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Am. Sub. H. B. No. 341 As Enrolled
(130th General Assembly)
(Amended Substitute House Bill Number 341)
AN ACT
To amend sections 4715.14, 4715.30, 4715.302,
4723.28, 4723.486, 4723.487, 4725.092, 4725.16,
4725.19, 4729.12, 4729.80, 4729.86, 4730.25,
4730.48, 4730.53, 4731.055, 4731.22, and 4731.281
and to enact sections 4121.443 and 4729.861 of the
Revised Code to establish requirements to be
followed by prescribers in reviewing patient
information in the State Board of Pharmacy's Ohio
Automated Rx Reporting System.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:
SECTION 1. That sections 4715.14, 4715.30, 4715.302,
4723.28, 4723.486, 4723.487, 4725.092, 4725.16, 4725.19, 4729.12,
4729.80, 4729.86, 4730.25, 4730.48, 4730.53, 4731.055, 4731.22,
and 4731.281 be amended and sections 4121.443 and 4729.861 of the
Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 4121.443. Each contract the administrator of workers'
compensation enters into with a managed care organization under
division (B)(4) of section 4121.44 of the Revised Code shall
require the managed care organization to enter into a data
security agreement with the state board of pharmacy governing the
managed care organization's use of the board's drug database
established and maintained under section 4729.75 of the Revised
Code.
This section does not apply if the board no longer maintains
the drug database.
Sec. 4715.14. (A)(1) Each person who is licensed to practice
dentistry in Ohio shall, on or before the first day of January of
each even-numbered year, register with the state dental board. The
registration shall be made on a form prescribed by the board and
furnished by the secretary, shall include the licensee's name,
address, license number, and such other reasonable information as
the board may consider necessary, and shall include payment of a
biennial registration fee of two hundred forty-five dollars.
Except as provided in division (E) of this section, this fee shall
be paid to the treasurer of state. Subject to division (C) of this
section, a registration shall be in effect for the two-year period
beginning on the first day of January of the even-numbered year
and ending on the last day of December of the following
odd-numbered year, and shall be renewed in accordance with the
standard renewal procedure of sections 4745.01 to 4745.03 of the
Revised Code.
(2)(a) Except as provided in division (A)(2)(b) of this
section, in the case of a licensee seeking registration who
prescribes or personally furnishes opioid analgesics or
benzodiazepines, the licensee shall certify to the board whether
the licensee has been granted access to the drug database
established and maintained by the state board of pharmacy pursuant
to section 4729.75 of the Revised Code.
(b) The requirement in division (A)(2)(a) of this section
does not apply if either of the following is the case:
(i) The state board of pharmacy notifies the state dental
board pursuant to section 4729.861 of the Revised Code that the
licensee has been restricted from obtaining further information
from the drug database.
(ii) The state board of pharmacy no longer maintains the drug
database.
(3) If a licensee certifies to the state dental board that
the licensee has been granted access to the drug database and the
board finds through an audit or other means that the licensee has
not been granted access, the board may take action under section
4715.30 of the Revised Code.
(B) A licensed dentist who desires to temporarily retire from
practice and who has given the board notice in writing to that
effect shall be granted such a retirement, provided only that at
that time all previous registration fees and additional costs of
reinstatement have been paid.
(C) Not later than the thirty-first day of January of an
even-numbered year, the board shall send a notice by certified
mail to a dentist who fails to renew a license in accordance with
division (A) of this section. The notice shall state all of the
following:
(1) That the board has not received the registration form and
fee described in that division;
(2) That the license shall remain valid and in good standing
until the first day of April following the last day of December of
the odd-numbered year in which the dentist was scheduled to renew
if the dentist remains in compliance with all other applicable
provisions of this chapter and any rule adopted under it;
(3) That the license may be renewed until the first day of
April following the last day of December of the odd-numbered year
in which the dentist was scheduled to renew by the payment of the
biennial registration fee and an additional fee of one hundred
dollars to cover the cost of late renewal;
(4) That unless the board receives the registration form and
fee before the first day of April following the last day of
December of the odd-numbered year in which the dentist was
scheduled to renew, the board may, on or after the relevant first
day of April, initiate disciplinary action against the dentist
pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code;
(5) That a dentist whose license has been suspended as a
result of disciplinary action initiated pursuant to division
(C)(4) of this section may be reinstated by the payment of the
biennial registration fee and an additional fee of three hundred
dollars to cover the cost of reinstatement.
(D) Each dentist licensed to practice, whether a resident or
not, shall notify the secretary in writing or electronically of
any change in the dentist's office address or employment within
ten days after such change has taken place. On the first day of
July of every even-numbered year, the secretary shall issue a
printed roster of the names and addresses so registered.
(E) Twenty dollars of each biennial registration fee shall be
paid to the dentist loan repayment fund created under section
3702.95 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4715.30. (A) An applicant for or holder of a
certificate or license issued under this chapter is subject to
disciplinary action by the state dental board for any of the
following reasons:
(1) Employing or cooperating in fraud or material deception
in applying for or obtaining a license or certificate;
(2) Obtaining or attempting to obtain money or anything of
value by intentional misrepresentation or material deception in
the course of practice;
(3) Advertising services in a false or misleading manner or
violating the board's rules governing time, place, and manner of
advertising;
(4) Commission of an act that constitutes a felony in this
state, regardless of the jurisdiction in which the act was
committed;
(5) Commission of an act in the course of practice that
constitutes a misdemeanor in this state, regardless of the
jurisdiction in which the act was committed;
(6) Conviction of, a plea of guilty to, a judicial finding of
guilt of, a judicial finding of guilt resulting from a plea of no
contest to, or a judicial finding of eligibility for intervention
in lieu of conviction for, any felony or of a misdemeanor
committed in the course of practice;
(7) Engaging in lewd or immoral conduct in connection with
the provision of dental services;
(8) Selling, prescribing, giving away, or administering drugs
for other than legal and legitimate therapeutic purposes, or
conviction of, a plea of guilty to, a judicial finding of guilt
of, a judicial finding of guilt resulting from a plea of no
contest to, or a judicial finding of eligibility for intervention
in lieu of conviction for, a violation of any federal or state law
regulating the possession, distribution, or use of any drug;
(9) Providing or allowing dental hygienists, expanded
function dental auxiliaries, or other practitioners of auxiliary
dental occupations working under the certificate or license
holder's supervision, or a dentist holding a temporary limited
continuing education license under division (C) of section 4715.16
of the Revised Code working under the certificate or license
holder's direct supervision, to provide dental care that departs
from or fails to conform to accepted standards for the profession,
whether or not injury to a patient results;
(10) Inability to practice under accepted standards of the
profession because of physical or mental disability, dependence on
alcohol or other drugs, or excessive use of alcohol or other
drugs;
(11) Violation of any provision of this chapter or any rule
adopted thereunder;
(12) Failure to use universal blood and body fluid
precautions established by rules adopted under section 4715.03 of
the Revised Code;
(13) Except as provided in division (H) of this section,
either of the following:
(a) Waiving the payment of all or any part of a deductible or
copayment that a patient, pursuant to a health insurance or health
care policy, contract, or plan that covers dental services, would
otherwise be required to pay if the waiver is used as an
enticement to a patient or group of patients to receive health
care services from that certificate or license holder;
(b) Advertising that the certificate or license holder will
waive the payment of all or any part of a deductible or copayment
that a patient, pursuant to a health insurance or health care
policy, contract, or plan that covers dental services, would
otherwise be required to pay.
(14) Failure to comply with section 4715.302 or 4729.79 of
the Revised Code, unless the state board of pharmacy no longer
maintains a drug database pursuant to section 4729.75 of the
Revised Code;
(15) Any of the following actions taken by an agency
responsible for authorizing, certifying, or regulating an
individual to practice a health care occupation or provide health
care services in this state or another jurisdiction, for any
reason other than the nonpayment of fees: the limitation,
revocation, or suspension of an individual's license to practice;
acceptance of an individual's license surrender; denial of a
license; refusal to renew or reinstate a license; imposition of
probation; or issuance of an order of censure or other reprimand;
(16) Failure to cooperate in an investigation conducted by
the board under division (D) of section 4715.03 of the Revised
Code, including failure to comply with a subpoena or order issued
by the board or failure to answer truthfully a question presented
by the board at a deposition or in written interrogatories, except
that failure to cooperate with an investigation shall not
constitute grounds for discipline under this section if a court of
competent jurisdiction has issued an order that either quashes a
subpoena or permits the individual to withhold the testimony or
evidence in issue.
(B) A manager, proprietor, operator, or conductor of a dental
facility shall be subject to disciplinary action if any dentist,
dental hygienist, expanded function dental auxiliary, or qualified
personnel providing services in the facility is found to have
committed a violation listed in division (A) of this section and
the manager, proprietor, operator, or conductor knew of the
violation and permitted it to occur on a recurring basis.
(C) Subject to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, the board
may take one or more of the following disciplinary actions if one
or more of the grounds for discipline listed in divisions (A) and
(B) of this section exist:
(1) Censure the license or certificate holder;
(2) Place the license or certificate on probationary status
for such period of time the board determines necessary and require
the holder to:
(a) Report regularly to the board upon the matters which are
the basis of probation;
(b) Limit practice to those areas specified by the board;
(c) Continue or renew professional education until a
satisfactory degree of knowledge or clinical competency has been
attained in specified areas.
(3) Suspend the certificate or license;
(4) Revoke the certificate or license.
Where the board places a holder of a license or certificate
on probationary status pursuant to division (C)(2) of this
section, the board may subsequently suspend or revoke the license
or certificate if it determines that the holder has not met the
requirements of the probation or continues to engage in activities
that constitute grounds for discipline pursuant to division (A) or
(B) of this section.
