reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 1.5 - Advocacy for Appropriate Health Care › Section 512.

512. (a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), no contract that is issued, amended, renewed, or delivered on or after January 1, 1999, between any person or entity, including, but not limited to, any group of physicians and surgeons, any medical group, any independent practice association (IPA), or any preferred provider organization (PPO), and a health care provider shall contain provisions that prohibit, restrict, or limit the health care provider from advertising.
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the establishment of reasonable guidelines in connection with the activities regulated pursuant to this division, including those to prevent advertising that is, in whole or in part, untrue, misleading, deceptive, or otherwise inconsistent with this division or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. For advertisements mentioning a provider’s participation in a plan or product line of any person or entity, nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit requiring each advertisement to contain a disclaimer to the effect that the provider’s services may be covered for some, but not all, plans or product lines of that person or entity, or that the person or entity may cover some, but not all, provider services.
(c) Nothing in this section is intended to prohibit provisions or agreements intended to protect service marks, trademarks, trade secrets, or other confidential information or property. If a health care provider participates on a provider panel or network as a result of a direct contractual arrangement with a person or entity, including, but not limited to, any group of physicians and surgeons, any medical group, any independent practice association, or any preferred provider organization, that, in turn, has entered into a direct contractual arrangement with another person or entity, pursuant to which enrollees, subscribers, insureds, and other beneficiaries of that other person or entity may receive covered services from the health care provider, then nothing in this section is intended to prohibit reasonable provisions or agreements in the direct contractual arrangement between the health care provider and the person or entity that protect the name or trade name of the other person or entity or require that the health care provider obtain the consent of the person or entity prior to the use of the name or trade name of the person or entity in any advertising by the health care provider.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to impair or impede the authority of any state department to regulate advertising, disclosure, or solicitation pursuant to this division.
(Added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 523, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1999.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 2 - Eyeglasses › Section 525.

525. No dispensing optician, optometrist, or physician and surgeon shall dispense, prescribe, or sell any eyeglasses for use of a person whose sight is limited to one eye, a person who is a member of the California Highway Patrol or of a county sheriff’s office, a city police officer, a person who is a firefighter employed by the fire department of a city, county, city and county, or fire protection district and who normally wears such glasses for on-duty employment, or a person who is under 18 years of age, unless such eyeglasses are made with case-hardened lenses, with lenses made of laminated glass, with lenses made of resin material, or with lenses made of any other material resistant to shattering and which shall not be installed in frames manufactured of flammable material.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 630, Sec. 7. (AB 1534) Effective January 1, 2022.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 2 - Eyeglasses › Section 526.

526. A dispensing optician, optometrist, or physician and surgeon shall not be subject to disciplinary action under this article unless they are informed by the person obtaining the eyeglasses or they have personal knowledge that the eyeglasses are for a person whose sight is limited to one eye, a person who is a member of the California Highway Patrol or of a county sheriff’s office, a city police officer, or a firefighter employed by the fire department of a city, county, city and county, or fire protection district, or a person who is under 18 years of age.
A dispensing optician, optometrist, or physician and surgeon is not required under this article to make any independent investigation of the occupation of the person for whom eyeglasses are intended or as to whether or not the sight of such person is limited to one eye.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 630, Sec. 8. (AB 1534) Effective January 1, 2022.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 2 - Eyeglasses › Section 527.

527. Any dispensing optician, optometrist, or physician and surgeon who violates this article is subject to disciplinary action by the board that issues their license, registration, or certificate to engage in practice.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 630, Sec. 9. (AB 1534) Effective January 1, 2022.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 3 - Ophthalmia Neonatorum › Section 550.

550. As used in this article, “ophthalmia neonatorum,” independent of the nature of the infection, means any condition of the eye, or eyes, of any infant in which there is any inflammation, swelling or redness in either one or both of the eyes of any infant, either apart from or together with any unnatural discharge from the eye, or eyes, of any infant, at any time within two weeks after its birth.
As used in this article, “department” refers to the State Department of Health Services.
(Amended by Stats. 1978, Ch. 429.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 3 - Ophthalmia Neonatorum › Section 551.

