2555.5. The board may take action against any registrant who is charged with unprofessional conduct and may deny an application for a registration if the applicant has committed unprofessional conduct. In addition to other provisions of this article, unprofessional conduct includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(a) Violating, attempting to violate, conspiring to violate, or directly or indirectly assisting in or abetting the violation of any provision of this chapter or any of the rules and regulations adopted by the board pursuant to this chapter.
(b) Gross negligence.
(c) Repeated negligent acts. To be repeated, there must be two or more negligent acts or omissions.
(d) Incompetence.
(e) The commission of fraud, misrepresentation, or any act involving dishonesty or corruption that is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a registered optician.
(f) Any action or conduct that would have warranted the denial of a registration.
(g) The use of advertising relating to opticianry that violates Section 651 or 17500.
(h) Denial of licensure, revocation, suspension, restriction, or any other disciplinary action against a health care professional license, registration, or permit by another state or territory of the United States, by any other governmental agency, or by another California health care professional licensing board. A certified copy of the decision or judgment shall be conclusive evidence of that action.
(i) Procuring the registrant’s registration by fraud, misrepresentation, or mistake.
(j) Making or giving any false statement or information in connection with the application for issuance of a license.
(k) Conviction of a felony or of any offense substantially related to the qualifications, functions, and duties of a registered dispensing optician, in which event the record of the conviction shall be conclusive evidence thereof.
(l) Administering to oneself any controlled substance or using any of the dangerous drugs specified in Section 4022, or using alcoholic beverages to the extent, or in a manner, as to be dangerous or injurious to the person applying for a license or holding a registration under this chapter, or to any other person, or to the public, or, to the extent that the use impairs the ability of the person applying for or holding a license to conduct with safety to the public the practice authorized by the license, or the conviction of a misdemeanor or felony involving the use, consumption, or self-administration of any of the substances referred to in this subdivision, or any combination thereof.
(m) (1) Committing or soliciting an act punishable as a sexually related crime, if that act or solicitation is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of an optician.
(2) Committing any act of sexual abuse, misconduct, or relations with a patient. The commission of and conviction for any act of sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, or attempted sexual misconduct, whether or not with a patient, shall be considered a crime substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a registrant. This paragraph shall not apply to sexual contact between any person licensed under this chapter and the registrant’s spouse or person in an equivalent domestic relationship when that registrant provides optometry treatment to the registrant’s spouse or person in an equivalent domestic relationship.
(3) Conviction of a crime that requires the person to register as a sex offender pursuant to Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 290) of Title 9 of Part 1 of the Penal Code. A conviction within the meaning of this paragraph means a plea or verdict of guilty or a conviction following a plea of nolo contendere. A conviction described in this paragraph shall be considered a crime substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a registrant.
(n) The failure to maintain adequate and accurate records relating to the provision of services to one’s patients.
(o) Performing, or holding oneself out as being able to perform, or offering to perform, any professional services beyond the scope of the license authorized by this chapter.
(p) The practice of functions defined in this chapter without a valid, unrevoked, unexpired registration.
(q) The employing, directly or indirectly, of any suspended or unregistered individual to perform any work for which an optician registration is required.
(r) Permitting another person to use the registration for any purpose.
(s) Altering with fraudulent intent a registration issued by the board, or using a fraudulently altered license, permit, certification, or any registration issued by the board.
(t) Except for good cause, the knowing failure to protect patients by failing to follow infection control guidelines of the board, thereby risking transmission of bloodborne infectious diseases from optician to patient, from patient to patient, or from patient to optician. In administering this subdivision, the board shall consider the standards, regulations, and guidelines of the State Department of Public Health developed pursuant to Section 1250.11 of the Health and Safety Code and the standards, guidelines, and regulations pursuant to the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 (Part 1 (commencing with Section 6300) of Division 5 of the Labor Code) for preventing the transmission of HIV, hepatitis B, and other bloodborne pathogens in health care settings.
(u) Dispensing ophthalmic lenses without a current prescription.
(Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 630, Sec. 52. (AB 1534) Effective January 1, 2022.)
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