Any order suspending a license or certificate shall state the
conditions under which the license or certificate will be
restored, which may include a conditional restoration during which
time the holder is in a probationary status pursuant to division
(C)(2) of this section. The board shall restore the license or
certificate unconditionally when such conditions are met.
(D) If the physical or mental condition of an applicant or a
license or certificate holder is at issue in a disciplinary
proceeding, the board may order the license or certificate holder
to submit to reasonable examinations by an individual designated
or approved by the board and at the board's expense. The physical
examination may be conducted by any individual authorized by the
Revised Code to do so, including a physician assistant, a clinical
nurse specialist, a certified nurse practitioner, or a certified
nurse-midwife. Any written documentation of the physical
examination shall be completed by the individual who conducted the
examination.
Failure to comply with an order for an examination shall be
grounds for refusal of a license or certificate or summary
suspension of a license or certificate under division (E) of this
section.
(E) If a license or certificate holder has failed to comply
with an order under division (D) of this section, the board may
apply to the court of common pleas of the county in which the
holder resides for an order temporarily suspending the holder's
license or certificate, without a prior hearing being afforded by
the board, until the board conducts an adjudication hearing
pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. If the court
temporarily suspends a holder's license or certificate, the board
shall give written notice of the suspension personally or by
certified mail to the license or certificate holder. Such notice
shall inform the license or certificate holder of the right to a
hearing pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
(F) Any holder of a certificate or license issued under this
chapter who has pleaded guilty to, has been convicted of, or has
had a judicial finding of eligibility for intervention in lieu of
conviction entered against the holder in this state for aggravated
murder, murder, voluntary manslaughter, felonious assault,
kidnapping, rape, sexual battery, gross sexual imposition,
aggravated arson, aggravated robbery, or aggravated burglary, or
who has pleaded guilty to, has been convicted of, or has had a
judicial finding of eligibility for treatment or intervention in
lieu of conviction entered against the holder in another
jurisdiction for any substantially equivalent criminal offense, is
automatically suspended from practice under this chapter in this
state and any certificate or license issued to the holder under
this chapter is automatically suspended, as of the date of the
guilty plea, conviction, or judicial finding, whether the
proceedings are brought in this state or another jurisdiction.
Continued practice by an individual after the suspension of the
individual's certificate or license under this division shall be
considered practicing without a certificate or license. The board
shall notify the suspended individual of the suspension of the
individual's certificate or license under this division by
certified mail or in person in accordance with section 119.07 of
the Revised Code. If an individual whose certificate or license is
suspended under this division fails to make a timely request for
an adjudicatory hearing, the board shall enter a final order
revoking the individual's certificate or license.
(G) If the supervisory investigative panel determines both of
the following, the panel may recommend that the board suspend an
individual's certificate or license without a prior hearing:
(1) That there is clear and convincing evidence that an
individual has violated division (A) of this section;
(2) That the individual's continued practice presents a
danger of immediate and serious harm to the public.
Written allegations shall be prepared for consideration by
the board. The board, upon review of those allegations and by an
affirmative vote of not fewer than four dentist members of the
board and seven of its members in total, excluding any member on
the supervisory investigative panel, may suspend a certificate or
license without a prior hearing. A telephone conference call may
be utilized for reviewing the allegations and taking the vote on
the summary suspension.
The board shall issue a written order of suspension by
certified mail or in person in accordance with section 119.07 of
the Revised Code. The order shall not be subject to suspension by
the court during pendency or any appeal filed under section 119.12
of the Revised Code. If the individual subject to the summary
suspension requests an adjudicatory hearing by the board, the date
set for the hearing shall be within fifteen days, but not earlier
than seven days, after the individual requests the hearing, unless
otherwise agreed to by both the board and the individual.
Any summary suspension imposed under this division shall
remain in effect, unless reversed on appeal, until a final
adjudicative order issued by the board pursuant to this section
and Chapter 119. of the Revised Code becomes effective. The board
shall issue its final adjudicative order within seventy-five days
after completion of its hearing. A failure to issue the order
within seventy-five days shall result in dissolution of the
summary suspension order but shall not invalidate any subsequent,
final adjudicative order.
(H) Sanctions shall not be imposed under division (A)(13) of
this section against any certificate or license holder who waives
deductibles and copayments as follows:
(1) In compliance with the health benefit plan that expressly
allows such a practice. Waiver of the deductibles or copayments
shall be made only with the full knowledge and consent of the plan
purchaser, payer, and third-party administrator. Documentation of
the consent shall be made available to the board upon request.
(2) For professional services rendered to any other person
who holds a certificate or license issued pursuant to this chapter
to the extent allowed by this chapter and the rules of the board.
(I) In no event shall the board consider or raise during a
hearing required by Chapter 119. of the Revised Code the
circumstances of, or the fact that the board has received, one or
more complaints about a person unless the one or more complaints
are the subject of the hearing or resulted in the board taking an
action authorized by this section against the person on a prior
occasion.
(J) The board may share any information it receives pursuant
to an investigation under division (D) of section 4715.03 of the
Revised Code, including patient records and patient record
information, with law enforcement agencies, other licensing
boards, and other governmental agencies that are prosecuting,
adjudicating, or investigating alleged violations of statutes or
administrative rules. An agency or board that receives the
information shall comply with the same requirements regarding
confidentiality as those with which the state dental board must
comply, notwithstanding any conflicting provision of the Revised
Code or procedure of the agency or board that applies when it is
dealing with other information in its possession. In a judicial
proceeding, the information may be admitted into evidence only in
accordance with the Rules of Evidence, but the court shall require
that appropriate measures are taken to ensure that confidentiality
is maintained with respect to any part of the information that
contains names or other identifying information about patients or
complainants whose confidentiality was protected by the state
dental board when the information was in the board's possession.
Measures to ensure confidentiality that may be taken by the court
include sealing its records or deleting specific information from
its records.
Sec. 4715.302. (A) As used in this section, "drug database"
means the database established and maintained by the state board
of pharmacy pursuant to section 4729.75 of the Revised Code.
(B) The Except as provided in divisions (C) and (E) of this
section, a dentist shall comply with all of the following as
conditions of prescribing a drug that is either an opioid
analgesic or a benzodiazepine, or personally furnishing a complete
or partial supply of such a drug, as part of a patient's course of
treatment for a particular condition:
(1) Before initially prescribing or furnishing the drug, the
dentist or the dentist's delegate shall request from the drug
database a report of information related to the patient that
covers at least the twelve months immediately preceding the date
of the request. If the dentist practices primarily in a county of
this state that adjoins another state, the dentist or delegate
also shall request a report of any information available in the
drug database that pertains to prescriptions issued or drugs
furnished to the patient in the state adjoining that county.
(2) If the patient's course of treatment for the condition
continues for more than ninety days after the initial report is
requested, the dentist or delegate shall make periodic requests
for reports of information from the drug database until the course
of treatment has ended. The requests shall be made at intervals
not exceeding ninety days, determined according to the date the
initial request was made. The request shall be made in the same
manner provided in division (B)(1) of this section for requesting
the initial report of information from the drug database.
(3) On receipt of a report under division (B)(1) or (2) of
this section, the dentist shall assess the information in the
report. The dentist shall document in the patient's record that
the report was received and the information was assessed.
(C)(1) Division (B) of this section does not apply if a drug
database report regarding the patient is not available. In this
event, the dentist shall document in the patient's record the
reason that the report is not available.
(2) Division (B) of this section does not apply if the drug
is prescribed or personally furnished in an amount indicated for a
period not to exceed seven days.
(D) With respect to prescribing or personally furnishing any
drug that is not an opioid analgesic or a benzodiazepine but is
included in the drug database pursuant to rules adopted under
section 4729.84 of the Revised Code, the state dental board shall
adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code
that establish standards and procedures to be followed by a
dentist regarding the review of patient information available
through the drug database under division (A)(5) of section 4729.80
of the Revised Code. The rules shall be adopted in accordance with
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
(C)(E) This section and the rules adopted under it do not
apply if the state board of pharmacy no longer maintains the drug
database.
Sec. 4723.28. (A) The board of nursing, by a vote of a
quorum, may impose one or more of the following sanctions if it
finds that a person committed fraud in passing an examination
required to obtain a license, certificate of authority, or
dialysis technician certificate issued by the board or to have
committed fraud, misrepresentation, or deception in applying for
or securing any nursing license, certificate of authority, or
dialysis technician certificate issued by the board: deny, revoke,
suspend, or place restrictions on any nursing license, certificate
of authority, or dialysis technician certificate issued by the
board; reprimand or otherwise discipline a holder of a nursing
license, certificate of authority, or dialysis technician
certificate; or impose a fine of not more than five hundred
dollars per violation.
(B) The board of nursing, by a vote of a quorum, may impose
one or more of the following sanctions: deny, revoke, suspend, or
place restrictions on any nursing license, certificate of
authority, or dialysis technician certificate issued by the board;
reprimand or otherwise discipline a holder of a nursing license,
certificate of authority, or dialysis technician certificate; or
impose a fine of not more than five hundred dollars per violation.