551. It is the duty of any physician, surgeon, obstetrician, midwife, nurse, maternity home or hospital of any nature, parent, relative, and any person or persons attendant upon, or assisting in any way whatsoever, either the mother or child, or both, at childbirth, to treat both eyes of the infant within two hours after birth with a prophylactic efficient treatment, and in all cases where the child develops within two weeks after its birth ophthalmia neonatorum, and such person knows it to exist, to report the case within 24 hours after knowledge, in such form as the department directs, to the local health officer of the county or city within which the mother of any such infant resides.
(Amended by Stats. 1978, Ch. 429.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 3 - Ophthalmia Neonatorum › Section 552.

552. Any case of ophthalmia neonatorum or of blindness resulting from it upon which one accused of a violation of this article has been in attendance constitutes prima facie evidence of knowledge of the case by the one accused.
(Added by Stats. 1937, Ch. 419.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 3 - Ophthalmia Neonatorum › Section 553.

553. All maternity homes, hospitals, and similar institutions wherein childbirths occur shall keep a record of all cases of ophthalmia neonatorum occurring or discovered therein. These records shall be in the form and contain the matters which the department prescribes.
(Amended by Stats. 1978, Ch. 429.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 3 - Ophthalmia Neonatorum › Section 554.

554. The local health officer shall:
(a) Investigate each case filed with him in pursuance of this article, and all other cases coming to his attention.
(b) Report all cases of ophthalmia neonatorum coming to his knowledge, and the result of all investigations that he makes to the department, in such form as the department directs.
(c) Conform to such rules and regulations as the department promulgates for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this article.
(Amended by Stats. 1978, Ch. 429.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 3 - Ophthalmia Neonatorum › Section 555.

555. The State Department of Health Services shall:
(a) Enforce the provisions of this article.
(b) Promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out properly the provisions of this article.
(c) Print and publish any further advice and information concerning the dangers of ophthalmia neonatorum and the necessity for prompt and effective treatment thereof, as it deems necessary.
(d) Furnish without cost copies of this article to all physicians, midwives and such other persons as may be lawfully engaged in the practice of obstetrics or assisting at childbirths.
(e) Keep a proper record of any and all cases of ophthalmia neonatorum filed in its office in pursuance of this article, and as may come to its attention in any way, and such records shall constitute a part of the biennial report to the Governor and the Legislature.
(f) Report any and all violations of this article as may come to its attention to the district attorney of the county wherein any violation of any provision of this article has been committed, for the purpose of prosecution.
(Amended by Stats. 1977, Ch. 1252.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 3 - Ophthalmia Neonatorum › Section 556.

556. The failure of any person mentioned in Section 551 to report, or the failure of any maternity home, hospital, or similar institution, to use the treatment prescribed in Section 551 and to record any and all cases of ophthalmia neonatorum, as directed in Section 553, or the failure or refusal of any person or institution, mentioned in this article, to obey any rule or regulation adopted by the department under this article constitutes a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined, for the first offense not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100); for a second offense not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200); and for a third offense, and thereafter not to exceed four hundred dollars ($400) for each violation.
(Amended by Stats. 1983, Ch. 1092, Sec. 1. Effective September 27, 1983. Operative January 1, 1984, by Sec. 427 of Ch. 1092.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 3 - Ophthalmia Neonatorum › Section 557.

557. If the person is a physician, midwife, or is a person who is professionally employed, the third conviction is sufficient cause for the revocation of his license by the board which has jurisdiction over it.
(Added by Stats. 1937, Ch. 419.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 3 - Ophthalmia Neonatorum › Section 558.

