Failure of any licensee to comply with chapter 459, HRS, or
this chapter shall be grounds for the board to refuse to admit a person to the
examination, refuse to issue a license or certificate, suspend or revoke a
license or certificate, fine a licensee, or refuse to renew a license. In
addition, the following shall be grounds for the board to refuse to admit a
person to the examination, refuse to issue a license or certificate, suspend or
revoke a license or certificate, fine a licensee, or refuse to renew a
license:
(1) Presentation to the board
of any certificate or testimony or information which was untrue in any material
respect or illegally or fraudulently obtained, or when fraud or deceit has been
practiced in obtaining any license or certificate under this chapter or in
passing an examination;
(2) Conduct
of a character likely to deceive or defraud the public, or habits of
intemperance or drug addiction calculated to destroy the accuracy of the work
of an optometrist, or professional misconduct, or gross carelessness or
negligence, or manifest incapacity in the practice of optometry;
(3) Advertising by means of false and
deceptive statements or by statements which tend to deceive or
defraud;
(4) Directly or indirectly
accepting or offering employment to practice optometry from, or to any person
not having a valid, unrevoked, and unsuspended license or from any company or
corporation, excepting health maintenance organizations;
(5) Soliciting or receiving, directly or
indirectly, any price differential, rebate, refund, discount, commission,
credit, kickback, or other allowance, whether in the form of money or
otherwise, from a dispensing optician for or on account of referring or sending
to the dispensing optician of any intended or prospective wearer or user of any
article or appliance prepared or furnished by a dispensing optician, or for or
on account of any service or article furnished by the dispensing optician to
any intended or prospective wearer or user;
(6) Using any name in connection with the
licensee's practice other than the name under which the licensee is licensed to
practice, or using any advertising which fails to clearly identify the
individual licensee or which is ambiguous or misleading as to the licensee's
identity;
(7) Employing or
utilizing any unlicensed individual to perform optometric services in
connection with refraction or visual training without directly and personally
supervising the individuals in the performance of the services;
(8) Utilizing pharmaceutical agents without
first being certified by the board to do so, or utilizing pharmaceutical agents
for purposes other than those as specified in chapter 459, HRS;
(9) Failing to refer a patient to an
appropriate licensed physician upon discovery, by history or examination, that
the patient evidences an ocular abnormality or symptoms of systemic disease
requiring further diagnosis and possible treatment by a licensed
physician;
(10) Being convicted,
whether by nolo contendere or otherwise, of a penal offense substantially
related to the qualifications, functions or duties in the practice of optometry
notwithstanding any statutory provision to the contrary; and
(11) Failing to report any disciplinary
action taken against the licensee in another jurisdiction to the board within
thirty days of the disciplinary action.