The sanctions may be imposed for any of the following:
(1) Denial, revocation, suspension, or restriction of
authority to engage in a licensed profession or practice a health
care occupation, including nursing or practice as a dialysis
technician, for any reason other than a failure to renew, in Ohio
or another state or jurisdiction;
(2) Engaging in the practice of nursing or engaging in
practice as a dialysis technician, having failed to renew a
nursing license or dialysis technician certificate issued under
this chapter, or while a nursing license or dialysis technician
certificate is under suspension;
(3) Conviction of, a plea of guilty to, a judicial finding of
guilt of, a judicial finding of guilt resulting from a plea of no
contest to, or a judicial finding of eligibility for a pretrial
diversion or similar program or for intervention in lieu of
conviction for, a misdemeanor committed in the course of practice;
(4) Conviction of, a plea of guilty to, a judicial finding of
guilt of, a judicial finding of guilt resulting from a plea of no
contest to, or a judicial finding of eligibility for a pretrial
diversion or similar program or for intervention in lieu of
conviction for, any felony or of any crime involving gross
immorality or moral turpitude;
(5) Selling, giving away, or administering drugs or
therapeutic devices for other than legal and legitimate
therapeutic purposes; or conviction of, a plea of guilty to, a
judicial finding of guilt of, a judicial finding of guilt
resulting from a plea of no contest to, or a judicial finding of
eligibility for a pretrial diversion or similar program or for
intervention in lieu of conviction for, violating any municipal,
state, county, or federal drug law;
(6) Conviction of, a plea of guilty to, a judicial finding of
guilt of, a judicial finding of guilt resulting from a plea of no
contest to, or a judicial finding of eligibility for a pretrial
diversion or similar program or for intervention in lieu of
conviction for, an act in another jurisdiction that would
constitute a felony or a crime of moral turpitude in Ohio;
(7) Conviction of, a plea of guilty to, a judicial finding of
guilt of, a judicial finding of guilt resulting from a plea of no
contest to, or a judicial finding of eligibility for a pretrial
diversion or similar program or for intervention in lieu of
conviction for, an act in the course of practice in another
jurisdiction that would constitute a misdemeanor in Ohio;
(8) Self-administering or otherwise taking into the body any
dangerous drug, as defined in section 4729.01 of the Revised Code,
in any way that is not in accordance with a legal, valid
prescription issued for that individual, or self-administering or
otherwise taking into the body any drug that is a schedule I
controlled substance;
(9) Habitual or excessive use of controlled substances, other
habit-forming drugs, or alcohol or other chemical substances to an
extent that impairs the individual's ability to provide safe
nursing care or safe dialysis care;
(10) Impairment of the ability to practice according to
acceptable and prevailing standards of safe nursing care or safe
dialysis care because of the use of drugs, alcohol, or other
chemical substances;
(11) Impairment of the ability to practice according to
acceptable and prevailing standards of safe nursing care or safe
dialysis care because of a physical or mental disability;
(12) Assaulting or causing harm to a patient or depriving a
patient of the means to summon assistance;
(13) Misappropriation or attempted misappropriation of money
or anything of value in the course of practice;
(14) Adjudication by a probate court of being mentally ill or
mentally incompetent. The board may reinstate the person's nursing
license or dialysis technician certificate upon adjudication by a
probate court of the person's restoration to competency or upon
submission to the board of other proof of competency.
(15) The suspension or termination of employment by the
department of defense or the veterans administration of the United
States for any act that violates or would violate this chapter;
(16) Violation of this chapter or any rules adopted under it;
(17) Violation of any restrictions placed by the board on a
nursing license or dialysis technician certificate;
(18) Failure to use universal and standard precautions
established by rules adopted under section 4723.07 of the Revised
Code;
(19) Failure to practice in accordance with acceptable and
prevailing standards of safe nursing care or safe dialysis care;
(20) In the case of a registered nurse, engaging in
activities that exceed the practice of nursing as a registered
nurse;
(21) In the case of a licensed practical nurse, engaging in
activities that exceed the practice of nursing as a licensed
practical nurse;
(22) In the case of a dialysis technician, engaging in
activities that exceed those permitted under section 4723.72 of
the Revised Code;
(23) Aiding and abetting a person in that person's practice
of nursing without a license or practice as a dialysis technician
without a certificate issued under this chapter;
(24) In the case of a certified registered nurse anesthetist,
clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse-midwife, or certified
nurse practitioner, except as provided in division (M) of this
section, either of the following:
(a) Waiving the payment of all or any part of a deductible or
copayment that a patient, pursuant to a health insurance or health
care policy, contract, or plan that covers such nursing services,
would otherwise be required to pay if the waiver is used as an
enticement to a patient or group of patients to receive health
care services from that provider;
(b) Advertising that the nurse will waive the payment of all
or any part of a deductible or copayment that a patient, pursuant
to a health insurance or health care policy, contract, or plan
that covers such nursing services, would otherwise be required to
pay.
(25) Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of
participation in the chemical dependency monitoring program
established under section 4723.35 of the Revised Code;
(26) Failure to comply with the terms and conditions required
under the practice intervention and improvement program
established under section 4723.282 of the Revised Code;
(27) In the case of a certified registered nurse anesthetist,
clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse-midwife, or certified
nurse practitioner:
(a) Engaging in activities that exceed those permitted for
the nurse's nursing specialty under section 4723.43 of the Revised
Code;
(b) Failure to meet the quality assurance standards
established under section 4723.07 of the Revised Code.
(28) In the case of a clinical nurse specialist, certified
nurse-midwife, or certified nurse practitioner, failure to
maintain a standard care arrangement in accordance with section
4723.431 of the Revised Code or to practice in accordance with the
standard care arrangement;
(29) In the case of a clinical nurse specialist, certified
nurse-midwife, or certified nurse practitioner who holds a
certificate to prescribe issued under section 4723.48 of the
Revised Code, failure to prescribe drugs and therapeutic devices
in accordance with section 4723.481 of the Revised Code;
(30) Prescribing any drug or device to perform or induce an
abortion, or otherwise performing or inducing an abortion;
(31) Failure to establish and maintain professional
boundaries with a patient, as specified in rules adopted under
section 4723.07 of the Revised Code;
(32) Regardless of whether the contact or verbal behavior is
consensual, engaging with a patient other than the spouse of the
registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, or dialysis technician
in any of the following:
(a) Sexual contact, as defined in section 2907.01 of the
Revised Code;
(b) Verbal behavior that is sexually demeaning to the patient
or may be reasonably interpreted by the patient as sexually
demeaning.
(33) Assisting suicide as defined in section 3795.01 of the
Revised Code;
(34) Failure to comply with section 4723.487 of the Revised
Code, unless the state board of pharmacy no longer maintains a
drug database pursuant to section 4729.75 of the Revised Code.
(C) Disciplinary actions taken by the board under divisions
(A) and (B) of this section shall be taken pursuant to an
adjudication conducted under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code,
except that in lieu of a hearing, the board may enter into a
consent agreement with an individual to resolve an allegation of a
violation of this chapter or any rule adopted under it. A consent
agreement, when ratified by a vote of a quorum, shall constitute
the findings and order of the board with respect to the matter
addressed in the agreement. If the board refuses to ratify a
consent agreement, the admissions and findings contained in the
agreement shall be of no effect.
(D) The hearings of the board shall be conducted in
accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, the board may
appoint a hearing examiner, as provided in section 119.09 of the
Revised Code, to conduct any hearing the board is authorized to
hold under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
In any instance in which the board is required under Chapter
119. of the Revised Code to give notice of an opportunity for a
hearing and the applicant, licensee, or certificate holder does
not make a timely request for a hearing in accordance with section
119.07 of the Revised Code, the board is not required to hold a
hearing, but may adopt, by a vote of a quorum, a final order that
contains the board's findings. In the final order, the board may
order any of the sanctions listed in division (A) or (B) of this
section.
(E) If a criminal action is brought against a registered
nurse, licensed practical nurse, or dialysis technician for an act
or crime described in divisions (B)(3) to (7) of this section and
the action is dismissed by the trial court other than on the
merits, the board shall conduct an adjudication to determine
whether the registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, or
dialysis technician committed the act on which the action was
based. If the board determines on the basis of the adjudication
that the registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, or dialysis
technician committed the act, or if the registered nurse, licensed
practical nurse, or dialysis technician fails to participate in
the adjudication, the board may take action as though the
registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, or dialysis technician
had been convicted of the act.
If the board takes action on the basis of a conviction, plea,
or a judicial finding as described in divisions (B)(3) to (7) of
this section that is overturned on appeal, the registered nurse,
licensed practical nurse, or dialysis technician may, on
exhaustion of the appeal process, petition the board for
reconsideration of its action. On receipt of the petition and
supporting court documents, the board shall temporarily rescind
its action. If the board determines that the decision on appeal
was a decision on the merits, it shall permanently rescind its
action. If the board determines that the decision on appeal was
not a decision on the merits, it shall conduct an adjudication to
determine whether the registered nurse, licensed practical nurse,
or dialysis technician committed the act on which the original
conviction, plea, or judicial finding was based. If the board
determines on the basis of the adjudication that the registered
nurse, licensed practical nurse, or dialysis technician committed
such act, or if the registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, or
dialysis technician does not request an adjudication, the board
shall reinstate its action; otherwise, the board shall permanently
rescind its action.
Notwithstanding the provision of division (C)(2) of section
2953.32 of the Revised Code specifying that if records pertaining
to a criminal case are sealed under that section the proceedings
in the case shall be deemed not to have occurred, sealing of the
following records on which the board has based an action under
this section shall have no effect on the board's action or any
sanction imposed by the board under this section: records of any
conviction, guilty plea, judicial finding of guilt resulting from
a plea of no contest, or a judicial finding of eligibility for a
pretrial diversion program or intervention in lieu of conviction.
The board shall not be required to seal, destroy, redact, or
otherwise modify its records to reflect the court's sealing of
conviction records.
(F) The board may investigate an individual's criminal
background in performing its duties under this section. As part of
such investigation, the board may order the individual to submit,
at the individual's expense, a request to the bureau of criminal
identification and investigation for a criminal records check and
check of federal bureau of investigation records in accordance
with the procedure described in section 4723.091 of the Revised
Code.