558. One-half of all fines collected hereunder shall go to the county wherein the prosecution was had, and the remaining one-half thereof shall go into the state treasury and constitute a special fund to be expended by the department for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this article.
(Amended by Stats. 1978, Ch. 429.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 4 - Frauds of Medical Records › Section 580.

580. No person, company, or association shall sell or barter or offer to sell or barter any medical degree, podiatric degree, or osteopathic degree, or chiropractic degree, or any other degree which is required for licensure, certification, or registration under this division, or any degree, certificate, transcript, or any other writing, made or purporting to be made pursuant to any laws regulating the licensing and registration or issuing of a certificate to physicians and surgeons, podiatrists, osteopathic physicians, chiropractors, persons lawfully engaged in any other system or mode of treating the sick or afflicted, or to any other person licensed, certified, or registered under this division.
(Amended by Stats. 1986, Ch. 220, Sec. 2. Effective June 30, 1986.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 4 - Frauds of Medical Records › Section 581.

581. No person, company, or association shall purchase or procure by barter or by any unlawful means or method, or have in possession any diploma, certificate, transcript, or any other writing with intent that it shall be used as evidence of the holder’s qualifications to practice as a physician and surgeon, osteopathic physician, podiatrist, any other system or mode of treating the sick or afflicted, as provided in the Medical Practice Act, Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000), or to practice as any other licentiate under this division or in any fraud of the law regulating this practice or, shall with fraudulent intent, alter in a material regard, any such diploma, certificate, transcript, or any other writing.
(Amended by Stats. 1986, Ch. 220, Sec. 3. Effective June 30, 1986.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 4 - Frauds of Medical Records › Section 582.

582. No person, company, or association shall use or attempt to use any diploma, certificate, transcript, or any other writing which has been purchased, fraudulently issued, illegally obtained, counterfeited, or materially altered, either as a certificate or as to character or color of certificate, to practice as a physician and surgeon, podiatrist, osteopathic physician, or a chiropractor, or to practice any other system or mode of treating the sick or afflicted, as provided in the Medical Practice Act, Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) or to practice as any other licentiate under this division.
(Amended by Stats. 1986, Ch. 220, Sec. 4. Effective June 30, 1986.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 4 - Frauds of Medical Records › Section 583.

583. No person shall in any document or writing required of an applicant for examination, license, certificate, or registration under this division, the Osteopathic Initiative Act, or the Chiropractic Initiative Act, willfully make a false statement in a material regard.
(Amended by Stats. 1986, Ch. 220, Sec. 5. Effective June 30, 1986.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 4 - Frauds of Medical Records › Section 584.

584. No person shall violate the security of any examination, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 123, or impersonate, attempt to impersonate, or solicit the impersonation of, another in any examination for a license, certificate, or registration to practice as provided in this division, the Osteopathic Initiative Act, or the Chiropractic Initiative Act, or under any other law providing for the regulation of any other system or method of treating the sick or afflicted in this state.
(Amended by Stats. 1989, Ch. 1022, Sec. 5.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 4 - Frauds of Medical Records › Section 585.

585. Any person, company, or association violating the provisions of this article is guilty of a felony and upon conviction thereof shall be punishable by a fine of not less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) nor more than six thousand dollars ($6,000), or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code. The enforcement remedies provided under this article are not exclusive and shall not preclude the use of any other criminal, civil, or administrative remedy.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 2. (AB 109) Effective April 4, 2011. Operative October 1, 2011, by Sec. 636 of Ch. 15, as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 68.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 5 - Illegal Advertising › Section 601.

601. Every person who willfully writes, composes or publishes any notice or advertisement of any medicine or means for producing or facilitating a miscarriage or abortion, or who offers his services by any notice, advertisement, or otherwise, to assist in the accomplishment of any such purpose is guilty of a felony and shall be punished as provided in the Penal Code.
(Amended by Stats. 1971, Ch. 652.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 6 - Unearned Rebates, Refunds and Discounts › Section 650.1.

