Texas Administrative Code › Title 22 - EXAMINING BOARDS › Part 9 - TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD › Chapter 183 - ACUPUNCTURE › Section 183.9 - Impaired Acupuncturists

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a)
				Mental or physical examination requirement.
(1) The board may require a licensee or
				applicant to submit to a mental and/or physical examination by a physician or
				physicians designated by the board if the board has probable cause to believe
				that the licensee or applicant is impaired. Impairment is present if one
				appears to be unable to practice with reasonable skill and safety to patients
				by reason of age, illness, drunkenness, excessive use of drugs, narcotics,
				chemicals, or any other type of material; or as a result of any mental or
				physical condition.
(2) Probable
				cause may include, but is not limited to, any one of the following:
(A) sworn statements from two people, willing
				to testify before the acupuncture board, or the State Office of Administrative
				Hearings that a certain licensee or applicant is impaired;
(B) a sworn statement from an official
				representative of the Texas Association of Acupuncturists or the Texas
				Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine stating that the
				representative is willing to testify before the board that a certain licensee
				or applicant is impaired;
(C)
				evidence that a licensee or applicant left a treatment program for alcohol or
				chemical dependency before completion of that program;
(D) evidence that a licensee or applicant is
				guilty of intemperate use of drugs or alcohol;
(E) evidence of repeated arrests of a
				licensee or applicant for intoxication;
(F) evidence of recurring temporary
				commitments of a licensee or applicant to a mental institution; or
(G) medical records indicating that a
				licensee or applicant has an illness or condition which results in the
				inability to function properly in his or her practice.
(H) actions or statements by a licensee or
				applicant at a hearing conducted by the Board that gives the Board reason to
				believe that the licensee or applicant has an impairment.
(3) Upon presentation to the Executive
				Director of probable cause, the Board authorizes the Executive Director to
				write the licensee/applicant requesting that the licensee/applicant submit to a
				physical or mental examination within 30 days of the receipt of the letter from
				the Executive Director. The letter shall state the reasons for the request for
				the mental or physical examination, the medical specialists the Executive
				Director has approved to conduct such examinations, and the date by which the
				examination and the results are to be received by the Board.
(4) If the licensee/applicant to whom a
				letter requiring a mental or physical examination is sent refuses to submit to
				the examination, the Board, through its Executive Director, shall issue an
				order requiring the licensee/applicant to show cause why the licensee/applicant
				should not be required to submit to the examination and shall schedule a
				hearing on the order not later than the 30 days after the date on which the
				notice of the hearing is provided to the licensee. The licensee/applicant shall
				be notified by either personal service or certified mail with return receipt
				requested.
(5) At the show cause
				hearing provided in for in paragraph (4) of this subsection, a panel of the
				Board's representatives shall determine whether the licensee/applicant shall
				submit to an evaluation or that the matter shall be closed with no examination
				required.
(A) At the hearing, the
				licensee/applicant and the licensee/applicant's attorney, if any, are entitled
				to present testimony and other evidence showing that the licensee/applicant
				should not be required to submit to the examination.
(B) If, after consideration of the evidence
				presented at the show cause hearing, the panel determines that the
				licensee/applicant shall submit to an examination, the Board's representatives
				shall, through its Executive Director, issue an order requiring the examination
				within 60 days after the date of the entry of the order requiring examination.
				A licensee is entitled to cross-examine an expert who offers testimony at
				hearing before the Board.
(C) If
				the panel determines that no such examination is necessary, the panel will
				withdraw the request for examination.
(D) The results of any Board-ordered mental
				or physical examination are confidential shall be presented to the Board under
				seal for it to take whatever action is deemed necessary and appropriate based
				on the results of the mental or physical examination. A licensee shall be
				provided the results of an examination and given the opportunity to provide a
				response at least 30 days before the Board takes action.
(6) In fulfilling its obligations under
				Section 205.3523 of the Act, the Board shall refer the licensee/applicant to
				the most appropriate medical specialist for evaluation. The Board may not
				require a licensee/applicant to submit to an examination by a physician having
				a specialty specified by the Board unless medically indicated. The Board may
				not require a licensee/applicant to submit to an examination to be conducted an
				unreasonable distance from the person's home or place of business unless the
				licensee/applicant resides and works in an area in which there are a limited
				number of physicians able to perform an appropriate examination.
(7) The guidelines adopted under this
				subsection do not impair or remove the Board's power to make an independent
				licensing or disciplinary decision unless a temporary suspension is
				convened.