State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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91_HB3324eng

 
HB3324 Engrossed                               LRB9110531ACtm

 1        AN  ACT  to amend the Illinois Optometric Practice Act of
 2    1987.

 3        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 4    represented in the General Assembly:

 5        Section  5.  The Illinois Optometric Practice Act of 1987
 6    is amended by changing Sections 4.5 and 24 as follows:

 7        (225 ILCS 80/4.5)
 8        Sec. 4.5.  Unlicensed practice; violation; civil penalty.
 9        (a)  Any  person  who  practices,  offers  to   practice,
10    attempts  to  practice,  or  holds  oneself  out  to practice
11    optometry without being licensed under this Act, or  any  (i)
12    individual who is not licensed to practice medicine in all of
13    its  branches  under the Medical Practice Act of 1987 or (ii)
14    entity, either of which influences or attempts  to  influence
15    patient  care diagnostic or treatment decisions of a licensed
16    optometrist  under  the  individual's  or  entity's  control,
17    shall, in addition to any other penalty provided by law,  pay
18    a  civil penalty to the Department in an amount not to exceed
19    $5,000 for each offense as determined by the Department.  The
20    civil  penalty  shall  be  assessed by the Department after a
21    hearing is held in accordance with the provisions  set  forth
22    in  this  Act  regarding  the  provision of a hearing for the
23    discipline of a licensee.
24        (b)  The  Department  has  the  authority  and  power  to
25    investigate any and all unlicensed activity.
26        (c)  The civil penalty shall be paid within 60 days after
27    the effective date of the order imposing the  civil  penalty.
28    The  order  shall  constitute a judgment and may be filed and
29    execution had thereon in the same manner as any judgment from
30    any court of record.
31        (d)  Nothing  in  this  Section  shall  be  construed  to
 
HB3324 Engrossed            -2-                LRB9110531ACtm
 1    prohibit insurers  and  managed  care  plans  from  operating
 2    pursuant   to  the  applicable  provisions  of  the  Illinois
 3    Insurance Code under which the entities are licensed.
 4    (Source: P.A. 89-474, eff. 6-18-96.)

 5        (225 ILCS 80/24) (from Ch. 111, par. 3924)
 6        Sec. 24.  Grounds for disciplinary action.
 7        (a)  The Department may refuse to issue or to  renew,  or
 8    may  revoke,  suspend,  place on probation, reprimand or take
 9    other disciplinary action as the Department may deem  proper,
10    including fines not to exceed $5,000 for each violation, with
11    regard   to  any  license  or  certificate  for  any  one  or
12    combination of the following causes:
13             (1)  Violations  of  this  Act,  or  of  the   rules
14        promulgated hereunder.
15             (2)  Conviction  of  any crime under the laws of any
16        U.S. jurisdiction thereof that is a felony or that  is  a
17        misdemeanor  of which an essential element is dishonesty,
18        or of any crime that is directly related to the  practice
19        of the profession.
20             (3)  Making any misrepresentation for the purpose of
21        obtaining a license or certificate.
22             (4)  Professional  incompetence  or gross negligence
23        in the practice of optometry.
24             (5)  Gross  malpractice,  prima  facie  evidence  of
25        which may be a conviction or judgment of  malpractice  in
26        any court of competent jurisdiction.
27             (6)  Aiding or assisting another person in violating
28        any provision of this Act or rules.
29             (7)  Failing, within 60 days, to provide information
30        in  response  to a written request made by the Department
31        that has been sent by certified or registered mail to the
32        licensee's last known address.
33             (8)  Engaging   in   dishonorable,   unethical,   or
 
HB3324 Engrossed            -3-                LRB9110531ACtm
 1        unprofessional conduct of a character likely to  deceive,
 2        defraud, or harm the public.
 3             (9)  Habitual  or  excessive  use  or  addiction  to
 4        alcohol,  narcotics,  stimulants  or  any  other chemical
 5        agent or drug that results in the inability  to  practice
 6        with reasonable judgment, skill, or safety.
 7             (10)  Discipline  by  another  U.S.  jurisdiction or
 8        foreign nation, if at least one of the  grounds  for  the
 9        discipline  is  the  same  or substantially equivalent to
10        those set forth herein.
11             (11)  Directly or indirectly giving to or  receiving
12        from  any  person,  firm,  corporation,  partnership,  or
13        association any fee, commission, rebate, or other form of
14        compensation  for  any professional services not actually
15        or personally rendered.  This  shall  not  be  deemed  to
16        include  (i)  rent  or  other  remunerations  paid  to an
17        individual, partnership, or corporation by an optometrist
18        for  the  lease,  rental,  or  use  of  space,  owned  or
19        controlled, by the individual,  partnership,  corporation
20        or  association, and (ii) the division of fees between an
21        optometrist and related  professional  service  providers
22        with  whom  the  optometrist practices  in a professional
23        corporation  organized   under   Section   3.6   of   the
24        Professional  Service  Corporation  Act,  and  (iii)  the
25        division  of  fees,  in  a group practice setting under a
26        contractual or employment relationship,  between  one  or
27        more  optometrists  or  one  or  more  optometrists and a
28        licensed health care facility such as a hospital.
29             (12)  A finding by the Department that the licensee,
30        after having his or her license  placed  on  probationary
31        status has violated the terms of probation.
32             (13)  Abandonment of a patient.
33             (14)  Willfully  making  or  filing false records or
34        reports in his or her practice, including but not limited
 