650.1. (a) Any amount payable to any hospital, as defined in Section 4028, or any person or corporation prohibited from pharmacy permit ownership by subdivision (a) of Section 4111 under any rental, lease or service arrangement with respect to the furnishing or supply of pharmaceutical services and products, which is determined as a percentage, fraction, or portion of (1) the charges to patients or of (2) any measure of hospital or pharmacy revenue or cost, for pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical services is prohibited.
(b) Any lease or rental arrangement existing on the effective date of this section shall be in full compliance with subdivision (a) by January 1, 1986.
(c) Any lease or rental agreement entered into prior to January 1, 1980, that extends beyond the effective date of this section shall be construed to be in compliance with this section until its expiration or the expiration of any option which is contained in any such lease or rental agreement provided that the lease or rental agreement contains provisions which limit pharmacy charges to the amounts not in excess of the prevailing charges in similar hospitals in the general geographic area.
(d) The California State Board of Pharmacy, the Medical Board of California, and the State Department of Health Services shall enforce this section and may require information from any person as is necessary for the enforcement of this section. It shall be the duty of the licensees of the respective regulatory agencies to produce the requisite evidence to show compliance with this section. Violations of this section shall be deemed to be the mutual responsibility of both lessee and lessor, and shall be grounds for disciplinary action or other sanctions against both.
(Amended by Stats. 2000, Ch. 836, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2001.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 6 - Unearned Rebates, Refunds and Discounts › Section 650.3.

650.3. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 650 or any other provision of law, it shall not be unlawful for a person licensed pursuant to the Chiropractic Act, or any other person, to participate in or operate a group advertising and referral service for chiropractors if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) Patient referrals by the service are the result of patient initiated responses to service advertising.
(2) The service advertises, if at all, in conformity with Section 651.
(3) The service does not employ a solicitor.
(4) The service does not impose a fee on the member chiropractors that is dependent upon the number of referrals or amount of professional fees paid by the patient to the chiropractor.
(5) Participating chiropractors charge no more than their usual and customary fees to any patient referred.
(6) The service registers with the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners, providing its name and address.
(7) The service files with the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners a copy of the standard form contract that regulates its relationship with member chiropractors, which contract shall be confidential and not open to public inspection.
(8) If more than 50 percent of its referrals are made to one individual, association, partnership, corporation, or group of three or more chiropractors, the service discloses that fact in all public communications, including, but not limited to, communication by means of television, radio, motion picture, newspaper, book, or list or directory of healing arts practitioners.
(b) The State Board of Chiropractic Examiners may adopt regulations necessary to enforce and administer this section.
(c) The State Board of Chiropractic Examiners or 10 individual licensed chiropractors may petition the superior court of any county for the issuance of an injunction restraining any conduct which constitutes a violation of this section.
(d) It is unlawful and shall constitute a misdemeanor for a person to operate a group advertising and referral service for chiropractors without providing its name and address to the State Board of Chiropractic Examiners.
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section not to otherwise affect the prohibitions provided in Section 650. The Legislature intends to allow the pooling of resources by chiropractors for the purpose of advertising.
(f) This section shall not be construed in any manner which would authorize a service to engage in the practice of chiropractic.
(Added by Stats. 1992, Ch. 856, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1993.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 6 - Unearned Rebates, Refunds and Discounts › Section 651.3.

651.3. (a) Any labor organization, bona fide employee group or bona fide employee association having contracted health care services from a health care service plan under the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 (commencing with Section 1340 of the Health and Safety Code) may inform its members as to the benefits available and the charges therefor.
(b) Any new or revised written advertising or solicitation, or any form of evidence of coverage adopted by a health care service plan under the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 (commencing with Section 1340 of the Health and Safety Code) for distribution to members pursuant to subdivision (a) shall comply with the provisions of the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 and the regulations thereunder.
(c) Any labor organization, bona fide employee group or bona fide employee association, contracting for a health care service plan under this section, shall not derive any profit from such plan.
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as authorizing a provider of medical assistance, including a prepaid health plan, under the Medi-Cal Act or the Waxman-Duffy Prepaid Health Plan Act to advertise in violation of any of the provisions of such acts and regulations developed thereto.
(Amended by Stats. 1981, Ch. 662, Sec. 1.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 6 - Unearned Rebates, Refunds and Discounts › Section 652.

