As
stated in Section 4725.19 (B) of the Ohio Revised Code, the
sanctions specified in this section may be taken by the Board
for several specific reasons. One prohibited activity mentioned
is the "Soliciting patients from door to door or establishing
temporary offices, in which case the Board shall suspend all
certificates held by the optometrist."
No licensed
optometrist may travel from door to door to offer optometric
services that constitute the practice of optometry as defined
in section 4725.01 of the Ohio Revised Code. This would
not prohibit the optometrist from calling on a patient that
is non-ambulatory at a residence to either conduct an examination
or to dispense optical accessories if a doctor-patient relationship
exists prior to the house call. This does not prohibit the
advertisement of optometric services by means of distribution
of mailings, brochures, or other such printed materials
delivered from door to door.
No licensed
optometrist shall establish an office or examination site
at any location on a temporary basis for the purpose of
conducting examinations or providing optometric services
to patients. In order to provide needed services to the
citizens of the state there may be some limited exceptions
to the temporary office prohibition which are:
(1)
A licensed optometrist may provide temporary services to
a licensed nursing home or other full care facility. This
temporary arrangement should be covered by a contract between
the licensee and each specific location and be within the
guidelines established by the Ohio Department of Health
concerning such activities. The licensee is responsible
for providing the necessary equipment, or to arrange for
the necessary equipment, required to conduct an eye examination
in a professional setting.
Only
residents of the facility that are normally considered non-ambulatory
or whom traveling from the location would present a hardship
can be examined at the temporary office location. Persons
that are residents of assisted living and fully ambulatory
or employees of the locations are not eligible for provided
services at a temporary location.
Professional fees received by the licensee under normal
circumstances should be through the direct billing of the
patient for the services provided. All other laws and rules
that are established as to prescriptions, identification
and records are to be followed as closely as possible as
circumstances permit.
(2)
A licensed optometrist may not set up a temporary location
at a factory, office building or location of a principal
provider of vision benefits unless approved by the Board,
in writing.
(3) A licensed optometrist may provide temporary services
at sporting events that would require optometric services
for the participants of the event during its duration. Optometrists
that are engaging in this type of activity must notify the
Board prior to performing the optometric services so that
the temporary locations can be verified.
(4)
A licensed optometrist may engage in visual acuity testing
at temporary locations. The licensee also may supervise
or provide staff in conducting vision acuity activities.
It should be made very clear to the participants that it
is only an acuity test and not an eye examination. The licensee
may not use this public service to actively solicit patients
but may include the licensees' name and office location
in a list provided to persons so requesting such information.
(5)
A licensed optometrist may provide eye care services and
examinations at a developmental center for patients under
the jurisdiction of the Department of Mental Retardation
and Developmental Disabilities. These services would be
by contract with the agency. Residents to be examined would
be at the discretion of the agency. One factor of consideration
would be if the resident required a staff member to accompany
them to an outside office for an examination. The licensee
is responsible for providing the necessary equipment, or
to arrange for the necessary equipment, required to conduct
an eye examination in a professional setting.
Any
other activities not specifically mentioned in this policy
that involve either door to door activities or the establishment
of a temporary office should be considered improper under
Section 4725.19(B) and would require prior approval by the
Board. The establishment of permanent satellite office locations
are not considered temporary locations under these definitions
even if not staffed on a full time basis
These
guidelines are considered only a further amplification of
the Optometry Laws and Administrative Rules for the information
of licensees.
Approved
Board Meeting of May 19, 1999