HB3324 Engrossed            -4-                LRB9110531ACtm
 1        to  false  records   filed   with   State   agencies   or
 2        departments.
 3             (15)  Willfully  failing  to  report  an instance of
 4        suspected child abuse  or  neglect  as  required  by  the
 5        Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
 6             (16)  Physical  illness,  including  but not limited
 7        to, deterioration through the aging process, or  loss  of
 8        motor  skill,  mental illness, or disability that results
 9        in  the  inability  to  practice  the   profession   with
10        reasonable judgment, skill, or safety.
11             (17)  Solicitation  of  professional  services other
12        than permitted advertising.
13             (18)  Failure to provide a patient with  a  copy  of
14        his  or  her  record  or  prescription  upon  the written
15        request of the patient.
16             (19)  Conviction   by   any   court   of   competent
17        jurisdiction, either within or without this State, of any
18        violation of any law governing the practice of optometry,
19        conviction in this or another State of any crime that  is
20        a  felony under the laws of this State or conviction of a
21        felony in a federal court, if the Department  determines,
22        after  investigation,  that  such  person  has  not  been
23        sufficiently rehabilitated to warrant the public trust.
24             (20)  A  finding that licensure has been applied for
25        or obtained by fraudulent means.
26             (21)  Continued  practice  by  a  person   knowingly
27        having an infectious or contagious disease.
28             (22)  Being  named  as a perpetrator in an indicated
29        report by the Department of Children and Family  Services
30        under  the  Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, and
31        upon proof by clear  and  convincing  evidence  that  the
32        licensee  has  caused  a child to be an abused child or a
33        neglected child as defined in the  Abused  and  Neglected
34        Child Reporting Act.
 
HB3324 Engrossed            -5-                LRB9110531ACtm
 1             (23)  Practicing  or  attempting to practice under a
 2        name other than the full name as  shown  on  his  or  her
 3        license.
 4             (24)  Immoral  conduct in the commission of any act,
 5        such  as  sexual  abuse,  sexual  misconduct  or   sexual
 6        exploitation, related to the licensee's practice.
 7             (25)  Maintaining  a  professional relationship with
 8        any person, firm, or  corporation  when  the  optometrist
 9        knows,  or  should  know,  that  such  person,  firm,  or
10        corporation is violating this Act.
11             (26)  Promotion  of  the  sale  of  drugs,  devices,
12        appliances  or  goods provided for a client or patient in
13        such manner as to  exploit  the  patient  or  client  for
14        financial gain of the licensee.
15             (27)  Using  the  title "Doctor" or its abbreviation
16        without further qualifying  that  title  or  abbreviation
17        with the word "optometry" or "optometrist".
18             (28)  Use  by  a  licensed  optometrist  of the word
19        "infirmary",  "hospital",  "school",   "university",   in
20        English  or  any  other  language, in connection with the
21        place where optometry may be practiced or demonstrated.
22             (29)  Continuance of an optometrist in the employ of
23        any person, firm or corporation, or as  an  assistant  to
24        any  optometrist or optometrists, directly or indirectly,
25        after his or her employer  or  superior  has  been  found
26        guilty  of  violating or has been enjoined from violating
27        the laws  of  the  State  of  Illinois  relating  to  the
28        practice  of  optometry,  when  the  employer or superior
29        persists in that violation.
30             (30)  The  performance  of  optometric  service   in
31        conjunction  with  a  scheme or plan with another person,
32        firm or corporation known to be advertising in  a  manner
33        contrary  to  this Act or otherwise violating the laws of
34        the  State  of  Illinois  concerning  the   practice   of
 