652. Violation of this article in the case of a licensed person constitutes unprofessional conduct and grounds for suspension or revocation of his or her license by the board by whom he or she is licensed, or if a license has been issued in connection with a place of business, then for the suspension or revocation of the place of business in connection with which the violation occurs. The proceedings for suspension or revocation shall be conducted in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and each board shall have all the powers granted therein. However, in the case of a licensee of the State Department of Health Services, the proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with Section 110171 of the Health and Safety Code. In addition, any violation constitutes a misdemeanor as to any and all persons offering, delivering, receiving, accepting, or participating in any rebate, refund, commission, preference, patronage dividend, unearned discount, or consideration, whether or not licensed under this division, and is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or by both the imprisonment and fine.
(Amended by Stats. 1997, Ch. 220, Sec. 3. Effective August 4, 1997.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 6 - Unearned Rebates, Refunds and Discounts › Section 652.5.

652.5. Except as otherwise provided in this article, any violation of this article constitutes a misdemeanor as to any and all persons, whether or not licensed under this division, and is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or by both the imprisonment and fine.
(Amended by Stats. 1994, Ch. 1206, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 1995.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 6 - Unearned Rebates, Refunds and Discounts › Section 653.

653. The word “person” as used in this article includes an individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company, or cooperative association.
(Amended by Stats. 1994, Ch. 1010, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 1995.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 6 - Unearned Rebates, Refunds and Discounts › Section 654.

654. No person licensed under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of this division may have any membership, proprietary interest or coownership in any form in or with any person licensed under Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 2550) of this division to whom patients, clients or customers are referred or any profit-sharing arrangements.
(Amended by Stats. 1979, Ch. 688.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 6 - Unearned Rebates, Refunds and Discounts › Section 654.1.

654.1. Persons licensed under Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 1600) of this division or licensed under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of this division or licensed under any initiative act referred to in this division relating to osteopaths may not refer patients, clients, or customers to any clinical laboratory licensed under Section 1265 in which the licensee has any membership, proprietary interest, or coownership in any form, or has any profit-sharing arrangement, unless the licensee at the time of making such referral discloses in writing such interest to the patient, client, or customer. The written disclosure shall indicate that the patient may choose any clinical laboratory for purposes of having any laboratory work or assignment performed.
This section shall not apply to persons who are members of a medical group which contracts to provide medical care to members of a group practice prepayment plan registered under the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Act of 1975, Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code.
This section shall not apply to any referral to a clinical laboratory which is owned and operated by a health facility licensed pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1250) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code.
This section does not prohibit the acceptance of evaluation specimens for proficiency testing or referral of specimens or such assignment from one clinical laboratory to another clinical laboratory, either licensed or exempt under this chapter, providing the report indicates clearly the laboratory performing the test.
“Proprietary interest” does not include ownership of a building where space is leased to a clinical laboratory at the prevailing rate under a straight lease arrangement.
A violation of this section is a public offense and is punishable upon a first conviction by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code, or by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine. A second or subsequent conviction shall be punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 4. (AB 109) Effective April 4, 2011. Operative October 1, 2011, by Sec. 636 of Ch. 15, as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 68.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 6 - Unearned Rebates, Refunds and Discounts › Section 655.2.

