Public Act 90-0230 of the 90th General Assembly
Public Act 90-0230
SB902 Enrolled LRB9000080DPcd
AN ACT concerning the practice of optometry, amending
named Acts.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Optometric Practice Act of 1987
is amended by changing Section 24 as follows:
(225 ILCS 80/24) (from Ch. 111, par. 3924)
Sec. 24. Grounds for disciplinary action.
(a) The Department may refuse to issue or to renew, or
may revoke, suspend, place on probation, reprimand or take
other disciplinary action as the Department may deem proper,
including fines not to exceed $5,000 for each violation, with
regard to any license or certificate for any one or
combination of the following causes:
(1) 1. violations of this Act, or of the rules
promulgated hereunder;
(2) 2. conviction of any crime under the laws of
any U.S. jurisdiction thereof which is a felony or which
is a misdemeanor, an essential element of which is
dishonesty, or of any crime which is directly related to
the practice of the profession;
(3) 3. making any misrepresentation for the purpose
of obtaining a license or certificate;
(4) 4. professional incompetence or gross
negligence in the practice of optometry;
(5) 5. gross malpractice, prima facie evidence of
which may be a conviction or judgment of malpractice in
any court of competent jurisdiction.
(6) 6. aiding or assisting another person in
violating any provision of this Act or rules;
(7) 7. failing, within 60 days, to provide
information in response to a written request made by the
Department which has been sent by certified or registered
mail to the licensee's last known address;
(8) 8. engaging in dishonorable, unethical, or
unprofessional conduct of a character likely to deceive,
defraud, or harm the public;
(9) 9. habitual or excessive use or addiction to
alcohol, narcotics, stimulants or any other chemical
agent or drug which results in the inability to practice
with reasonable judgment, skill, or safety;
(10) 10. discipline by another U.S. jurisdiction or
foreign nation, if at least one of the grounds for the
discipline is the same or substantially equivalent to
those set forth herein;
(11) 11. directly or indirectly giving to or
receiving from any person, firm, corporation,
partnership, or association any fee, commission, rebate,
or other form of compensation for any professional
services not actually or personally rendered. This shall
not be deemed to include (i) rent or other remunerations
paid to an individual, partnership, or corporation by an
optometrist for the lease, rental, or use of space, owned
or controlled, by the individual, partnership,
corporation or association, and (ii) the division of fees
between an optometrist and related professional service
providers with whom the optometrist practices in a
professional corporation organized under Section 3.6 of
the Professional Service Corporation Act;
(12) 12. a finding by the Department that the
licensee, after having his license placed on probationary
status has violated the terms of probation;
(13) 13. abandonment of a patient;
(14) 14. willfully making or filing false records
or reports in his practice, including but not limited to
false records filed with State agencies or departments;
(15) 15. willfully failing to report an instance of
suspected child abuse or neglect as required by the
Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
(16) 16. physical illness, including but not
limited to, deterioration through the aging process, or
loss of motor skill which results in the inability to
practice the profession with reasonable judgment, skill,
or safety;
(17) 17. solicitation of professional services
other than permitted advertising;
(18) 18. failure to provide a patient with a copy
of his record or prescription upon the written request of
the patient;
(19) 19. conviction by any court of competent
jurisdiction, either within or without this State, of any
violation of any law governing the practice of optometry,
conviction in this or another State of any crime which is
a felony under the laws of this State or conviction of a
felony in a federal court, if the Department determines,
after investigation, that such person has not been
sufficiently rehabilitated to warrant the public trust;
(20) 20. a finding that licensure has been applied
for or obtained by fraudulent means;
(21) 21. continued practice by a person knowingly
having an infectious or contagious disease;
(22) 22. being named as a perpetrator in an
indicated report by the Department of Children and Family
Services under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting
Act, and upon proof by clear and convincing evidence that
the licensee has caused a child to be an abused child or
a neglected child as defined in the Abused and Neglected
Child Reporting Act;
(23) 23. practicing or attempting to practice under
a name other than the full name as shown on his license;
(24) 24. immoral conduct in the commission of any
act, such as sexual abuse, sexual misconduct or sexual