(G) During the course of an investigation conducted under
this section, the board may compel any registered nurse, licensed
practical nurse, or dialysis technician or applicant under this
chapter to submit to a mental or physical examination, or both, as
required by the board and at the expense of the individual, if the
board finds reason to believe that the individual under
investigation may have a physical or mental impairment that may
affect the individual's ability to provide safe nursing care.
Failure of any individual to submit to a mental or physical
examination when directed constitutes an admission of the
allegations, unless the failure is due to circumstances beyond the
individual's control, and a default and final order may be entered
without the taking of testimony or presentation of evidence.
If the board finds that an individual is impaired, the board
shall require the individual to submit to care, counseling, or
treatment approved or designated by the board, as a condition for
initial, continued, reinstated, or renewed authority to practice.
The individual shall be afforded an opportunity to demonstrate to
the board that the individual can begin or resume the individual's
occupation in compliance with acceptable and prevailing standards
of care under the provisions of the individual's authority to
practice.
For purposes of this division, any registered nurse, licensed
practical nurse, or dialysis technician or applicant under this
chapter shall be deemed to have given consent to submit to a
mental or physical examination when directed to do so in writing
by the board, and to have waived all objections to the
admissibility of testimony or examination reports that constitute
a privileged communication.
(H) The board shall investigate evidence that appears to show
that any person has violated any provision of this chapter or any
rule of the board. Any person may report to the board any
information the person may have that appears to show a violation
of any provision of this chapter or rule of the board. In the
absence of bad faith, any person who reports such information or
who testifies before the board in any adjudication conducted under
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code shall not be liable for civil
damages as a result of the report or testimony.
(I) All of the following apply under this chapter with
respect to the confidentiality of information:
(1) Information received by the board pursuant to a complaint
or an investigation is confidential and not subject to discovery
in any civil action, except that the board may disclose
information to law enforcement officers and government entities
for purposes of an investigation of either a licensed health care
professional, including a registered nurse, licensed practical
nurse, or dialysis technician, or a person who may have engaged in
the unauthorized practice of nursing or dialysis care. No law
enforcement officer or government entity with knowledge of any
information disclosed by the board pursuant to this division shall
divulge the information to any other person or government entity
except for the purpose of a government investigation, a
prosecution, or an adjudication by a court or government entity.
(2) If an investigation requires a review of patient records,
the investigation and proceeding shall be conducted in such a
manner as to protect patient confidentiality.
(3) All adjudications and investigations of the board shall
be considered civil actions for the purposes of section 2305.252
of the Revised Code.
(4) Any board activity that involves continued monitoring of
an individual as part of or following any disciplinary action
taken under this section shall be conducted in a manner that
maintains the individual's confidentiality. Information received
or maintained by the board with respect to the board's monitoring
activities is not subject to discovery in any civil action and is
confidential, except that the board may disclose information to
law enforcement officers and government entities for purposes of
an investigation of a licensee or certificate holder.
(J) Any action taken by the board under this section
resulting in a suspension from practice shall be accompanied by a
written statement of the conditions under which the person may be
reinstated to practice.
(K) When the board refuses to grant a license or certificate
to an applicant, revokes a license or certificate, or refuses to
reinstate a license or certificate, the board may specify that its
action is permanent. An individual subject to permanent action
taken by the board is forever ineligible to hold a license or
certificate of the type that was refused or revoked and the board
shall not accept from the individual an application for
reinstatement of the license or certificate or for a new license
or certificate.
(L) No unilateral surrender of a nursing license, certificate
of authority, or dialysis technician certificate issued under this
chapter shall be effective unless accepted by majority vote of the
board. No application for a nursing license, certificate of
authority, or dialysis technician certificate issued under this
chapter may be withdrawn without a majority vote of the board. The
board's jurisdiction to take disciplinary action under this
section is not removed or limited when an individual has a license
or certificate classified as inactive or fails to renew a license
or certificate.
(M) Sanctions shall not be imposed under division (B)(24) of
this section against any licensee who waives deductibles and
copayments as follows:
(1) In compliance with the health benefit plan that expressly
allows such a practice. Waiver of the deductibles or copayments
shall be made only with the full knowledge and consent of the plan
purchaser, payer, and third-party administrator. Documentation of
the consent shall be made available to the board upon request.
(2) For professional services rendered to any other person
licensed pursuant to this chapter to the extent allowed by this
chapter and the rules of the board.
Sec. 4723.486. (A) A certificate to prescribe issued under
section 4723.48 of the Revised Code that is not issued as an
externship certificate is valid for two years, unless otherwise
provided in rules adopted under section 4723.50 of the Revised
Code or earlier suspended or revoked by the board. The board of
nursing shall renew certificates to prescribe according to
procedures and a renewal schedule established in rules adopted
under section 4723.50 of the Revised Code.
(B) The Except as provided in division (C) of this section,
the board may renew a certificate to prescribe if the holder
submits to the board all of the following:
(1) Evidence of having completed during the previous two
years at least twelve hours of continuing education in advanced
pharmacology, or, if the certificate has been held for less than a
full renewal period, the number of hours required by the board in
rules adopted under section 4723.50 of the Revised Code;
(2) The fee required under section 4723.08 of the Revised
Code for renewal of a certificate to prescribe;
(3) Any additional information the board requires pursuant to
rules adopted under section 4723.50 of the Revised Code.
(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this section,
in the case of a certificate holder seeking renewal who prescribes
opioid analgesics or benzodiazepines, the holder shall certify to
the board whether the holder has been granted access to the drug
database established and maintained by the state board of pharmacy
pursuant to section 4729.75 of the Revised Code.
(2) The requirement in division (C)(1) of this section does
not apply if either of the following is the case:
(a) The state board of pharmacy notifies the board of nursing
pursuant to section 4729.861 of the Revised Code that the
certificate holder has been restricted from obtaining further
information from the drug database.
(b) The state board of pharmacy no longer maintains the drug
database.
(3) If a certificate holder certifies to the board of nursing
that the holder has been granted access to the drug database and
the board finds through an audit or other means that the holder
has not been granted access, the board may take action under
section 4723.28 of the Revised Code.
(D) The continuing education in pharmacology required under
division (B)(1) of this section must be received from an
accredited institution recognized by the board. The hours of
continuing education required are in addition to any other
continuing education requirement that must be completed pursuant
to this chapter.
Sec. 4723.487. (A) As used in this section, "drug database"
means the database established and maintained by the state board
of pharmacy pursuant to section 4729.75 of the Revised Code.
(B) The Except as provided in divisions (C) and (E) of this
section, an advanced practice registered nurse holding a
certificate to prescribe issued under this chapter shall comply
with all of the following as conditions of prescribing a drug that
is either an opioid analgesic or a benzodiazepine as part of a
patient's course of treatment for a particular condition:
(1) Before initially prescribing the drug, the nurse or the
nurse's delegate shall request from the drug database a report of
information related to the patient that covers at least the twelve
months immediately preceding the date of the request. If the nurse
practices primarily in a county of this state that adjoins another
state, the nurse or delegate also shall request a report of any
information available in the drug database that pertains to
prescriptions issued or drugs furnished to the patient in the
state adjoining that county.
(2) If the patient's course of treatment for the condition
continues for more than ninety days after the initial report is
requested, the nurse or delegate shall make periodic requests for
reports of information from the drug database until the course of
treatment has ended. The requests shall be made at intervals not
exceeding ninety days, determined according to the date the
initial request was made. The request shall be made in the same
manner provided in division (B)(1) of this section for requesting
the initial report of information from the drug database.
(3) On receipt of a report under division (B)(1) or (2) of
this section, the nurse shall assess the information in the
report. The nurse shall document in the patient's record that the
report was received and the information was assessed.
(C) Division (B) of this section does not apply if in any of
the following circumstances:
(1) A drug database report regarding the patient is not
available, in which case the nurse shall document in the patient's
record the reason that the report is not available.
(2) The drug is prescribed in an amount indicated for a
period not to exceed seven days.
(3) The drug is prescribed for the treatment of cancer or
another condition associated with cancer.
(4) The drug is prescribed to a hospice patient in a hospice
care program, as those terms are defined in section 3712.01 of the
Revised Code, or any other patient diagnosed as terminally ill.
(5) The drug is prescribed for administration in a hospital,
nursing home, or residential care facility.
(D) With respect to prescribing any drug that is not an
opioid analgesic or a benzodiazepine but is included in the drug
database pursuant to rules adopted under section 4729.84 of the
Revised Code, the board of nursing shall adopt rules in accordance
with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code that establish standards and
procedures to be followed by an advanced practice registered nurse
with a certificate to prescribe issued under section 4723.48 of
the Revised Code regarding the review of patient information
available through the drug database under division (A)(5) of
section 4729.80 of the Revised Code. The rules shall be adopted in
accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
(C)(E) This section and the rules adopted under it do not
apply if the state board of pharmacy no longer maintains the drug
database.
Sec. 4725.092. (A) As used in this section, "drug database"
means the database established and maintained by the state board
of pharmacy pursuant to section 4729.75 of the Revised Code.
(B) The Except as provided in divisions (C) and (E) of this
section, an optometrist holding a therapeutic pharmaceutical
agents certificate shall comply with all of the following as
conditions of prescribing a drug that is either an opioid
analgesic or a benzodiazepine, or personally furnishing a complete
or partial supply of such a drug, as part of a patient's course of
treatment for a particular condition:
(1) Before initially prescribing or furnishing the drug, the
optometrist or the optometrist's delegate shall request from the
drug database a report of information related to the patient that
covers at least the twelve months immediately preceding the date
of the request. If the optometrist practices primarily in a county
of this state that adjoins another state, the optometrist or
delegate also shall request a report of any information available
in the drug database that pertains to prescriptions issued or
drugs furnished to the patient in the state adjoining that county.
