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REFERENCE TITLE: dental board; business entities; enforcement |
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State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-sixth Legislature Second Regular Session 2024
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HB 2306 |
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Introduced by Representatives Willoughby: Diaz, Gress
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An Act
amending section 32-1213, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to the state board of dental examiners.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 32-1213, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
32-1213. Business entities; registration; renewal; civil penalty; exceptions
A. A business entity may not offer dental services pursuant to this chapter unless:
1. The business entity is registered with the board pursuant to this section.
2. The services are conducted by a licensee pursuant to this chapter.
B. The business entity must file a registration application on a form provided by the board. The application must include:
1. A description of the business entity's services offered to the public.
2. The name of any dentist who is authorized to provide and who is responsible for providing the dental services offered at each office.
3. The names and addresses of the officers and directors of the business entity.
4. The name of the business entity's custodian of records.
5. A registration fee prescribed by the board in rule.
C. A business entity must file a separate registration application and pay a fee for each branch office in this state.
D. A registration expires three years after the date the board issues the registration. A business entity that wishes to renew a registration must submit an application for renewal as prescribed by the board on a triennial basis on a form provided by the board before the expiration date. A business entity that fails to renew the registration before the expiration date is subject to a late fee as prescribed by the board by rule. The board may stagger the dates for renewal applications.
E. The business entity must notify the board in writing within thirty days after any change:
1. In the business entity's name, address or telephone number.
2. In the officers or directors of the business entity.
3. In the name of any dentist who is authorized to provide and who is responsible for providing the dental services in any facility.
4. In the name of the business entity's custodian of records who will accept subpoenas and respond to patient records requests.
F. The business entity shall establish a written protocol for the secure storage, transfer and access of the dental records of the business entity's patients. This protocol must include, at a minimum, procedures for:
1. Notifying patients of the future locations of their records if the business entity terminates or sells the practice.
2. Disposing of unclaimed dental records.
3. The timely response to requests by patients for copies of their records.
G. The business entity must notify the board within thirty days after the dissolution of any registered business entity or the closing or relocation of any facility and must disclose to the board the business entity's procedure by which its patients may obtain their records.
H. The board may do any of the following pursuant to its disciplinary procedures if a business entity violates the board's statutes or rules:
1. Refuse to issue a registration.
2. Suspend or revoke a registration.
3. Impose a civil penalty of not more than $2,000 for each violation.
4. Enter a decree of censure.
5. Issue an order prescribing a period and terms of probation that are best adapted to protect the public welfare and that may include a requirement for restitution to a patient for a violation of this chapter or rules adopted pursuant to this chapter.
6. Issue a letter of concern if a business entity's actions may cause the board to take disciplinary action.
7. Issue a cease and desist order on a business entity that is required to be registered and is not registered pursuant to this section. The board shall provide notice to the unregistered business entity that the business entity has thirty days in which to register with the board or the business entity will be prohibited from registering for one year.
I. The board shall deposit, pursuant to sections 35-146 and 35-147, civil penalties collected pursuant to this section in the state general fund.
J. This section does not apply to:
1. A sole proprietorship or partnership that consists exclusively of dentists who are licensed pursuant to this chapter.
2. Any of the following entities licensed under title 20:
(a) A service corporation.
(b) An insurer authorized to transact disability insurance.
(c) A prepaid dental plan organization that does not provide directly for prepaid dental services.
(d) A health care services organization that does not provide directly for dental services.
3. A professional corporation or professional limited liability company, the shares of which are exclusively owned by dentists who are licensed pursuant to this chapter and that is formed to engage in the practice of dentistry pursuant to title 10, chapter 20 or title 29 relating to professional limited liability companies.
4. A facility regulated by the federal government or a state, district or territory of the United States.
5. An administrator or executor of the estate of a deceased dentist or a person who is legally authorized to act for a dentist who has been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent for not more than one year after the date the board receives notice of the dentist's death or incapacitation pursuant to section 32-1270.
K. A facility that offers dental services to the public by persons licensed under this chapter shall be registered by the board unless the facility is any of the following:
1. Owned by a dentist who is licensed pursuant to this chapter.
2. Regulated by the federal government or a state, district or territory of the United States.
L. Except for issues relating to insurance coding and billing that require the name, signature and license number of the dentist providing treatment, this section does not:
1. Authorize a licensee in the course of providing dental services for a business entity registered pursuant to this section to disregard or interfere with a policy or practice established by the business entity for the operation and management of the business.
2. Authorize a business entity registered pursuant to this section to establish or enforce a business policy or practice that may interfere with the clinical judgment of the licensee in providing dental services for the business entity or may compromise a licensee's ability to comply with this chapter.
M. The board shall adopt rules that provide a method for the board to receive the assistance and advice of business entities licensed pursuant to this chapter in all matters relating to the regulation of business entities.
N. An individual currently holding a surrendered or revoked license to practice dentistry or dental hygiene in any state or jurisdiction in the United States may not have a majority ownership interest in the business entity registered pursuant to this section. Revocation and surrender of licensure shall be limited to disciplinary actions resulting in loss of license or surrender of license instead of disciplinary action. Dentists or dental hygienists affected by this subsection shall have one year after the surrender or revocation to divest themselves of their ownership interest. This subsection does not apply to publicly held companies. For the purposes of this subsection, "majority ownership interest" means an ownership interest greater than fifty percent.