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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fourth Legislature, First Regular Session
unauthorized practice; health professions
Purpose
Requires health profession regulatory boards (health boards) to regulate the unauthorized practice of the health profession the health board regulates. Classifies, as a class 5 felony, engaging in the unauthorized practice of a health profession. Directs health boards to refer verified complaints to a county attorney or the Attorney General (AG).
Background
In Arizona, health boards
are statutorily established to license and regulate various health
professionals and are prohibited from basing a licensing decision in whole or
in part on a requirement or condition that is not specifically authorized by
statute or rule (A.R.S.
§ 41-1030). A health professional is a person who is certified or
licensed by a health board for any of the following: 1) podiatry; 2)
chiropractic; 3) dentistry; 4) medicine and surgery as a physician;
5) naturopathic medicine; 6) nursing; 7) dispensing opticians; 8) optometry; 9)
osteopathic medicine; 10) pharmacy; 11) physical therapy; 12) psychology; 13)
veterinary medicine;
14) medicine as a physician assistant; 15) radiologic technology; 16) homeopathic
medicine;
17) behavioral health; 18) occupational therapy; 19) respiratory care; 20)
acupuncture; 21) athletic training; 22) massage therapy; 23) nursing care
institution and assisted living facilities;
24) midwifery; and 25) hearing aid dispensers, audiologists and speech-language
pathologists (A.R.S.
§ 32-3201).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Requires that health boards regulate the unauthorized practice of the health profession the health board regulates.
2. Directs health boards or their executive directors, if delegated and consistent with each health boards' authority, to do the following after receiving a complaint regarding a person who is alleged to have engaged in the unauthorized practice of a health profession:
a) verify licensure or certification with the primary source of the documentation;
b) retain all records of the complaint documentation verification for at least 10 years; and
c) post information regarding a person who is verified to have engaged in the unauthorized practice of a health profession on the health board's public website for a period of 5 years.
3. Allows a person who is verified to have engaged in the unauthorized practice of a health profession to request that their information be removed from a health board's public website before the required 5 year posting timeframe.
4. Permits health boards to issue cease and desist orders to stop a person from engaging in the unauthorized practice of a health profession.
5. Requires that health boards notify complainants that additional information may be submitted anytime during the investigation if any information was not initially submitted.
6. Permits a complainant to request that their identifying information be withheld from the person the complainant alleges engaged in the unauthorized practice of a health profession and requires health boards to keep a requesting complainant's identifying information confidential.
7. Classifies, as a class 5 felony, engaging in the unauthorized practice of a health profession.
8. Directs health boards to refer verified complaints regarding the unauthorized practice of a health profession to a county attorney or the AG for prosecution.
9. Defines unauthorized practice of a health profession.
10. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
HHS 1/31/19 DP 9-0-0-0
3rd Read 3/11/19 56-4-0
Prepared by Senate Research
March 18, 2019
CRS/kja