(2) If the patient's course of treatment for the condition
continues for more than ninety days after the initial report is
requested, the optometrist or delegate shall make periodic
requests for reports of information from the drug database until
the course of treatment has ended. The requests shall be made at
intervals not exceeding ninety days, determined according to the
date the initial request was made. The request shall be made in
the same manner provided in division (B)(1) of this section for
requesting the initial report of information from the drug
database.
(3) On receipt of a report under division (B)(1) or (2) of
this section, the optometrist shall assess the information in the
report. The optometrist shall document in the patient's record
that the report was received and the information was assessed.
(C)(1) Division (B) of this section does not apply if a drug
database report regarding the patient is not available. In this
event, the optometrist shall document in the patient's record the
reason that the report is not available.
(2) Division (B) of this section does not apply if the drug
is prescribed or personally furnished in an amount indicated for a
period not to exceed seven days.
(D) With respect to prescribing or personally furnishing any
drug that is not an opioid analgesic or a benzodiazepine but is
included in the drug database pursuant to rules adopted under
section 4729.84 of the Revised Code, the state board of optometry
shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised
Code that establish standards and procedures to be followed by an
optometrist who holds a therapeutic pharmaceutical agents
certificate regarding the review of patient information available
through the drug database under division (A)(5) of section 4729.80
of the Revised Code. The rules shall be adopted in accordance with
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
(C)(E) This section and the rules adopted under it do not
apply if the state board of pharmacy no longer maintains the drug
database.
Sec. 4725.16. (A)(1) Each certificate of licensure, topical
ocular pharmaceutical agents certificate, and therapeutic
pharmaceutical agents certificate issued by the state board of
optometry shall expire annually on the last day of December, and
may be renewed in accordance with this section and the standard
renewal procedure established under Chapter 4745. of the Revised
Code.
(2) An optometrist seeking to continue to practice optometry
shall file with the board an application for license renewal. The
application shall be in such form and require such pertinent
professional biographical data as the board may require.
(3)(a) Except as provided in division (A)(3)(b) of this
section, in the case of an optometrist seeking renewal who holds a
topical ocular pharmaceutical agents certificate and who
prescribes or personally furnishes opioid analgesics or
benzodiazepines, the optometrist shall certify to the board
whether the optometrist has been granted access to the drug
database established and maintained by the state board of pharmacy
pursuant to section 4729.75 of the Revised Code.
(b) The requirement in division (A)(3)(a) of this section
does not apply if either of the following is the case:
(i) The state board of pharmacy notifies the state board of
optometry pursuant to section 4729.861 of the Revised Code that
the certificate holder has been restricted from obtaining further
information from the drug database.
(ii) The state board of pharmacy no longer maintains the drug
database.
(c) If an optometrist certifies to the state board of
optometry that the optometrist has been granted access to the drug
database and the board finds through an audit or other means that
the optometrist has not been granted access, the board may take
action under section 4725.19 of the Revised Code.
(B) All licensed optometrists shall annually complete
continuing education in subjects relating to the practice of
optometry, to the end that the utilization and application of new
techniques, scientific and clinical advances, and the achievements
of research will assure comprehensive care to the public. The
board shall prescribe by rule the continuing optometric education
that licensed optometrists must complete. The length of study
shall be twenty-five clock hours each year, including ten clock
hours of instruction in pharmacology to be completed by all
licensed optometrists.
Unless the continuing education required under this division
is waived or deferred under division (D) of this section, the
continuing education must be completed during the twelve-month
period beginning on the first day of October and ending on the
last day of September. If the board receives notice from a
continuing education program indicating that an optometrist
completed the program after the last day of September, and the
optometrist wants to use the continuing education completed after
that day to renew the license that expires on the last day of
December of that year, the optometrist shall pay the penalty
specified under section 4725.34 of the Revised Code for late
completion of continuing education.
At least once annually, the board shall post on its web site
and shall mail, or send by electronic mail, to each licensed
optometrist a list of courses approved in accordance with
standards prescribed by board rule. Upon the request of a licensed
optometrist, the executive director of the board shall supply a
list of additional courses that the board has approved subsequent
to the most recent web site posting, electronic mail transmission,
or mailing of the list of approved courses.
(C)(1) Annually, not later than the first day of November,
the board shall mail or send by electronic mail a notice regarding
license renewal to each licensed optometrist who may be eligible
for renewal. The notice shall be sent to the optometrist's most
recent electronic mail or mailing address shown in the board's
records. If the board knows that the optometrist has completed the
required continuing optometric education for the year, the board
may include with the notice an application for license renewal.
(2) Filing a license renewal application with the board shall
serve as notice by the optometrist that the continuing optometric
education requirement has been successfully completed. If the
board finds that an optometrist has not completed the required
continuing optometric education, the board shall disapprove the
optometrist's application. The board's disapproval of renewal is
effective without a hearing, unless a hearing is requested
pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
(3) The board shall refuse to accept an application for
renewal from any applicant whose license is not in good standing
or who is under disciplinary review pursuant to section 4725.19 of
the Revised Code.
(4) Notice of an applicant's failure to qualify for renewal
shall be served upon the applicant by mail. The notice shall be
sent not later than the fifteenth day of November to the
applicant's last address shown in the board's records.
(D) In cases of certified illness or undue hardship, the
board may waive or defer for up to twelve months the requirement
of continuing optometric education, except that in such cases the
board may not waive or defer the continuing education in
pharmacology required to be completed by optometrists who hold
topical ocular pharmaceutical agents certificates or therapeutic
pharmaceutical agents certificates. The board shall waive the
requirement of continuing optometric education for any optometrist
who is serving on active duty in the armed forces of the United
States or a reserve component of the armed forces of the United
States, including the Ohio national guard or the national guard of
any other state or who has received an initial certificate of
licensure during the nine-month period which ended on the last day
of September.
(E) An optometrist whose renewal application has been
approved may renew each certificate held by paying to the
treasurer of state the fees for renewal specified under section
4725.34 of the Revised Code. On payment of all applicable fees,
the board shall issue a renewal of the optometrist's certificate
of licensure, topical ocular pharmaceutical agents certificate,
and therapeutic pharmaceutical agents certificate, as appropriate.
(F) Not later than the fifteenth day of December, the board
shall mail or send by electronic mail a second notice regarding
license renewal to each licensed optometrist who may be eligible
for renewal but did not respond to the notice sent under division
(C)(1) of this section. The notice shall be sent to the
optometrist's most recent electronic mail or mailing address shown
in the board's records. If an optometrist fails to file a renewal
application after the second notice is sent, the board shall send
a third notice regarding license renewal prior to any action under
division (I) of this section to classify the optometrist's
certificates as delinquent.
(G) The failure of an optometrist to apply for license
renewal or the failure to pay the applicable annual renewal fees
on or before the date of expiration, shall automatically work a
forfeiture of the optometrist's authority to practice optometry in
this state.
(H) The board shall accept renewal applications and renewal
fees that are submitted from the first day of January to the last
day of April of the year next succeeding the date of expiration.
An individual who submits such a late renewal application or fee
shall pay the late renewal fee specified in section 4725.34 of the
Revised Code.
(I)(1) If the certificates issued by the board to an
individual have expired and the individual has not filed a
complete application during the late renewal period, the
individual's certificates shall be classified in the board's
records as delinquent.
(2) Any optometrist subject to delinquent classification may
submit a written application to the board for reinstatement. For
reinstatement to occur, the applicant must meet all of the
following conditions:
(a) Submit to the board evidence of compliance with board
rules requiring continuing optometric education in a sufficient
number of hours to make up for any delinquent compliance;
(b) Pay the renewal fees for the year in which application
for reinstatement is made and the reinstatement fee specified
under division (A)(8) of section 4725.34 of the Revised Code;
(c) Pass all or part of the licensing examination accepted by
the board under section 4725.11 of the Revised Code as the board
considers appropriate to determine whether the application for
reinstatement should be approved;
(d) If the applicant has been practicing optometry in another
state or country, submit evidence that the applicant's license to
practice optometry in the other state or country is in good
standing.
(3) The board shall approve an application for reinstatement
if the conditions specified in division (I)(2) of this section are
met. An optometrist who receives reinstatement is subject to the
continuing education requirements specified under division (B) of
this section for the year in which reinstatement occurs.
Sec. 4725.19. (A) In accordance with Chapter 119. of the
Revised Code and by an affirmative vote of a majority of its
members, the state board of optometry, for any of the reasons
specified in division (B) of this section, shall refuse to grant a
certificate of licensure to an applicant and may, with respect to
a licensed optometrist, do one or more of the following:
(1) Suspend the operation of any certificate of licensure,
topical ocular pharmaceutical agents certificate, or therapeutic
pharmaceutical agents certificate, or all certificates granted by
it to the optometrist;
(2) Permanently revoke any or all of the certificates;
(3) Limit or otherwise place restrictions on any or all of
the certificates;
(4) Reprimand the optometrist;
(5) Impose a monetary penalty. If the reason for which the
board is imposing the penalty involves a criminal offense that
carries a fine under the Revised Code, the penalty shall not
exceed the maximum fine that may be imposed for the criminal
offense. In any other case, the penalty imposed by the board shall
not exceed five hundred dollars.
(6) Require the optometrist to take corrective action
courses.
The amount and content of corrective action courses shall be
established by the board in rules adopted under section 4725.09 of
the Revised Code.