655.2. (a) (1) No physician and surgeon or medical corporation licensed under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000), nor any audiologist who is not a licensed dispensing audiologist or hearing aid dispenser shall employ any individual licensed pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 2538.10) of Chapter 5.3 for the purpose of fitting or selling hearing aids.
(2) No individual licensed pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 2538.10) of Chapter 5.3 shall employ any physician and surgeon or any audiologist who is not a licensed dispensing audiologist or hearing aid dispenser, or contract with a medical corporation licensed under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000), for the purpose of fitting or selling hearing aids.
(b) This section shall not apply to any physician and surgeon or medical corporation that contracts with or is affiliated with a comprehensive group practice health care service plan licensed pursuant to the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act, as set forth in Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code.
(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 316, Sec. 2. (SB 1466) Effective January 1, 2015.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 6 - Unearned Rebates, Refunds and Discounts › Section 656.

656. Whenever any person has engaged, or is about to engage, in any acts or practices that constitute, or will constitute, a violation of this article, the superior court in and for the county wherein the acts or practices take place, or are about to take place, may issue an injunction, or other appropriate order, restraining the conduct on application of the California State Board of Optometry, the Medical Board of California, the California Board of Podiatric Medicine, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, the Attorney General, or the district attorney of the county.
The proceedings under this section shall be governed by Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 525) of Title 7 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
The remedy provided for in this section shall be in addition to, and not a limitation upon, the authority provided by any other provision of this code.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 630, Sec. 12. (AB 1534) Effective January 1, 2022.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 6 - Unearned Rebates, Refunds and Discounts › Section 657.

657. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) Californians spend more than one hundred billion dollars ($100,000,000,000) annually on health care.
(2) In 1994, an estimated 6.6 million of California’s 32 million residents did not have any health insurance and were ineligible for Medi-Cal.
(3) Many of California’s uninsured cannot afford basic, preventative health care resulting in these residents relying on emergency rooms for urgent health care, thus driving up health care costs.
(4) Health care should be affordable and accessible to all Californians.
(5) The public interest dictates that uninsured Californians have access to basic, preventative health care at affordable prices.
(b) To encourage the prompt payment of health or medical care claims, health care providers are hereby expressly authorized to grant discounts in health or medical care claims when payment is made promptly within time limits prescribed by the health care providers or institutions rendering the service or treatment.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision in any health care service plan contract or insurance contract to the contrary, health care providers are hereby expressly authorized to grant discounts for health or medical care provided to any patient the health care provider has reasonable cause to believe is not eligible for, or is not entitled to, insurance reimbursement, coverage under the Medi-Cal program, or coverage by a health care service plan for the health or medical care provided. Any discounted fee granted pursuant to this section shall not be deemed to be the health care provider’s usual, customary, or reasonable fee for any other purposes, including, but not limited to, any health care service plan contract or insurance contract.
(d) “Health care provider,” as used in this section, means any person licensed or certified pursuant to Division 2 (commencing with Section 500) of the Business and Professions Code, or licensed pursuant to the Osteopathic Initiative Act, or the Chiropractic Initiative Act, or licensed pursuant to Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 1440) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; and any clinic, health dispensary, or health facility, licensed pursuant to Division 2 (commencing with Section 1200) of the Health and Safety Code.
(Amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 20, Sec. 1. Effective April 14, 1998.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 6.5 - Open Payments Database Notices › Section 660.

660. For purposes of this article, all of the following definitions apply:
(a) “Drug or device company” means a manufacturer, developer, or distributor of pharmaceutical drugs or any device used in the context of the physician and surgeon’s or osteopathic physician and surgeon’s practice.
(b) “Health care employer” means an employer that provides health care services and that employs a physician and surgeon or an osteopathic physician and surgeon.
(c) “Open Payments database” means the database created to allow the public to search for data provided pursuant to Section 1320a-7h of Title 42 of the United States Code and that is maintained by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
(d) “Physician and surgeon” includes a physician and surgeon licensed pursuant to the Medical Practice Act (Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000)) or an osteopathic physician and surgeon licensed by the Osteopathic Medical Board of California under the Osteopathic Act.
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 750, Sec. 1. (AB 1278) Effective January 1, 2023.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 6.5 - Open Payments Database Notices › Section 661.

