Sec. 351.363. MERCANTILE ESTABLISHMENT. (a) To safeguard the visual welfare of the public and the doctor-patient relationship, assign professional responsibility, establish standards of professional surroundings, more nearly secure to the patient the optometrist's or therapeutic optometrist's undivided loyalty and service, and carry out the prohibitions of this chapter against placing an optometric or therapeutic optometric license in the service or at the disposal of an unlicensed person, this section applies to an optometrist or therapeutic optometrist who leases space from and practices optometry or therapeutic optometry on the premises of a mercantile establishment.

(b) The optometric practice must be owned by an optometrist or therapeutic optometrist. Every phase of the practice and the leased space of the optometric practice must be controlled exclusively by an optometrist or therapeutic optometrist.

(c) The prescription files and business records of the optometric practice are the sole property of the optometrist or therapeutic optometrist and may not be involved with a mercantile establishment or unlicensed person.

(d) The lessor of the optometric practice space may inspect business records that are essential to the successful initiation or continuation of a lease of space based on a percentage of gross receipts.

(e) The leased space of the optometric practice must be definite and apart from space used by other occupants of the premises. Solid, opaque partitions or walls from floor to ceiling must separate the optometric practice space from space used by other occupants. Railings, curtains, or other similar arrangements do not satisfy the requirements of this subsection.

(f) The leased space must have a patient's entrance opening on a public thoroughfare, such as a public street, hall, lobby, or corridor. An aisle of a mercantile establishment does not satisfy the requirement of this subsection. An entrance is not considered a patient's entrance unless actually used as an entrance by the optometrist's or therapeutic optometrist's patients.

Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 388, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.