(B) The sanctions specified in division (A) of this section
may be taken by the board for any of the following reasons:
(1) Committing fraud in passing the licensing examination or
making false or purposely misleading statements in an application
for a certificate of licensure;
(2) Being at any time guilty of immorality, regardless of the
jurisdiction in which the act was committed;
(3) Being guilty of dishonesty or unprofessional conduct in
the practice of optometry;
(4) Being at any time guilty of a felony, regardless of the
jurisdiction in which the act was committed;
(5) Being at any time guilty of a misdemeanor committed in
the course of practice, regardless of the jurisdiction in which
the act was committed;
(6) Violating the conditions of any limitation or other
restriction placed by the board on any certificate issued by the
board;
(7) Engaging in the practice of optometry as provided in
division (A)(1), (2), or (3) of section 4725.01 of the Revised
Code when the certificate authorizing that practice is under
suspension, in which case the board shall permanently revoke the
certificate;
(8) Being denied a license to practice optometry in another
state or country or being subject to any other sanction by the
optometric licensing authority of another state or country, other
than sanctions imposed for the nonpayment of fees;
(9) Departing from or failing to conform to acceptable and
prevailing standards of care in the practice of optometry as
followed by similar practitioners under the same or similar
circumstances, regardless of whether actual injury to a patient is
established;
(10) Failing to maintain comprehensive patient records;
(11) Advertising a price of optical accessories, eye
examinations, or other products or services by any means that
would deceive or mislead the public;
(12) Being addicted to the use of alcohol, stimulants,
narcotics, or any other substance which impairs the intellect and
judgment to such an extent as to hinder or diminish the
performance of the duties included in the person's practice of
optometry;
(13) Engaging in the practice of optometry as provided in
division (A)(2) or (3) of section 4725.01 of the Revised Code
without authority to do so or, if authorized, in a manner
inconsistent with the authority granted;
(14) Failing to make a report to the board as required by
division (A) of section 4725.21 or section 4725.31 of the Revised
Code;
(15) Soliciting patients from door to door or establishing
temporary offices, in which case the board shall suspend all
certificates held by the optometrist;
(16) Failing to comply with section 4725.092 of the Revised
Code, unless the state board of pharmacy no longer maintains a
drug database pursuant to section 4729.75 of the Revised Code;
(17) Except as provided in division (D) of this section:
(a) Waiving the payment of all or any part of a deductible or
copayment that a patient, pursuant to a health insurance or health
care policy, contract, or plan that covers optometric services,
would otherwise be required to pay if the waiver is used as an
enticement to a patient or group of patients to receive health
care services from that optometrist.
(b) Advertising that the optometrist will waive the payment
of all or any part of a deductible or copayment that a patient,
pursuant to a health insurance or health care policy, contract, or
plan that covers optometric services, would otherwise be required
to pay.
(C) Any person who is the holder of a certificate of
licensure, or who is an applicant for a certificate of licensure
against whom is preferred any charges, shall be furnished by the
board with a copy of the complaint and shall have a hearing before
the board in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
(D) Sanctions shall not be imposed under division (B)(16)(17)
of this section against any optometrist who waives deductibles and
copayments:
(1) In compliance with the health benefit plan that expressly
allows such a practice. Waiver of the deductibles or copayments
shall be made only with the full knowledge and consent of the plan
purchaser, payer, and third-party administrator. Documentation of
the consent shall be made available to the board upon request.
(2) For professional services rendered to any other
optometrist licensed by the board, to the extent allowed by
sections 4725.01 to 4725.34 of the Revised Code and the rules of
the board.
Sec. 4729.12. An identification card issued by the state
board of pharmacy under section 4729.08 of the Revised Code
entitles the individual to whom it is issued to practice as a
pharmacist or as a pharmacy intern in this state until the next
annual renewal date.
Identification cards shall be renewed annually on the
fifteenth day of September, according to the standard renewal
procedure of Chapter 4745. of the Revised Code.
Each pharmacist and pharmacy intern shall carry the
identification card or renewal identification card while engaged
in the practice of pharmacy. The license shall be conspicuously
exposed at the principal place where the pharmacist or pharmacy
intern practices pharmacy.
A pharmacist or pharmacy intern who desires to continue in
the practice of pharmacy shall file with the board an application
in such form and containing such data as the board may require for
renewal of an identification card. An application filed under this
section may not be withdrawn without the approval of the board. If
the board finds that the applicant's card has not been revoked or
placed under suspension and that the applicant has paid the
renewal fee, has continued pharmacy education in accordance with
the rules of the board, has been granted access to the drug
database established and maintained by the board pursuant to
section 4729.75 of the Revised Code (unless the board has
restricted the applicant from obtaining any further information
from the database or the board no longer maintains the database),
and is entitled to continue in the practice of pharmacy, the board
shall issue a renewal identification card to the applicant.
When an identification card has lapsed for more than sixty
days but application is made within three years after the
expiration of the card, the applicant shall be issued a renewal
identification card without further examination if the applicant
meets the requirements of this section and pays the fee designated
under division (E) of section 4729.15 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4729.80. (A) If the state board of pharmacy establishes
and maintains a drug database pursuant to section 4729.75 of the
Revised Code, the board is authorized or required to provide
information from the database in accordance with the following:
(1) On receipt of a request from a designated representative
of a government entity responsible for the licensure, regulation,
or discipline of health care professionals with authority to
prescribe, administer, or dispense drugs, the board may provide to
the representative information from the database relating to the
professional who is the subject of an active investigation being
conducted by the government entity.
(2) On receipt of a request from a federal officer, or a
state or local officer of this or any other state, whose duties
include enforcing laws relating to drugs, the board shall provide
to the officer information from the database relating to the
person who is the subject of an active investigation of a drug
abuse offense, as defined in section 2925.01 of the Revised Code,
being conducted by the officer's employing government entity.
(3) Pursuant to a subpoena issued by a grand jury, the board
shall provide to the grand jury information from the database
relating to the person who is the subject of an investigation
being conducted by the grand jury.
(4) Pursuant to a subpoena, search warrant, or court order in
connection with the investigation or prosecution of a possible or
alleged criminal offense, the board shall provide information from
the database as necessary to comply with the subpoena, search
warrant, or court order.
(5) On receipt of a request from a prescriber or the
prescriber's delegate approved by the board, the board may shall
provide to the prescriber a report of information from the
database relating to a patient who is either of the following a
current patient of the prescriber or a potential patient of the
prescriber based on a referral of the patient to the prescriber,
if the prescriber certifies in a form specified by the board that
it is for the purpose of providing medical treatment to the
patient who is the subject of the request all of the following
conditions are met:
(a) A current patient of the prescriber The prescriber
certifies in a form specified by the board that it is for the
purpose of providing medical treatment to the patient who is the
subject of the request;
(b) A potential patient of the prescriber based on a referral
of the patient to the prescriber The prescriber has not been
denied access to the database by the board.
(6) On receipt of a request from a pharmacist or the
pharmacist's delegate approved by the board, the board may shall
provide to the pharmacist information from the database relating
to a current patient of the pharmacist, if the pharmacist
certifies in a form specified by the board that it is for the
purpose of the pharmacist's practice of pharmacy involving the
patient who is the subject of the request and the pharmacist has
not been denied access to the database by the board.
(7) On receipt of a request from an individual seeking the
individual's own database information in accordance with the
procedure established in rules adopted under section 4729.84 of
the Revised Code, the board may provide to the individual the
individual's own database information.
(8) On receipt of a request from the medical director of a
managed care organization that has entered into a contract with
the department of medicaid under section 5167.10 of the Revised
Code and a data security agreement with the board required by
section 5167.14 of the Revised Code, the board shall provide to
the medical director information from the database relating to a
medicaid recipient enrolled in the managed care organization,
including information in the database related to prescriptions for
the recipient that were not covered or reimbursed under a program
administered by the department of medicaid.
(9) On receipt of a request from the medicaid director, the
board shall provide to the director information from the database
relating to a recipient of a program administered by the
department of medicaid, including information in the database
related to prescriptions for the recipient that were not covered
or paid by a program administered by the department.
(10) On receipt of a request from the medical director of a
managed care organization that has entered into a contract with
the administrator of workers' compensation under division (B)(4)
of section 4121.44 of the Revised Code and a data security
agreement with the board required by section 4121.443 of the
Revised Code, the board shall provide to the medical director
information from the database relating to a claimant under Chapter
4121., 4123., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code assigned to the
managed care organization, including information in the database
related to prescriptions for the claimant that were not covered or
reimbursed under Chapter 4121., 4123., 4127., or 4131. of the
Revised Code, if the administrator of workers' compensation
confirms, upon request from the board, that the claimant is
assigned to the managed care organization.
(11) On receipt of a request from the administrator of
workers' compensation, the board may shall provide to the
administrator information from the database relating to a claimant
under Chapter 4121., 4123., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code,
including information in the database related to prescriptions for
the claimant that were not covered or reimbursed under Chapter
4121., 4123., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code.
(11)(12) On receipt of a request from a prescriber or the
prescriber's delegate approved by the board, the board shall
provide to the prescriber information from the database relating
to a patient's mother, if the prescriber certifies in a form
specified by the board that it is for the purpose of providing
medical treatment to a newborn or infant patient diagnosed as
opioid dependent and the prescriber has not been denied access to
the database by the board.
(13) On receipt of a request from a requestor described in
division (A)(1), (2), (5), or (6) of this section who is from or
participating with another state's prescription monitoring
program, the board may provide to the requestor information from
the database, but only if there is a written agreement under which
the information is to be used and disseminated according to the
laws of this state.
(B) The state board of pharmacy shall maintain a record of
each individual or entity that requests information from the
database pursuant to this section. In accordance with rules
adopted under section 4729.84 of the Revised Code, the board may
use the records to document and report statistics and law
enforcement outcomes.
