2015 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 20 - Professional and Occupational Licensing, Certification, Title Protection and Registration. Examining Boards
Chapter 376 - Physical Therapists
Section 20-73a - Charges against licensee, verification, hearing. Grounds for disciplinary action. Appeal.

(a) The Board of Examiners for Physical Therapists shall have jurisdiction to hear all charges of conduct that fails to conform to the accepted standards of the practice of physical therapy brought against any person licensed as a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant and, after holding a hearing, written notice of which shall be given to the person complained of, the board, if it finds such person to be guilty, may revoke or suspend such person’s license or take any of the actions set forth in section 19a-17. Any proceedings relative to such action may be begun by the filing of written charges with the Commissioner of Public Health. The causes for which such action may be taken are as follows: (1) Conviction in a court of competent jurisdiction, either within or without this state, of any crime in the practice of such person’s profession; (2) illegal, incompetent or negligent conduct in the practice of physical therapy or in the supervision of a physical therapist assistant; (3) aiding or abetting the unlawful practice of physical therapy; (4) treating human ailments by physical therapy without the oral or written referral by a person licensed in this state or in a state having licensing requirements meeting the approval of the appropriate examining board in this state to practice medicine and surgery, podiatry, naturopathy, chiropractic or dentistry if such referral is required pursuant to section 20-73; (5) failure to register with the Department of Public Health as required by law; (6) fraud or deception in obtaining a license; (7) engaging in fraud or material deception in the course of professional services or activities; (8) failure to comply with the continuing education requirements of section 20-73b; (9) violation of any provision of this chapter, or any regulation adopted under this chapter; or (10) failure to provide information to the Department of Public Health required to complete a health care provider profile, as set forth in section 20-13j.

(b) The clerk of any court in this state in which a person practicing physical therapy has been convicted of any crime as described in this section shall, immediately after such conviction, transmit a certified copy, in duplicate, of the information and judgment, without charge, to the Department of Public Health, containing the name and address of the physical therapist or physical therapist assistant, the crime of which the physical therapist or physical therapist assistant has been convicted and the date of conviction. The hearing on such charges shall be conducted in accordance with the regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Public Health in accordance with chapter 54. Any person aggrieved by a final decision of the board may appeal from the decision as provided in section 4-183. Such appeal shall have precedence over nonprivileged cases in respect to order of trial. The Attorney General shall act as attorney in the public interest in defending against such an appeal. The board may petition the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford to enforce any action taken pursuant to section 19a-17.

(1959, P.A. 575, S. 7; 1971, P.A. 870, S. 57; P.A. 73-579, S. 4; P.A. 76-436, S. 419, 681; P.A. 77-603, S. 62, 125; 77-614, S. 386, 610; P.A. 78-280, S. 34, 127; P.A. 80-336, S. 4; P.A. 81-473, S. 20, 43; P.A. 88-230, S. 1, 12; P.A. 89-307, S. 2; P.A. 90-98, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-142, S. 4, 7, 8; 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-220, S. 4–6; 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 96-47, S. 3; P.A. 99-102, S. 25; P.A. 00-226, S. 16, 20; P.A. 06-125, S. 3; P.A. 08-109, S. 5.)

History: 1971 act replaced superior court with court of common pleas, effective September 1, 1971, except that courts with cases pending retain jurisdiction unless pending matters deemed transferable; P.A. 73-579 added provisions re filing of charges, grounds for revocation or suspension of license, information to be transmitted to health department after therapist’s conviction of crime and attorney general’s acting as attorney in the public interest; P.A. 76-436 replaced court of common pleas with superior court and added reference to judicial districts, effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 77-603 replaced previous appeal provisions with statement that appeals be in accordance with Sec. 4-183 and deleted provision which had prohibited appeal from acting as supersedeas of finding or order; P.A. 77-614 replaced commissioner and department of health with commissioner and department of health services, stated that violation of chapter or related regulations is ground for suspension or revocation of license, stated that hearings to be conducted according to regulations adopted by commissioner rather than as provided in Sec. 20-45 and deleted provision re appeals’ precedence in order of trial, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 78-280 restored provision re precedence in order of trial; P.A. 80-336 rephrased grounds for revocation or suspension of license to allow treating ailments, (formerly “practicing”) under direction of practitioners in bordering states and to include as acceptable practitioners, those who are osteopathic or naturopathic physicians, podiatrists and chiropractors; P.A. 81-473 amended section to conform grounds for disciplinary action and remedies with those provided for other health professions during process of sunset review begun in 1980; P.A. 88-230 replaced “judicial district of Hartford-New Britain” with “judicial district of Hartford”, effective September 1, 1991; P.A. 89-307 added reference to the supervision of a physical therapist assistant; P.A. 90-98 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1991, to September 1, 1993; P.A. 93-142 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1993, to September 1, 1996, effective June 14, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced department and commissioner of health services with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-220 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1996, to September 1, 1998, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-47 required any decision appealed from to be a “final” decision; P.A. 99-102 deleted obsolete reference to osteopathy and made technical changes; P.A. 00-226 made technical changes and added references to physical therapist assistants, effective the later of October 1, 2000, or the date notice is published by the Commissioner of Public Health in the Connecticut Law Journal indicating that the licensing of athletic trainers and physical therapist assistants is being implemented by the commissioner, i.e. April 11, 2006; P.A. 06-125 added Subsec. designators (a) and (b), amended newly designated Subsec. (a) by providing in Subdiv. (4) that a cause of action for providing physical therapy treatment without an oral or written referral exists if such referral is required pursuant to Sec. 20-73, added new Subdiv. (8) establishing a cause of action for failure to comply with continuing education requirements, redesignated existing Subdiv. (8) as Subdiv. (9) and made a technical change in newly designated Subsec. (b); P.A. 08-109 added failure to provide information for health care provider profile to list of grounds for revocation or suspension of license or disciplinary action in Subsec. (a), effective January 1, 2010.