2018 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 37 - Professions and Occupations
RS 37:1360.67 - Causes for refusal to issue, suspension or revocation of licenses, permits, and certificates

§1360.67. Causes for refusal to issue, suspension or revocation of licenses, permits, and certificates

A. The board may refuse to issue, or may suspend or revoke any license or certificate, or impose probationary or other restrictions on any license or certificate issued under this Part for the following causes:

(1) Conviction of a felony.

(2) Conviction of any crime or offense arising out of or relating to the practice of medical psychology.

(3) Fraud, deceit, or perjury in obtaining a diploma or certificate.

(4) Fraud or deception in applying for or procuring a license to practice psychology or medical psychology.

(5) Making any fraudulent or untrue statement to the board.

(6) Refusal to appear before the board after having been ordered to do so in writing by a duly authorized agent of the board.

(7) Habitual or recurring abuse of drugs, including alcohol, which affect the central nervous system and which are capable of inducing physiological or psychological dependence.

(8) Refusing to submit to the examinations and inquiry of an examining committee of physicians appointed or designated by the board to inquire into an applicant or licensee's physical and mental fitness and ability to practice medical psychology with reasonable skill and safety to patients.

(9) Prescribing, dispensing, or administering legally controlled substances or any dependency-inducing medication without legitimate medical justification therefore or in other than a legal or legitimate manner.

(10) Impersonation of another licensed practitioner.

(11) Incompetence.

(12) Voluntary or involuntary commitment or interdiction by due process of law.

(13) Failure to self-report in writing to the board any personal action which constitutes a violation of this Part within thirty days of the occurrence.

(14) Solicitation of patients or self-promotion through advertising or communication, public or private, which is fraudulent, false, deceptive, or misleading.

(15) Making or submitting false, deceptive, or unfounded claims, reports, or opinions to any patient, insurance company or indemnity association, company, individual, or governmental authority for the purpose of obtaining any thing of economic value.

(16) Soliciting, accepting, or receiving any thing of economic value in return for and based on the referral of patients to another person, firm, or corporation or in return for the prescription of medications.

(17) Unprofessional conduct.

(18) Continuing or recurring practice which fails to satisfy the prevailing and usually accepted standards of medical psychology practice in this state.

(19) Gross, willful, and continued overcharging for professional services.

(20) Abandonment of a patient.

(21) Knowingly performing any act which, in any way, assists an unqualified person to practice medical psychology, or having professional connection with or lending one's name to an illegal practitioner.

(22) Inability to practice medical psychology with reasonable skill or safety to patients because of mental illness or deficiency; physical illness, including but not limited to deterioration through the aging process or loss of motor skills; or excessive use or abuse of drugs, including alcohol.

(23) Violation of ethical principles and codes of conduct as promulgated by the American Psychological Association or violation of any code of ethics adopted in the rules and regulations of the board or other immoral, unprofessional, or dishonorable conduct as defined in the rules and regulations of the board.

(24) Practicing medical psychology in such a manner as to endanger the welfare of patients, including but not limited to:

(a) Harassment, intimidation, or abuse, sexual or otherwise, of a patient.

(b) Engaging in sexual intercourse or other sexual contact with a patient.

(c) Gross malpractice, repeated malpractice, or gross negligence in the practice of medical psychology.

(25) Use of repeated untruthful, deceptive, or improbable statements concerning the licensee's qualifications or the effects or results of proposed treatment, including functioning outside of one's professional competence established by education, training, and experience.

(26) Exercising undue influence in such a manner as to exploit the patient for financial or other personal advantage to the practitioner or a third party.

(27) Refusal of a licensing authority of another state to issue or renew a license, permit, or certificate to practice psychology or medical psychology in that state or the revocation, suspension, or other restriction imposed on a license, permit, or certificate issued by such licensing authority which prevents or restricts practice in that state, or the surrender of a license, permit, or certificate issued by another state when criminal or administrative charges are pending or threatened against the holder of such license, permit, or certificate.

(28) Violation of any rules and regulations of the board, or any provisions of this Part.

B. The board may, as a probationary condition, or as a condition of the reinstatement of any license or certificate suspended or revoked hereunder, require the license or certificate holder to pay all costs of the board proceedings, including investigator, stenographer, and attorney fees, and to pay a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars.

C. Any license or certificate suspended, revoked, or otherwise restricted by the board may be reinstated by the board.

D. The board's final decision in an adjudication proceeding conducted pursuant to this Section, other than by consent order, agreement, or other informal disposition, shall constitute a public record, and the board may disclose and provide such final decision to any person, firm, or corporation, or to the public generally. The board's disposition of an adjudication proceeding by consent order shall not constitute a public record, but the board shall have authority and discretion to disclose such disposition.

E. No judicial order staying or enjoining the effectiveness or enforcement of a final decision or order of the board in an adjudication proceeding, whether issued pursuant to R.S. 49:964(C) or otherwise, shall be effective, or be issued to be effective, beyond the earlier of either:

(1) One hundred twenty days from the date on which the board's decision or order was rendered.

(2) The date on which a court of competent jurisdiction enters judgment in a proceeding for judicial review of the board's decision or order issued pursuant to R.S. 49:964.

F. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no judicial order staying, enjoining, or continuing an adjudication proceeding before, or a preliminary, procedural, or intermediate decision, ruling, order, or action of, the board shall be effective or issued to be effective, whether pursuant to R.S. 49:964 or otherwise, prior to the exhaustion of all administrative remedies and issuance of a final decision or order by the board.

G. No order staying or enjoining a final decision or order of the board shall be issued unless the district court finds that the applicant or petitioner has established that the issuance of the stay does neither of the following:

(1) Threaten harm to other interested parties, including individuals for whom the applicant or petitioner may render medical psychology services.

(2) Constitute a threat to the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of this state.

H. No stay of a final decision or order of the board shall be granted ex parte. The court shall schedule a hearing on a request for a stay order within ten days from filing of the request. The court's decision to either grant or deny the stay order shall be rendered within five days after the conclusion of the hearing.

Acts 2009, No. 251, §11, eff. July 1, 2009.