The board may provide records of an individual's requests for
database information to the following:
(1) A designated representative of a government entity that
is responsible for the licensure, regulation, or discipline of
health care professionals with authority to prescribe, administer,
or dispense drugs who is involved in an active investigation being
conducted by the government entity of the individual who submitted
the requests for database information;
(2) A federal officer, or a state or local officer of this or
any other state, whose duties include enforcing laws relating to
drugs and who is involved in an active investigation being
conducted by the officer's employing government entity of the
individual who submitted the requests for database information.
(C) Information contained in the database and any information
obtained from it is not a public record. Information contained in
the records of requests for information from the database is not a
public record. Information that does not identify a person may be
released in summary, statistical, or aggregate form.
(D) A pharmacist or prescriber shall not be held liable in
damages to any person in any civil action for injury, death, or
loss to person or property on the basis that the pharmacist or
prescriber did or did not seek or obtain information from the
database.
Sec. 4729.86. If the state board of pharmacy establishes and
maintains a drug database pursuant to section 4729.75 of the
Revised Code, all of the following apply:
(A)(1) No person identified in divisions (A)(1) to (10)(12)
or (B) of section 4729.80 of the Revised Code shall disseminate
any written or electronic information the person receives from the
drug database or otherwise provide another person access to the
information that the person receives from the database, except as
follows:
(a) When necessary in the investigation or prosecution of a
possible or alleged criminal offense;
(b) When a person provides the information to the prescriber
or pharmacist for whom the person is approved by the board to
serve as a delegate of the prescriber or pharmacist for purposes
of requesting and receiving information from the drug database
under division (A)(5) or (6) of section 4729.80 of the Revised
Code;
(c) When a prescriber or pharmacist provides the information
to a person who is approved by the board to serve as such a
delegate of the prescriber or pharmacist.
(2) No person shall provide false information to the state
board of pharmacy with the intent to obtain or alter information
contained in the drug database.
(3) No person shall obtain drug database information by any
means except as provided under section 4729.80 or 4729.81 of the
Revised Code.
(B) A person shall not use information obtained pursuant to
division (A) of section 4729.80 of the Revised Code as evidence in
any civil or administrative proceeding.
(C)(1) The Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this
section, after providing notice and affording an opportunity for a
hearing in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, the
board may restrict a person from obtaining further information
from the drug database if any of the following is the case:
(a) The person violates division (A)(1), (2), or (3) of this
section;
(b) The person is a requestor identified in division
(A)(11)(13) of section 4729.80 of the Revised Code and the board
determines that the person's actions in another state would have
constituted a violation of division (A)(1), (2), or (3) of this
section;
(c) The person fails to comply with division (B) of this
section, regardless of the jurisdiction in which the failure to
comply occurred;
(d) The person creates, by clear and convincing evidence, a
threat to the security of information contained in the database.
(2) If the board determines that allegations regarding a
person's actions warrant restricting the person from obtaining
further information from the drug database without a prior
hearing, the board may summarily impose the restriction. A
telephone conference call may be used for reviewing the
allegations and taking a vote on the summary restriction. The
summary restriction shall remain in effect, unless removed by the
board, until the board's final adjudication order becomes
effective.
(3) The board shall determine the extent to which the person
is restricted from obtaining further information from the
database.
Sec. 4729.861. If the state board of pharmacy establishes
and maintains a drug database pursuant to section 4729.75 of the
Revised Code and if the board restricts a prescriber from
obtaining further information from the database pursuant to
division (C) of section 4729.86 of the Revised Code, the board
shall notify the government entity responsible for licensing the
prescriber.
Sec. 4730.25. (A) The state medical board, by an affirmative
vote of not fewer than six members, may revoke or may refuse to
grant a certificate to practice as a physician assistant or a
certificate to prescribe to a person found by the board to have
committed fraud, misrepresentation, or deception in applying for
or securing the certificate.
(B) The board, by an affirmative vote of not fewer than six
members, shall, to the extent permitted by law, limit, revoke, or
suspend an individual's certificate to practice as a physician
assistant or certificate to prescribe, refuse to issue a
certificate to an applicant, refuse to reinstate a certificate, or
reprimand or place on probation the holder of a certificate for
any of the following reasons:
(1) Failure to practice in accordance with the conditions
under which the supervising physician's supervision agreement with
the physician assistant was approved, including the requirement
that when practicing under a particular supervising physician, the
physician assistant must practice only according to the physician
supervisory plan the board approved for that physician or the
policies of the health care facility in which the supervising
physician and physician assistant are practicing;
(2) Failure to comply with the requirements of this chapter,
Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code, or any rules adopted by the
board;
(3) Violating or attempting to violate, directly or
indirectly, or assisting in or abetting the violation of, or
conspiring to violate, any provision of this chapter, Chapter
4731. of the Revised Code, or the rules adopted by the board;
(4) Inability to practice according to acceptable and
prevailing standards of care by reason of mental illness or
physical illness, including physical deterioration that adversely
affects cognitive, motor, or perceptive skills;
(5) Impairment of ability to practice according to acceptable
and prevailing standards of care because of habitual or excessive
use or abuse of drugs, alcohol, or other substances that impair
ability to practice;
(6) Administering drugs for purposes other than those
authorized under this chapter;
(7) Willfully betraying a professional confidence;
(8) Making a false, fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading
statement in soliciting or advertising for employment as a
physician assistant; in connection with any solicitation or
advertisement for patients; in relation to the practice of
medicine as it pertains to physician assistants; or in securing or
attempting to secure a certificate to practice as a physician
assistant, a certificate to prescribe, or approval of a
supervision agreement.
As used in this division, "false, fraudulent, deceptive, or
misleading statement" means a statement that includes a
misrepresentation of fact, is likely to mislead or deceive because
of a failure to disclose material facts, is intended or is likely
to create false or unjustified expectations of favorable results,
or includes representations or implications that in reasonable
probability will cause an ordinarily prudent person to
misunderstand or be deceived.
(9) Representing, with the purpose of obtaining compensation
or other advantage personally or for any other person, that an
incurable disease or injury, or other incurable condition, can be
permanently cured;
(10) The obtaining of, or attempting to obtain, money or
anything of value by fraudulent misrepresentations in the course
of practice;
(11) A plea of guilty to, a judicial finding of guilt of, or
a judicial finding of eligibility for intervention in lieu of
conviction for, a felony;
(12) Commission of an act that constitutes a felony in this
state, regardless of the jurisdiction in which the act was
committed;
(13) A plea of guilty to, a judicial finding of guilt of, or
a judicial finding of eligibility for intervention in lieu of
conviction for, a misdemeanor committed in the course of practice;
(14) A plea of guilty to, a judicial finding of guilt of, or
a judicial finding of eligibility for intervention in lieu of
conviction for, a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude;
(15) Commission of an act in the course of practice that
constitutes a misdemeanor in this state, regardless of the
jurisdiction in which the act was committed;
(16) Commission of an act involving moral turpitude that
constitutes a misdemeanor in this state, regardless of the
jurisdiction in which the act was committed;
(17) A plea of guilty to, a judicial finding of guilt of, or
a judicial finding of eligibility for intervention in lieu of
conviction for violating any state or federal law regulating the
possession, distribution, or use of any drug, including
trafficking in drugs;
(18) Any of the following actions taken by the state agency
responsible for regulating the practice of physician assistants in
another state, for any reason other than the nonpayment of fees:
the limitation, revocation, or suspension of an individual's
license to practice; acceptance of an individual's license
surrender; denial of a license; refusal to renew or reinstate a
license; imposition of probation; or issuance of an order of
censure or other reprimand;
(19) A departure from, or failure to conform to, minimal
standards of care of similar physician assistants under the same
or similar circumstances, regardless of whether actual injury to a
patient is established;
(20) Violation of the conditions placed by the board on a
certificate to practice as a physician assistant, a certificate to
prescribe, a physician supervisory plan, or supervision agreement;
(21) Failure to use universal blood and body fluid
precautions established by rules adopted under section 4731.051 of
the Revised Code;
(22) Failure to cooperate in an investigation conducted by
the board under section 4730.26 of the Revised Code, including
failure to comply with a subpoena or order issued by the board or
failure to answer truthfully a question presented by the board at
a deposition or in written interrogatories, except that failure to
cooperate with an investigation shall not constitute grounds for
discipline under this section if a court of competent jurisdiction
has issued an order that either quashes a subpoena or permits the
individual to withhold the testimony or evidence in issue;
(23) Assisting suicide as defined in section 3795.01 of the
Revised Code;
(24) Prescribing any drug or device to perform or induce an
abortion, or otherwise performing or inducing an abortion;
(25) Failure to comply with section 4730.53 of the Revised
Code, unless the board no longer maintains a drug database
pursuant to section 4729.75 of the Revised Code.
(C) Disciplinary actions taken by the board under divisions
(A) and (B) of this section shall be taken pursuant to an
adjudication under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, except that
in lieu of an adjudication, the board may enter into a consent
agreement with a physician assistant or applicant to resolve an
allegation of a violation of this chapter or any rule adopted
under it. A consent agreement, when ratified by an affirmative
vote of not fewer than six members of the board, shall constitute
the findings and order of the board with respect to the matter
addressed in the agreement. If the board refuses to ratify a
consent agreement, the admissions and findings contained in the
consent agreement shall be of no force or effect.
(D) For purposes of divisions (B)(12), (15), and (16) of this
section, the commission of the act may be established by a finding
by the board, pursuant to an adjudication under Chapter 119. of
the Revised Code, that the applicant or certificate holder
committed the act in question. The board shall have no
jurisdiction under these divisions in cases where the trial court
renders a final judgment in the certificate holder's favor and
that judgment is based upon an adjudication on the merits. The
board shall have jurisdiction under these divisions in cases where
the trial court issues an order of dismissal upon technical or
procedural grounds.