exploitation, related to the licensee's practice;
(25) 25. maintaining a professional relationship
with any person, firm, or corporation when the
optometrist knows, or should know, that such person,
firm, or corporation is violating this Act;
(26) 26. promotion of the sale of drugs, devices,
appliances or goods provided for a client or patient in
such manner as to exploit the patient or client for
financial gain of the licensee;
(27) 27. using the title "Doctor" or its
abbreviation without further qualifying that title or
abbreviation with the word "optometry" or "optometrist";
(28) 28. use by a registered optometrist of the
word "infirmary", "hospital", "school", "university", in
English or any other language, in connection with the
place where optometry may be practiced or demonstrated;
(29) 29. continuance of an optometrist in the
employ of any person, firm or corporation, or as an
assistant to any optometrist or optometrists, directly or
indirectly, after his employer or superior has been found
guilty of violating or has been enjoined from violating
the laws of the State of Illinois relating to the
practice of optometry, when the employer or superior
persists in that violation;
(30) 30. the performance of optometric service in
conjunction with a scheme or plan with another person,
firm or corporation known to be advertising in a manner
contrary to this Act or otherwise violating the laws of
the State of Illinois concerning the practice of
optometry;
(31) 31. failure to provide satisfactory proof of
having participated in approved continuing education
programs as determined by the Committee and approved by
the Director. Exceptions for extreme hardships are to be
defined by the rules of the Department;
(32) 32. willfully making or filing false records
or reports in the practice of optometry, including, but
not limited to false records to support claims against
the medical assistance program of the Department of
Public Aid under the Illinois Public Aid Code;
(33) 33. gross and willful overcharging for
professional services including filing false statements
for collection of fees for which services are not
rendered, including, but not limited to filing false
statements for collection of monies for services not
rendered from the medical assistance program of the
Department of Public Aid under the Illinois Public Aid
Code;
(34) 34. in the absence of good reasons to the
contrary, failure to perform a minimum eye examination as
required by the rules of the Department;
(35) 35. violation of the Health Care Worker
Self-Referral Act.
The Department may refuse to issue or may suspend the
license or certificate of any person who fails to file a
return, or to pay the tax, penalty or interest shown in a
filed return, or to pay any final assessment of the tax,
penalty or interest, as required by any tax Act administered
by the Illinois Department of Revenue, until such time as the
requirements of any such tax Act are satisfied.
(b) The determination by a circuit court that a licensee
is subject to involuntary admission or judicial admission as
provided in the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities
Code operates as an automatic suspension. The suspension
will end only upon a finding by a court that the patient is
no longer subject to involuntary admission or judicial
admission and issues an order so finding and discharging the
patient; and upon the recommendation of the Committee to the
Director that the licensee be allowed to resume his practice.
(Source: P.A. 86-596; 87-1207.)
Section 10. The Professional Service Corporation Act is
amended by changing Section 3.6 as follows:
(805 ILCS 10/3.6) (from Ch. 32, par. 415-3.6)
Sec. 3.6. "Related professions" and "related
professional services" mean more than one personal service
which requires as a condition precedent to the rendering
thereof the obtaining of a license and which prior to October
1, 1973 the effective date of this amendatory Act could not
be performed by a corporation by reason of law; provided,
however, that these terms shall be restricted to:
(1) a combination of two or more of the following
personal services: (a) "architecture" as defined in
Section 5 of the Illinois Architecture Practice Act of
1989, (b) "professional engineering" as defined in
Section 4 of the Professional Engineering Practice Act of
1989, (c) "structural engineering" as defined in Section
5 of the Structural Engineering Licensing Act of 1989,
(d) "land surveying" as defined in Section 2 of the
Illinois Professional Land Surveyor Act of 1989; or
(2) a combination of the following personal
services: (a) the practice of medicine in all of its
branches, (b) the practice of podiatry as defined in
Section 5 of the Podiatric Medical Practice Act of 1987,
(c) the practice of dentistry as defined in the Illinois
Dental Practice Act, (d) the practice of optometry as
defined in the Illinois Optometric Practice Act of 1987.
(Source: P.A. 86-711; 86-1475.)