Missouri Code of State Regulations
Title 20 - DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND INSURANCE
Division 2210 - State Board of Optometry
Chapter 2 - General Rules
Section 20 CSR 2210-2.060 - Professional Conduct Rules
Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, March 15, 2024
PURPOSE: This rule is being amended pursuant to Executive Order 17-03.
(1) Every licensed optometrist whose name, office address, phone number, or place of practice appears or is mentioned in any advertisement of any kind or character is presumed to have caused, allowed, permitted, approved, and sanctioned the advertisement and is personally and professionally responsible for the content and character of the advertisement.
(2) The term advertising, as used in section 336.110, RSMo and this rule, includes, but is not limited to, advertising by means of any of the following media:
(3) Advertisements which will be deemed to violate section (3) include, but are not limited to, those which:
(4) Advertising concerning the cost and availability of ophthalmic goods and services is deemed to be misleading unless it contains the following disclosures:
(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require that the optometrist advertise the price of particular goods or services.
(6) It shall be considered dishonesty in the practice of optometry for an optometrist to permit, allow, or cause a person who is not a licensed optometrist or a licensed physician or surgeon to use the optometrist's prescription or optometric findings to fit a contact lens upon a patient or member of the public.
(7) It shall be considered misconduct in the practice of optome-try to-
(8) It shall be considered dishonesty in the practice of optometry for an optometrist to enter into an agreement or arrangement where s/he permits, allows, or causes a person who is not a licensed optometrist or a licensed physician or surgeon to do any of the following acts upon a patient or member of the public:
(9) Every licensed optometrist providing optometric services prominently shall display his/her name and identify his/her profession by including the word optometrist, doctor of optometry, or O.D. at the entrance of his/her office(s) any times during which these services are offered.
(10) An optometrist is associated in business if s/he is a partner or if s/he is an employee or the holder of ten percent (10%) or more of the stock in a corporation or an officer or director of a corporation, or is guaranteed, promised, or paid a commission, repayment of expenses, or other remuneration.
(11) An optometrist who is associated in business with a person, firm, or corporation which deals in optometric goods shall disclose this business relationship to his/her patients prior to the formation of an expressed or implied contract for optometric services. This disclosure shall include the name of the employer of the optometrist or state the name of the business in which s/he holds an interest or of which s/he is a member, officer, or director and shall take the form of a sign posted in clear public view or a printed statement delivered to each patient in his/her care.
(12) Sections (10) and (11) of this rule shall not apply to an optometrist who is associated in business merely by being a member or an employee of a professional corporation lawfully organized and registered pursuant to the provisions of Chapters 336 and 356, RSMo and the rules of the board applicable to those chapters, or by being a member or salaried employee of a health services corporation lawfully organized and registered in accordance with Chapter 354, RSMo.
(13) An optometrist who rents or leases office space on the premises of a business which deals in optometric goods and who is not associated with that business shall disclose that fact in the manner described in section (11) of this rule.
*Original authority: 336.110, RSMo 1939, amended 1947, 1978, 1981 and 336.160.1, RSMo 1939, amended 1947, 1963, 1981, 2007.