Source: http://regulations.delaware.gov/register/april2008/proposed/11%20DE%20Reg%201352%2004-01-08.htm
Timestamp: 2018-03-24 00:25:01
Document Index: 456865946

Matched Legal Cases: ['§506', '§3706', '§511', '§515', '§8735', '§10122', '§1322', '§1323', '§1324', '§1331', '§1332', '§1333', '§1335', '§1338', '§1339', '§1340', '§1341', '§1342', '§1343', '§1351', '§1352', '§1353', '§1355', '§1361', '§1365', '§1366', '§1403', '§1404', '§1405', '§1406', '§1407', '§1411']

11 DE Reg 1352 04-01-08
The Board of Podiatry (“Board”) was established to protect the public from unsafe practices and from occupational practices, which tend to reduce competition or fix the price of services rendered by the professions under its purview. The Board was further established to maintain minimum standards of practitioner competency and delivery of services to the public. The Board is authorized by 24 Del.C. §506(a)(1) to make, adopt, amend, and repeal regulations as necessary to effectuate those objectives.
Pursuant to 24 Del.C. §3706(a)(1), the Board has proposed amendments to its regulation section 5.0. Specifically, the proposed changes to section 5.0 Licenses (In-Training, Lapse/Renewal, Inactive) create a mandatory audit of all late-renewed licensees to verify compliance with the continuing education requirement. Other grammatical, typographic, or stylistic changes are also included.
A public hearing is scheduled for Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. in the second floor Conference Room B of the Cannon Building, 861 Silver Lake Boulevard, Dover, Delaware 19904. The Board will receive and consider input in writing from any person concerning the proposed regulations. Written comments should be submitted to the Board care of Margaret Foreit at the above address. The final date to submit written comments shall be at the public hearing. Anyone wishing to obtain a copy of the proposed regulations or to make comments at the public hearing should contact Margaret Foreit at the above address or by calling (302) 744-4500.
5.0 Licenses (In-Training, Lapse/Renewal, Inactive)
5.2 Lapse/Renewal
5.2.1 Any licensee whose license lapses for non-renewal may re-apply renew within one (1) year by paying the late fee required by 24 Del.C. §511 and having completed all continuing education which a licensee would have been required to complete for renewal. Late renewals shall be audited for satisfactory completion of the continuing education requirement.
5.2.2 If a licensee allows his or her license to lapse for over one (1) year and has not been granted inactive status, that licensee must reapply for licensure in the same manner as a new applicant.
5.2.3 It shall be the responsibility of all licensees, active or inactive, to keep the Board informed of any change in name, home or business address.
5.3 Inactive Status
5.3.1 A licensee may be placed on inactive status by the Board for a period of no more than five (5) years. Requests for inactive status shall be made, in writing, to the Board and requests which exceed one (1) year shall be renewed biennially at the time of regular license renewals. After application to the Board and payment of a renewal fee, an inactive licensee may obtain a new license and re-enter active practice after completion of the continuing education requirements below.
5.3.1.1 Inactive status for one (1) year or less: 16 CE hours.
5.3.1.2 Inactive status for more than one (1) year: 32 CE hours, completed within 24 months prior to reapplication.
6.1 “Continuing medical education (CME),” as that term is herein applied by the Board, includes any and all continuing education requirements, as herein below provided, which must be satisfied biennially by all licensed practitioners as a condition for licensure renewal. Each licensed practitioner shall complete, on or before the last day in April every two (2) years, at least 32 hours of continuing education as a condition of license renewal.
6.2 Each practitioner shall be exempt from the continuing education requirement in the first biennial licensing period, or any portion thereof, in which he is licensed to practice in Delaware. During the renewal process, a practitioner shall attest to his satisfactory completion of the continuing education requirements for the previous two (2) years. Attestation may be completed electronically if the renewal is accomplished online. In the alternative, paper renewal documents that contain the attestation of completion may be submitted. Each licensee must maintain a Podiatry CME log, on a form to be supplied by the Board, indicating the date, title, sponsor, and number of hours the licensee attended, for each continuing education program submitted for credit. Random audits will be performed by the Board to ensure compliance with the continuing education requirement. Licensees selected for the random audit shall submit validated documents which evidence satisfactory completion of the continuing education requirements for the previous two (2) years. The Board reserves the right to request additional documentation, such as copies of program materials, to verify CME compliance in the course of a random audit.
6.4 Content. The overriding consideration in determining if a specific program qualifies for continuing education is that it be a formal program of learning which contributes directly to the professional competence of the licensee. No credit shall be given for business or practice seminars.
6.5 Hardship. The Board has the authority to make exceptions to the continuing education requirements upon written request of the licensee and a showing of good cause. “Good cause” may include, but is not limited to, disability, illness, military service, foreign residency, and retirement. Upon application, the Board shall set the time in which the licensee must complete the continuing education requirement. No extension shall be granted for more than 120 days after the end of the licensing period.
7.0 Grounds for Discipline and Hearing Procedures
7.1 Grounds for discipline are listed in 24 Del.C. §515.
7.1.1 Advertising – communications to the public must be accurate and not convey false, untrue, deceptive, or misleading information. Licensees shall provide truthful and accurate representations of their credentials, training, experience, or ability. Licensees shall not communicate claims of superiority that cannot be substantiated. Violation of these standards is an act of consumer fraud or deception.
