2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 80 - Board of Examiners of Doctors of Naturopathy (§§ 2451 — 2466) › § 2458 - Board—Powers and duties

The Board shall issue a license for the practice of naturopathic medicine in Puerto Rico to every person who meets the requirements provided in this chapter.
In addition to any other powers and duties, the Board shall have the following:
(a) Issue, renew or deny the license to practice naturopathic medicine according to the provisions of this chapter.
(b) Suspend, revoke or deny the renewal of the license to practice naturopathic medicine after a hearing is held, when the existence of violations of the legal precepts established in this chapter or its regulations have been determined.
(c) Administer the revalidation examination offered by the Naturopathic Physician Licensing Examination (NPLEX), or its equivalent. The Board shall provide, through a resolution to that effect, the frequency with which said examinations shall be administered. The Board shall determine the date and place of said examination, but there should always be a minimum period of sixty (60) days between examinations. The Board shall have the discretion to offer a greater number of examinations, if deemed necessary. The date of the examinations shall be published through a prominent announcement in two (2) newspapers of general circulation, on two (2) occasions, at least thirty (30) days before they are held.
(d) Keep an updated professional registry of all the licenses it issues, stating the complete name and personal data of the person to whom the license has been issued, as well as the status of said licenses.
(e) Keep a book of the minutes of all its proceedings.
(f) Adopt an official seal which shall be stamped on all licenses issued by the Board and on all its official documents.
(g) Hold public or administrative hearings, resolve controversies in matters under its jurisdiction, issue orders according to its resolutions and agreements, take statements or oaths, issue summons requiring the presence of witnesses and the production of data, documents, or reports the Board deems necessary to issue, deny, suspend, or revoke a license. The Board, through the Secretary of Justice, may appear before any Part of the Court of First Instance of Puerto Rico to ask the court to order compliance with any of its orders or summons under penalty of contempt.
(h) Contract administrative, professional or consulting personnel as deemed necessary.
(i) Impose sanctions on the doctors [of] naturopathy who do not comply with the requirement of obtaining professional malpractice insurance as provided in § 2459 of this title.
(j) Impose sanctions when it deems that they are proper in those cases in which payments have been made for the adjudication, or judicial or extrajudicial transactions of claims for professional malpractice committed by a doctor [of] naturopathy.
(k) Present to the Secretary of Health an annual report of its work, specifying the number of licenses issued, denied, suspended or revoked.
(l) Promote the continuing education of doctors [of] naturopathy on the ethical, legal and professional principles that govern their professional conduct. The Board shall establish, by regulations, the continuing education activities that shall be accepted for the renewal of the license.
(m) Prepare and publish a handbook containing all information regarding the examinations it offers. A copy of said handbook shall be given to every person who requests it and pays the amount of ten dollars ($10) by certified check or postal money order drawn to the order of the Secretary of the Treasury. The Board may revise the cost of acquiring this handbook from time to time, based on the cost to prepare and publish it, but the amount to be charged shall never exceed the real cost of said expenses.
(n) Adopt, not later than one hundred and twenty (120) days following the date the Board was constituted, the regulations for the application of this chapter, which shall establish, without it being understood as a limitation, the requirements and procedures to request the issue or renewal of licenses, as well as the procedures to hold public or administrative hearings. Said regulations shall take effect after complying with the procedure for their approval as established in §§ 2101 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Uniform Administrative Procedures Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.”
(o) Adopt a code of ethics that shall govern the practice of naturopathic medicine, not later than six (6) months after the constitution of the Board.
History —Dec. 30, 1997, No. 208, § 9, eff. Jan. 1, 1998.