661. (a) A physician and surgeon shall provide to each patient at the initial office visit a written or electronic notice of the Open Payments database. The written notice shall include a signature from the patient or a patient representative and the date of signature.
(b) The written or electronic notice shall contain the following text:
“The Open Payments database is a federal tool used to search payments made by drug and device companies to physicians and teaching hospitals. It can be found at https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.”
(c) A physician and surgeon shall include in the electronic records for the patient a record of the notice pursuant to this section.
(d) If a physician and surgeon does not maintain electronic records, the physician and surgeon shall include the notice pursuant to this section in the written records.
(e) A physician and surgeon shall give to the patient or patient representative a copy of the signed and dated notice.
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 750, Sec. 1. (AB 1278) Effective January 1, 2023.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 6.5 - Open Payments Database Notices › Section 663.

663. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any law, except as provided in subdivision (c), a physician and surgeon shall post in each location where the physician and surgeon practices, in an area that is likely to be seen by all persons who enter the office, an Open Payments database notice.
(2) The Open Payments database notice described in paragraph (1) shall include both of the following:
(A) An internet website link to the Open Payments database.
(B) The following text:
“For informational purposes only, a link to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Open Payments web page is provided here. The federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act requires that detailed information about payment and other payments of value worth over ten dollars ($10) from manufacturers of drugs, medical devices, and biologics to physicians and teaching hospitals be made available to the public.”
(b) Beginning January 1, 2024, if an internet website is used for a physician and surgeon’s practice, then the physician and surgeon shall conspicuously post the Open Payments database notice described in subdivision (a) on that internet website, except as otherwise authorized under subdivision (c).
(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), if a physician and surgeon subject to this section is employed by a health care employer, the health care employer shall be responsible for meeting the requirements of this section.
(d) A posting required by this section may be placed within the same notice posted by the physician and surgeon in accordance with Section 138 or 2026.
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 750, Sec. 1. (AB 1278) Effective January 1, 2023.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 6.5 - Open Payments Database Notices › Section 664.

664. A violation of this article shall constitute unprofessional conduct.
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 750, Sec. 1. (AB 1278) Effective January 1, 2023.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 6.5 - Open Payments Database Notices › Section 665.

665. This article does not apply to a physician and surgeon working in a hospital emergency room.
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 750, Sec. 1. (AB 1278) Effective January 1, 2023.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 7 - Nursing › Section 675.

675. Every person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation offering a course of instruction in any type of nursing, including vocational nursing or practical nursing, which course of instruction is not accredited by the Board of Registered Nursing or by the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians and completion of which will not qualify a person to take any examination given by either board shall notify an applicant for admission thereto that the course of instruction is not accredited by either board and that completion thereof will not qualify the person to take any examination given by either board.
The notice required by this section shall be in writing in at least 12-point boldface type, and in no event less than two points larger than the type in any other portion of the notice or contract, and shall be given to an applicant prior to the signing of any contract by the applicant or, if no contract is signed, prior to the making of any deposit or other payment by the applicant.
If an applicant is required to sign a contract in order to enroll in the course of instruction, the notice required by this section shall be contained in the contract directly above the place for the applicant’s signature.
(Amended by Stats. 1997, Ch. 759, Sec. 8. Effective January 1, 1998.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 7 - Nursing › Section 676.

676. The provisions contained in this article shall not apply to inservice training programs given in institutions for the purpose of qualifying persons to work therein, to public schools, to private schools or institutions offering advanced nursing education to registered nurses or vocational nurses licensed in the United States, or to schools conducted by any recognized church or denomination for the purpose of training the adherents of such church or denomination in the care of the sick in accordance with its religious tenets.
(Added by Stats. 1959, Ch. 1490.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 7 - Nursing › Section 677.

