard of care and failure to refer. The key reasoning is not whether the patient sues, but whether the licensee breached the Board’s conduct standards.
Traps
Board discipline is separate from civil malpractice and criminal liability. A malpractice settlement does not automatically decide licensure, and a Board reprimand does not award damages. Do not ignore record requests from the Board; obstruction can become a separate violation. Confidentiality has statutory exceptions, including Board investigations.