S.C. Code Ann. § 40-37-210 – Complaints to Board against licensed optometrists; accusation; notice; hearing; confidentiality of proceedings; privileged communications

(A) The board shall receive complaints by any person against a licensed optometrist and shall require a complaint to be submitted in written form. Upon receipt of the complaint the secretary or another person as the president may designate shall investigate the allegations in the complaint and make a report to the board concerning the investigation. If the board proceeds further, it may file a formal accusation charging the optometrist with a violation of a provision of this chapter. The accusation must be signed by the president or the vice-president on behalf of the board. When the accusation is filed and the board sets a date for hearing, the secretary of the board shall notify the accused in writing not fewer than thirty days before the hearing and a copy of the accusation must be attached to the notice. The accused may appear and show cause why his license should not be suspended or revoked. The accused has the right to be confronted with and to cross-examine the witnesses, and he has the right to counsel. For the purposes of these hearings, the board is empowered to require by subpoena the attendance of witnesses, the production of documents, and to administer oaths and hear testimony, either oral or documentary, for and against the accused. In instances where a board member has made the initial investigation or complaint, the board member may not sit with the board at the hearing of the complaint.
(B) The notice required by subsection (A) may be sent to the accused by certified mail, return receipt requested, directed to the last mailing address furnished to the board. The post office registration receipt signed by the accused, the accused's agent, or a responsible member of the accused's household, or office staff, or, if not accepted by the person to whom addressed, the postal authority stamp showing the notice "refused" is prima facie evidence of service of the notice.
(C) All investigations and proceedings undertaken under the provisions of this chapter are confidential.
Every communication, whether oral or written, made by or on behalf of a complainant to the board or its agents or a hearing panel or a member of a hearing panel, pursuant to this chapter whether by way of complaint or testimony, is privileged; and no action or proceeding, civil or criminal, may be brought against a person, by whom or on whose behalf the communication was made.