Rule 24.168.2301 - UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT(1) It is unprofessional conduct for a licensee or applicant to violate any statute, rule, or standard of care governing their scope of practice, or exceeding the scope of practice for which they are licensed, trained, and educated to perform. The following additionally constitutes unprofessional conduct by licensees or license applicants:(a) commission of any act of sexual abuse, misconduct, or exploitation whether or not it is related to the licensee's practice of optometry;(b) allowing one's professional conduct or judgment in the practice of optometry to be directed, managed, or controlled by a person who is not an optometrist or a medical doctor in Montana;(c) prescribing, selling, administering, distributing, or giving any drug legally classified as a controlled substance or as an addictive or dangerous drug for other than accepted diagnostic or therapeutic purposes or to oneself or a family member;(d) violating any state or federal law or regulation relating to a drug legally classified as a controlled substance;(e) obtaining any fee by fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation;(f) sanctions or disciplinary actions taken by a peer review body, a hospital or other health care institution, or a professional association or society for acts or conduct similar to acts or conduct that would constitute grounds for action as defined in Title 37, chapters 1 and 10, MCA, and administrative rules promulgated thereunder;(g) surrender of a license or authorization to practice optometry in another state or jurisdiction, or surrender of membership on any staff or in any professional association or society while under disciplinary investigation by any of those authorities or bodies for acts or conduct similar to acts or conduct that would constitute grounds for action as defined in Title 37, chapters 1 and 10, MCA, and administrative rules promulgated thereunder;(h) failure to respond to board inquiry or furnish information requested by the board, department investigators, or board representatives;(i) violation of any provision(s) of Title 37, chapter 10, MCA, or the rules and regulations of the board or of an action, stipulation, or agreement of the board;(j) the designation of any person licensed under Title 37, chapter 10, MCA, other than by the terms "Optometrist," "Doctor of Optometry," or "O.D.";(k) selling or offering to sell any eyeglasses or lenses for the correction of refractive error, except for over-the-counter readers between the powers of +.75 dioptors to +5.50 dioptors, except on prescription of a licensed optometrist or licensed physician;(l) providing ophthalmic lenses and materials that do not meet federally established impact resistance standards;(m) persistently maintaining, in the practice of optometry, unsanitary offices, practices, or techniques; or(n) failing to maintain or permit patient access to accurate patient records for at least five years from the last time the patient was treated.Mont. Admin. r. 24.168.2301
NEW, 1990 MAR p. 2176, Eff. 12/14/90; AMD, 1997 MAR p. 305, Eff. 2/11/97; AMD, 2001 MAR p. 659, Eff. 4/27/01; TRANS, from Commerce, 2003 MAR p. 2083; AMD, 2008 MAR p. 2181, Eff. 10/10/08; AMD, 2015 MAR p. 143, Eff. 2/13/2015; AMD, 2018 MAR p. 307, Eff. 2/10/2018; AMD, 2018 MAR p. 442, Eff. 2/24/2018; AMD, 2020 MAR p. 901, Eff. 5/16/2020; AMD, 2023 MAR p. 1621, Eff. 11/18/2023AUTH: 37-1-131, 37-1-319, 37-10-202, MCA; IMP: 37-1-131, 37-1-316, 37-1-319, 37-10-301, MCA