7.2 Disciplinary proceedings against a licensee may be initiated by submitting a complaint in writing to the Director of the Division of Professional Regulation as specified in 29 Del.C. §8735(h).
7.2.1 A copy of the written complaint shall be forwarded to the administrative assistant for the Board. At the next regularly scheduled Board meeting, a contact person for the Board shall be appointed and a copy of the written complaint given to that person.
7.2.2 The contact person appointed by the Board shall maintain strict confidentiality with respect to the contents of the complaint and shall not discuss the matter with other Board members or with the public. The contact person shall maintain contact with the investigator or Deputy Attorney General assigned to the case regarding the progress of the investigation.
7.2.3 In the instance when the case is being closed by the Division, the contact person shall report the facts and conclusions to the Board without revealing the identities of the parties involved. No vote of the Board is necessary to close the case.
7.2.4 If a hearing has been requested by the Deputy Attorney General, a copy of these Rules and Regulations shall be provided to the respondent upon request. The notice of hearing shall fully comply with 29 Del.C. §10122 and 10131 pertaining to the requirements of the notice of proceedings. All notices shall be sent to the respondent’s address as reflected in the Board’s records.
7.2.5 At any disciplinary hearing, the respondent shall have the right to appear in person or be represented by counsel, or both. The Respondent shall have the right to produce evidence and witnesses on his or her behalf and to cross examine witnesses. The Respondent shall be entitled to the issuance of subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents on his or her behalf.
7.2.6 No less than 10 days prior to the date set for a disciplinary hearing, the Department of Justice and the respondent shall submit to the Board and to each other, a list of the witnesses they intend to call at the hearing. Witnesses not listed shall be permitted to testify only upon a showing of reasonable cause for such omission.
7.2.7 If the respondent fails to appear at a disciplinary hearing after receiving proper notice, the Board may proceed to hear and determine the validity of the charges against the respondent.
7.3 Hearing procedures
7.3.1 The Board may administer oaths, take testimony, hear proofs and receive exhibits into evidence at any hearing. All testimony at any hearing shall be under oath.
7.3.2 Strict rules of evidence shall not apply. All evidence having probative value commonly accepted by reasonably prudent people in the conduct of their affairs shall be admitted.
7.3.3 An attorney representing a party in a hearing or matter before the Board shall notify the Board of the representation in writing as soon as practicable.
7.3.4 Requests for postponements of any matter scheduled before the Board shall be submitted to the Board’s office in writing no less than three (3) days before the date scheduled for the hearing. Absent a showing of exceptional hardship, there shall be a maximum of one postponement allowed to each party to any hearing.
7.3.5 A complaint shall be deemed to “have merit” and the Board may impose disciplinary sanctions against the licensee if a majority of the members of the Board find, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the respondent has committed the act(s) of which he or she is accused and that those act(s) constitute grounds for discipline.
8.5 Failure to cooperate fully with the participating Board chairperson or that chairperson's designate or designates or the Director of the Division of Professional Regulation or his/her designate in regard to the Voluntary Treatment Option or to comply with their requests for evaluations and screens may disqualify the regulated professional from the provisions of the Voluntary Treatment Option, and the participating Board chairperson or that chairperson's designate or designates shall cause to be activated an immediate investigation and institution of disciplinary proceedings, if appropriate, as outlined in subsection 8.8 of this section.
8.6.5 Agreement by the regulated professional that failure to satisfactorily progress in such treatment program shall be reported to the participating Board's chairperson or his/her designate or designates or to the Director of the Division of Professional Regulation or his/her designate by the treating professional who shall be immune from any liability for such reporting made in good faith and without malice.
9.5.11 §1322. Criminal nuisance;
9.5.12 §1323. Obstructing public passages;
9.5.13 §1324. Obstructing ingress to or egress from public buildings;
9.5.14 §1331. Desecration;
9.5.15 §1332. Abusing a corpse;
9.5.16 §1333. Trading in human remains and associated funerary objects.
9.5.17 §1335. Violation of privacy;
9.5.18 §1338. Bombs, incendiary devices, Molotov cocktails and explosive devices;
9.5.19 §1339. Adulteration;
9.5.20 §1340. Desecration of burial place.
9.5.21 §1341. Lewdness;
9.5.22 §1342. Prostitution;
9.5.23 §1343. Patronizing a prostitute prohibited.
9.5.24 §1351. Promoting prostitution in the third degree;
9.5.25 §1352. Promoting prostitution in the second degree;
9.5.26 §1353. Promoting prostitution in the first degree;
9.5.27 §1355. Permitting prostitution;
9.5.28 §1361. Obscenity; acts constituting;
9.5.29 §1365. Obscene literature harmful to minors;
9.5.30 §1366. Outdoor motion picture theatres;
9.5.31 §1403. Advancing gambling in the first degree;
9.5.32 §1404. Providing premises for gambling;
9.5.33 §1405. Possessing a gambling device; class A misdemeanor.
9.5.34 §1406. Being concerned in interest in keeping any gambling device;
9.5.35 §1407. Engaging in a crap game;
9.5.36 §1411. Unlawfully disseminating gambling information.
11 DE Reg. 1352 (04/01/08) (Prop.)