677. Every person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation subject to the provisions of this article shall maintain records for at least three years, which records shall be open to inspection by investigators of the Division of Investigation of the department and by peace officers acting in their official capacity.
The records shall include the names and address of the persons admitted to the course of instruction and a copy of any written contract signed by such a person or, if no contract is signed, a copy of the written notice given to such person.
A correspondence school whose home office is located outside of this state need maintain the foregoing records only for persons residing in this state.
(Amended by Stats. 1971, Ch. 716.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 7.5 - Health Care Practitioners › Section 680.

680. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a health care practitioner shall disclose, while working, his or her name and practitioner’s license status, as granted by this state, on a name tag in at least 18-point type. A health care practitioner in a practice or an office, whose license is prominently displayed, may opt to not wear a name tag. If a health care practitioner or a licensed clinical social worker is working in a psychiatric setting or in a setting that is not licensed by the state, the employing entity or agency shall have the discretion to make an exception from the name tag requirement for individual safety or therapeutic concerns. In the interest of public safety and consumer awareness, it shall be unlawful for any person to use the title “nurse” in reference to himself or herself and in any capacity, except for an individual who is a registered nurse or a licensed vocational nurse, or as otherwise provided in Section 2800. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a certified nurse assistant from using his or her title.
(b) Facilities licensed by the State Department of Social Services, the State Department of Public Health, or the State Department of Health Care Services shall develop and implement policies to ensure that health care practitioners providing care in those facilities are in compliance with subdivision (a). The State Department of Social Services, the State Department of Public Health, and the State Department of Health Care Services shall verify through periodic inspections that the policies required pursuant to subdivision (a) have been developed and implemented by the respective licensed facilities.
(c) For purposes of this article, “health care practitioner” means any person who engages in acts that are the subject of licensure or regulation under this division or under any initiative act referred to in this division.
(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 23, Sec. 1. (AB 82) Effective June 27, 2013.)
2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 1 - General Provisions › ARTICLE 7.5 - Health Care Practitioners › Section 680.5.

680.5. (a) (1) A health care practitioner licensed under Division 2 (commencing with Section 500) shall communicate to a patient his or her name, state-granted practitioner license type, and highest level of academic degree, by one or both of the following methods:
(A) In writing at the patient’s initial office visit.
(B) In a prominent display in an area visible to patients in his or her office.
(2) An individual licensed under Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 2700) or Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 4000) is not required to disclose the highest level of academic degree he or she holds.
(b) A person licensed under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) or under the Osteopathic Act, who is certified by (1) an American Board of Medical Specialties member board, (2) a board or association with requirements equivalent to a board described in paragraph (1) approved by that person’s medical licensing authority, or (3) a board or association with an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education approved postgraduate training program that provides complete training in the person’s specialty or subspecialty, shall disclose the name of the board or association by either method described in subdivision (a).
(c) A health care practitioner who chooses to disclose the information required by subdivisions (a) and (b) pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall present that information in at least 24-point type in the following format:
HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONER INFORMATION
1. Name and license ........................ .
2. Highest level of academic degree ........................ .
3. Board certification (ABMS/MBC) ........................ .
(d) This section shall not apply to the following health care practitioners:
(1) A person who provides professional medical services to enrollees of a health care service plan that exclusively contracts with a single medical group in a specific geographic area to provide or arrange for professional medical services for the enrollees of the plan.
(2) A person who works in a facility licensed under Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code or in a clinical laboratory licensed under Section 1265.
(3) A person licensed under Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 1200), Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 3300), Chapter 8.3 (commencing with Section 3700), Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 4800), Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 4980), Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 4990.1), or Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 4999.10).
(e) A health care practitioner, who provides information regarding health care services on an Internet Web site that is directly controlled or administered by that health care practitioner or his or her office personnel, shall prominently display on that Internet Web site the information required by this section.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 381, Sec. 5. (SB 146) Effective January 1, 2012.)