BILL NUMBER: AB 2683	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Hernandez

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2010

   An act to add Section 3070.1 to the Business and Professions Code,
relating to optometrists.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2683, as introduced, Hernandez. Optometrists.
   Existing law, the Optometry Practice Act, provides for the
licensure and regulation of optometrists by the State Board of
Optometry. A violation of the provisions of the act constitutes a
crime. Existing law requires an optometrist, prior to engaging in the
practice of optometry, to notify the board in writing of the address
or addresses where he or she is to engage, or intends to engage, in
the practice of optometry.
   This bill would authorize the practice of optometry at a health
facility or residential care facility, as defined, provided the
optometrist meets specified requirements, including, but not limited
to, those related to maintaining a nonresidential primary business
office, patient access to, and disclosure of, patient records, and
specified recordkeeping requirements. The bill would exempt from the
address notification requirements to the board an optometrist who
practices in a health facility or residential care facility and who
meets the above requirements. Because a violation of those provisions
would constitute a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 3070.1 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
   3070.1.  (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms
have the following meanings:
   (1) "Health facility" means any facility, place, or building that
is organized, maintained, and operated for the diagnosis, care,
prevention, and treatment of human illness, physical or mental,
including convalescence and rehabilitation and including care during
and after pregnancy, or for any one or more of these purposes, for
one or more persons, to which the person or persons are admitted for
a 24-hour stay or longer as defined by Section 1250 of the Health and
Safety Code.
   (2) "Residential care facility" means any facility licensed by the
State Department of Social Services caring for persons who cannot
live alone but who do not need extensive medical services. The
services provided in these facilities vary according to the needs of
the individual, but typically include help with medications and
assistance with personal hygiene, dressing, and grooming. Residential
care facilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
   (A) Adult residential facilities.
   (B) Adult residential facilities for persons with special health
care needs.
   (C) Residential care facilities for the chronically ill.
   (D) Residential care facilities for the elderly.
   (E) Continuing care retirement communities.
   (F) Social rehabilitation facilities.
   (b) An optometrist may engage in the practice of optometry at any
health facility or residential care facility provided that all of the
following requirements are satisfied:
   (1) The optometrist maintains a primary business office, separate
from the health facility or residential care facility, that meets all
of the following requirements:
   (A) Is open to the public during normal business hours by
telephone and for purposes of billing services or access to patient
records.
   (B) Is licensed to the optometrist or the employer of the
optometrist as a local business with the city or county in which it
is located.
   (C) Is registered by the optometrist with the Board of Optometry.
   (D) Is owned or leased by the optometrist or by the employer of
the optometrist.
   (E) Is not a residential dwelling.
   (2) The optometrist maintains or discloses patient records in the
following manner:
   (A) Records are maintained and made available to the patient in
such a way that the type and extent of services provided to the
patient are conspicuously disclosed. The disclosure of records shall
be made at or near the time services are rendered and shall be
maintained at the primary business office specified in paragraph (1).

   (B) The optometrist complies with all federal and state laws and
regulations regarding the maintenance and protection of medical
records, including, but not limited to, the federal Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 300gg).
   (C) Pursuant to Section 3007, the optometrist keeps all necessary
records for a minimum of seven years from the date of service in
order to disclose fully the extent of services furnished to a
patient. Any information included on a printed copy of an original
document to a patient shall be certified by the optometrist as being
true, accurate, and complete.
   (D) If a prescription is issued to a patient, records shall be
maintained for each prescription as part of the patient's chart,
including all of the following information about the optometrist:
   (i) Name.
   (ii) Optometrist license number.
   (iii) The place of practice or primary business office.
   (iv) Description of the goods and services for which the patient
is charged and the amount charged.
   (E) A copy of any referral or order requesting optometric services
for a patient from the health facility's or residential care
facility's administrator, director of social services, the attending
physician and surgeon, the patient, or a family member shall be kept
in the patient's medical record.
   (3) The optometrist possesses and appropriately uses the
instruments and equipment required for all optometric services and
procedures performed within the health facility or residential care
facility.
   (c) An optometrist who satisfies all of the requirements in this
section for the practice of optometry at a health facility or
residential care facility shall not be required to comply with
Section 3070 with regard to providing notification to the board of
each facility or residential care facility at which he or she
practices.
  SEC. 2.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.