North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 21 - OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS › Chapter 52 - PODIATRY EXAMINERS › Section .0400 - REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF LICENSE › Section 52 .0409 - COMPLAINTS

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a) Any person may
				file a complaint, pursuant to G.S. 150B, Article 3A, against a licensed
				podiatrist with the board by completing the online complaint form on the board
				website, http://www.ncbpe.orgor by providing a completed hardcopy complaint
				form to the Board, which may be obtained from the board's offices as listed in
				Rule .0101 of this Chapter.
(b) The
				complaint shall set forth the name and contact information of the podiatrist
				against whom the complaint is lodged, a summary of the facts of the complaint,
				the complainant's name, mailing address and phone number, and whether or not a
				copy of the complaint may be sent to the podiatrist about whom the complaint is
				lodged. Within 14 days of a hardcopy complaint received by the board, a receipt
				notification shall be sent to the complainant by mail. If an online complaint
				has been submitted to the board, an electronic receipt notification shall
				automatically be generated and emailed to the board's Executive Secretary and
				the complainant. A copy of the complaint shall be sent to the respondent named
				in the complaint, if so authorized by the complainant; otherwise, the complaint
				shall be filed in the podiatrist's file for future reference. Should the
				complaint be sent to the podiatrist, said podiatrist shall respond to the
				complaint in writing to the board within 45 days of receipt of the complaint
				and provide the board with a copy of the complainant's medical records pursuant
				to any board request.
(c) At such
				time as a complaint is received at the board's office and authorization given
				by the complainant to share the complaint with the podiatrist against whom the
				complaint is lodged, the Executive Secretary shall notify the board's appointed
				Grievance Committee members with a copy of the complaint. A Grievance Committee
				member who does not have a conflict of interest as defined in
				G.S.
				138A-36(a) shall be assigned
				to conduct an investigation to determine if probable cause exists that a
				violation of the Podiatry Practice Act (G.S.
				90-202.8) may have occurred. After review, if
				the Grievance Committee determines that further investigation is required to
				determine if probable cause exists, an outside investigator may be retained
				with the board's permission.
(d) If
				the Grievance Committee member determines that no probable cause exists that
				there was a violation of the Podiatry Practice Act, the Grievance Committee
				member shall submit a summary of his investigation and conclusion first to the
				remaining members of the Grievance Committee, and if the members concur, to the
				board for approval. If the decision is approved by the board at a regularly
				called meeting of the board, both the complainant and respondent shall be
				notified of the disposition of the case within 14 days of the board's
				decision.
(e) If the Grievance
				Committee determines that probable cause of a violation of the Podiatry
				Practice Act does exist, the Committee shall notify the board and an
				administrative hearing in compliance with Article 3A of G.S. 150B shall be
				scheduled. The complainant and the respondent shall be given Notice of the
				Hearing and the disposition of the case.
Authority
				  G.S.
				  90-202.4;
				  90-202.8;
				  150B-3;
Eff. April
				  1, 2017.