HB3324 Engrossed            -6-                LRB9110531ACtm
 1        optometry.
 2             (31)  Failure   to  provide  satisfactory  proof  of
 3        having  participated  in  approved  continuing  education
 4        programs as determined by the Board and approved  by  the
 5        Director.   Exceptions  for  extreme  hardships are to be
 6        defined by the rules of the Department.
 7             (32)  Willfully making or filing  false  records  or
 8        reports  in the practice of optometry, including, but not
 9        limited to false records to support  claims  against  the
10        medical  assistance  program  of the Department of Public
11        Aid under the Illinois Public Aid Code.
12             (33)  Gross    and    willful    overcharging    for
13        professional services including filing  false  statements
14        for  collection  of  fees  for  which  services  are  not
15        rendered,  including,  but  not  limited  to filing false
16        statements for collection  of  monies  for  services  not
17        rendered  from  the  medical  assistance  program  of the
18        Department of Public Aid under the  Illinois  Public  Aid
19        Code.
20             (34)  In   the   absence  of  good  reasons  to  the
21        contrary, failure to perform a minimum eye examination as
22        required by the rules of the Department.
23             (35)  Violation   of   the   Health   Care    Worker
24        Self-Referral Act.
25        The  Department  may  refuse  to issue or may suspend the
26    license or certificate of any person  who  fails  to  file  a
27    return,  or  to  pay  the tax, penalty or interest shown in a
28    filed return, or to pay any  final  assessment  of  the  tax,
29    penalty  or interest, as required by any tax Act administered
30    by the Illinois Department of Revenue, until such time as the
31    requirements of any such tax Act are satisfied.
32        (a-5)  In  enforcing  this  Section,  the  Board  upon  a
33    showing of a possible violation, may  compel  any  individual
34    licensed  to  practice under this Act, or who has applied for
 
HB3324 Engrossed            -7-                LRB9110531ACtm
 1    licensure or certification pursuant to this Act, to submit to
 2    a mental or physical examination, or both, as required by and
 3    at the expense of the Department.  The  examining  physicians
 4    or   clinical   psychologists  shall  be  those  specifically
 5    designated by the Board.  The Board  or  the  Department  may
 6    order  the  examining  physician  or clinical psychologist to
 7    present  testimony  concerning  this   mental   or   physical
 8    examination  of  the  licensee  or applicant.  No information
 9    shall be excluded by reason of any common  law  or  statutory
10    privilege  relating to communications between the licensee or
11    applicant   and   the   examining   physician   or   clinical
12    psychologist.  Eye examinations may be provided by a licensed
13    and certified therapeutic optometrist.  The individual to  be
14    examined  may  have,  at  his  or  her  own  expense, another
15    physician of his or her choice present during all aspects  of
16    the  examination.   Failure  of any individual to submit to a
17    mental or  physical  examination,  when  directed,  shall  be
18    grounds  for  suspension  of a license until such time as the
19    individual submits to the examination  if  the  Board  finds,
20    after  notice  and hearing, that the refusal to submit to the
21    examination was without reasonable cause.
22        If the Board  finds  an  individual  unable  to  practice
23    because  of  the reasons set forth in this Section, the Board
24    shall require such individual to submit to care,  counseling,
25    or treatment by physicians or clinical psychologists approved
26    or  designated  by  the  Board,  as  a  condition,  term,  or
27    restriction  for  continued, reinstated, or renewed licensure
28    to practice, or in lieu of care,  counseling,  or  treatment,
29    the Board may recommend to the Department to file a complaint
30    to  immediately  suspend, revoke, or otherwise discipline the
31    license of the individual, or the Board may recommend to  the
32    Department  to  file  a  complaint  to  suspend,  revoke,  or
33    otherwise  discipline  the  license  of  the individual.  Any
34    individual whose license was granted pursuant to this Act, or
 
HB3324 Engrossed            -8-                LRB9110531ACtm
 1    continued, reinstated, renewed, disciplined,  or  supervised,
 2    subject to such conditions, terms, or restrictions, who shall
 3    fail  to comply with such conditions, terms, or restrictions,
 4    shall be referred to the Director for a determination  as  to
 5    whether   the  individual  shall  have  his  or  her  license
 6    suspended immediately, pending a hearing by the Board.
 7        (b)  The determination by a circuit court that a licensee
 8    is subject to involuntary admission or judicial admission  as
 9    provided  in the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities
10    Code operates as an  automatic  suspension.   The  suspension
11    will  end  only upon a finding by a court that the patient is
12    no  longer  subject  to  involuntary  admission  or  judicial
13    admission and issues an order so finding and discharging  the
14    patient;  and  upon  the  recommendation  of the Board to the
15    Director that the licensee be allowed to resume  his  or  her
16    practice.
17    (Source: P.A.  89-702,  eff.  7-1-97;  90-230,  eff.  1-1-98;
18    90-655, eff. 7-30-98.)

19        Section  99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect upon
20    becoming law.

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