North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 21 - OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS › Chapter 61 - RESPIRATORY CARE BOARD › Section .0800 - INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS › Section 61 .0801 - RECEIVING AND PROCESSING COMPLAINTS

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a) Any
				person who has a concern or adverse information about the conduct or competence
				of a person licensed by the Board or of a person who has applied to the Board
				for a license may present a complaint to the Board.
(b) Complaints may be delivered to the Board
				by transmitting a paper copy of the completed complaint by mail, hand-delivery,
				or other means to the Board's office; by sending the completed complaint form
				to the email account identified on the Board's website; or by completing the
				complaint form online on the Board's website at www.ncrcb.org.
(c) Each complaint shall identify the sender
				of the complaint, provide the sender's contact information, and set forth
				specific facts known to the sender relating to the conduct or competence of
				each person who is the subject of the complaint.
(d) Upon receipt of a complaint, the Board's
				staff shall confirm receipt of the complaint to the sender and shall send each
				person who is a subject of the complaint, using the mail or electronic mail
				address of record in the Board's records for each person, a summary of the
				complaint.
(e) Investigations may
				be conducted by the Board staff or by other persons authorized by the
				Board.
(f) The Board staff shall
				assign a case number to the initial complaint, review the contents of the
				complaint, and conduct a preliminary review of information to determine whether
				an individual's conduct or competence relates to the Respiratory Care Practice
				Act or the Board's rules.
(g) If
				preliminary information in the complaint does not relate to an individual's
				conduct or competence related to the Respiratory Care Practice Act or the
				Board's rules, the Board staff shall close the case and send a notice to the
				sender and to each person who was the subject of the complaint and no further
				action shall be taken by the Board.
(h) If the information about an individual's
				conduct or competence is related to the Respiratory Care Practice Act or the
				Board's rules, Board staff shall open an investigative file and begin an
				investigation of the matters described in the complaint.
(i) If the Board staff concludes from the
				information received that it is possible that there has been a violation of the
				Respiratory Care Practice Act or the Board's rules, the Board staff shall place
				the matter on the quarterly schedule of the Board's investigative committee and
				issue notice to each person who is the subject of the investigation, requesting
				that each person attend the committee meeting to be interviewed.
(j) When a matter comes before the
				investigative committee, the committee shall conduct an interview with each
				person whose conduct or competence is the subject of the investigation if he or
				she is willing to be interviewed.
(k) The Board shall authorize the
				Investigative Committee to make a recommendation at the next quarterly Board
				meeting if the complaint is not resolved by the Investigative
				Committee.
(l) The Board shall
				consider the investigative committee recommendation on unresolved complaints at
				the next regularly scheduled meeting and shall determine whether to:
(1) conduct further investigation of
				particular aspects of the matter;
(2) close the case;
(3) issue a consent order to a subject of an
				investigation, specifying disciplinary sanctions to be applied and, if the
				consent order is not accepted, issue a notice of hearing;
(4) issue a notice of hearing to a subject,
				specifying disciplinary sanctions; or
(5) apply to the courts for injunctive
				relief, refer a matter to a district attorney for prosecution, or take other
				actions, including reporting matter to appropriate state or federal
				agencies.