(E) The sealing of conviction records by any court shall have
no effect upon a prior board order entered under the provisions of
this section or upon the board's jurisdiction to take action under
the provisions of this section if, based upon a plea of guilty, a
judicial finding of guilt, or a judicial finding of eligibility
for intervention in lieu of conviction, the board issued a notice
of opportunity for a hearing prior to the court's order to seal
the records. The board shall not be required to seal, destroy,
redact, or otherwise modify its records to reflect the court's
sealing of conviction records.
(F) For purposes of this division, any individual who holds a
certificate issued under this chapter, or applies for a
certificate issued under this chapter, shall be deemed to have
given consent to submit to a mental or physical examination when
directed to do so in writing by the board and to have waived all
objections to the admissibility of testimony or examination
reports that constitute a privileged communication.
(1) In enforcing division (B)(4) of this section, the board,
upon a showing of a possible violation, may compel any individual
who holds a certificate issued under this chapter or who has
applied for a certificate pursuant to this chapter to submit to a
mental examination, physical examination, including an HIV test,
or both a mental and physical examination. The expense of the
examination is the responsibility of the individual compelled to
be examined. Failure to submit to a mental or physical examination
or consent to an HIV test ordered by the board constitutes an
admission of the allegations against the individual unless the
failure is due to circumstances beyond the individual's control,
and a default and final order may be entered without the taking of
testimony or presentation of evidence. If the board finds a
physician assistant unable to practice because of the reasons set
forth in division (B)(4) of this section, the board shall require
the physician assistant to submit to care, counseling, or
treatment by physicians approved or designated by the board, as a
condition for an initial, continued, reinstated, or renewed
certificate. An individual affected under this division shall be
afforded an opportunity to demonstrate to the board the ability to
resume practicing in compliance with acceptable and prevailing
standards of care.
(2) For purposes of division (B)(5) of this section, if the
board has reason to believe that any individual who holds a
certificate issued under this chapter or any applicant for a
certificate suffers such impairment, the board may compel the
individual to submit to a mental or physical examination, or both.
The expense of the examination is the responsibility of the
individual compelled to be examined. Any mental or physical
examination required under this division shall be undertaken by a
treatment provider or physician qualified to conduct such
examination and chosen by the board.
Failure to submit to a mental or physical examination ordered
by the board constitutes an admission of the allegations against
the individual unless the failure is due to circumstances beyond
the individual's control, and a default and final order may be
entered without the taking of testimony or presentation of
evidence. If the board determines that the individual's ability to
practice is impaired, the board shall suspend the individual's
certificate or deny the individual's application and shall require
the individual, as a condition for initial, continued, reinstated,
or renewed certification to practice or prescribe, to submit to
treatment.
Before being eligible to apply for reinstatement of a
certificate suspended under this division, the physician assistant
shall demonstrate to the board the ability to resume practice or
prescribing in compliance with acceptable and prevailing standards
of care. The demonstration shall include the following:
(a) Certification from a treatment provider approved under
section 4731.25 of the Revised Code that the individual has
successfully completed any required inpatient treatment;
(b) Evidence of continuing full compliance with an aftercare
contract or consent agreement;
(c) Two written reports indicating that the individual's
ability to practice has been assessed and that the individual has
been found capable of practicing according to acceptable and
prevailing standards of care. The reports shall be made by
individuals or providers approved by the board for making such
assessments and shall describe the basis for their determination.
The board may reinstate a certificate suspended under this
division after such demonstration and after the individual has
entered into a written consent agreement.
When the impaired physician assistant resumes practice or
prescribing, the board shall require continued monitoring of the
physician assistant. The monitoring shall include compliance with
the written consent agreement entered into before reinstatement or
with conditions imposed by board order after a hearing, and, upon
termination of the consent agreement, submission to the board for
at least two years of annual written progress reports made under
penalty of falsification stating whether the physician assistant
has maintained sobriety.
(G) If the secretary and supervising member determine that
there is clear and convincing evidence that a physician assistant
has violated division (B) of this section and that the
individual's continued practice or prescribing presents a danger
of immediate and serious harm to the public, they may recommend
that the board suspend the individual's certificate to practice or
prescribe without a prior hearing. Written allegations shall be
prepared for consideration by the board.
The board, upon review of those allegations and by an
affirmative vote of not fewer than six of its members, excluding
the secretary and supervising member, may suspend a certificate
without a prior hearing. A telephone conference call may be
utilized for reviewing the allegations and taking the vote on the
summary suspension.
The board shall issue a written order of suspension by
certified mail or in person in accordance with section 119.07 of
the Revised Code. The order shall not be subject to suspension by
the court during pendency of any appeal filed under section 119.12
of the Revised Code. If the physician assistant requests an
adjudicatory hearing by the board, the date set for the hearing
shall be within fifteen days, but not earlier than seven days,
after the physician assistant requests the hearing, unless
otherwise agreed to by both the board and the certificate holder.
A summary suspension imposed under this division shall remain
in effect, unless reversed on appeal, until a final adjudicative
order issued by the board pursuant to this section and Chapter
119. of the Revised Code becomes effective. The board shall issue
its final adjudicative order within sixty days after completion of
its hearing. Failure to issue the order within sixty days shall
result in dissolution of the summary suspension order, but shall
not invalidate any subsequent, final adjudicative order.
(H) If the board takes action under division (B)(11), (13),
or (14) of this section, and the judicial finding of guilt, guilty
plea, or judicial finding of eligibility for intervention in lieu
of conviction is overturned on appeal, upon exhaustion of the
criminal appeal, a petition for reconsideration of the order may
be filed with the board along with appropriate court documents.
Upon receipt of a petition and supporting court documents, the
board shall reinstate the certificate to practice or prescribe.
The board may then hold an adjudication under Chapter 119. of the
Revised Code to determine whether the individual committed the act
in question. Notice of opportunity for hearing shall be given in
accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. If the board
finds, pursuant to an adjudication held under this division, that
the individual committed the act, or if no hearing is requested,
it may order any of the sanctions identified under division (B) of
this section.
(I) The certificate to practice issued to a physician
assistant and the physician assistant's practice in this state are
automatically suspended as of the date the physician assistant
pleads guilty to, is found by a judge or jury to be guilty of, or
is subject to a judicial finding of eligibility for intervention
in lieu of conviction in this state or treatment or intervention
in lieu of conviction in another state for any of the following
criminal offenses in this state or a substantially equivalent
criminal offense in another jurisdiction: aggravated murder,
murder, voluntary manslaughter, felonious assault, kidnapping,
rape, sexual battery, gross sexual imposition, aggravated arson,
aggravated robbery, or aggravated burglary. Continued practice
after the suspension shall be considered practicing without a
certificate.
The board shall notify the individual subject to the
suspension by certified mail or in person in accordance with
section 119.07 of the Revised Code. If an individual whose
certificate is suspended under this division fails to make a
timely request for an adjudication under Chapter 119. of the
Revised Code, the board shall enter a final order permanently
revoking the individual's certificate to practice.
(J) In any instance in which the board is required by Chapter
119. of the Revised Code to give notice of opportunity for hearing
and the individual subject to the notice does not timely request a
hearing in accordance with section 119.07 of the Revised Code, the
board is not required to hold a hearing, but may adopt, by an
affirmative vote of not fewer than six of its members, a final
order that contains the board's findings. In that final order, the
board may order any of the sanctions identified under division (A)
or (B) of this section.
(K) Any action taken by the board under division (B) of this
section resulting in a suspension shall be accompanied by a
written statement of the conditions under which the physician
assistant's certificate may be reinstated. The board shall adopt
rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code
governing conditions to be imposed for reinstatement.
Reinstatement of a certificate suspended pursuant to division (B)
of this section requires an affirmative vote of not fewer than six
members of the board.
(L) When the board refuses to grant to an applicant a
certificate to practice as a physician assistant or a certificate
to prescribe, revokes an individual's certificate, refuses to
issue a certificate, or refuses to reinstate an individual's
certificate, the board may specify that its action is permanent.
An individual subject to a permanent action taken by the board is
forever thereafter ineligible to hold the certificate and the
board shall not accept an application for reinstatement of the
certificate or for issuance of a new certificate.
(M) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Revised Code,
all of the following apply:
(1) The surrender of a certificate issued under this chapter
is not effective unless or until accepted by the board.
Reinstatement of a certificate surrendered to the board requires
an affirmative vote of not fewer than six members of the board.
(2) An application made under this chapter for a certificate,
approval of a physician supervisory plan, or approval of a
supervision agreement may not be withdrawn without approval of the
board.
(3) Failure by an individual to renew a certificate in
accordance with section 4730.14 or section 4730.48 of the Revised
Code shall not remove or limit the board's jurisdiction to take
disciplinary action under this section against the individual.
Sec. 4730.48. (A)(1) Except in the case of a provisional
certificate to prescribe, a physician assistant's certificate to
prescribe expires on the same date as the physician assistant's
certificate to practice as a physician assistant, as provided in
section 4730.14 of the Revised Code. The certificate to prescribe
may be renewed in accordance with this section.
(2) A person seeking to renew a certificate to prescribe
shall, on or before the thirty-first day of January of each
even-numbered year, apply for renewal of the certificate. The
state medical board shall send renewal notices at least one month
prior to the expiration date. The notice may be sent as part of
the notice sent for renewal of the certificate to practice.
(3) Applications for renewal shall be submitted to the board
on forms the board shall prescribe and furnish. An application for
renewal of a certificate to prescribe may be submitted in
conjunction with an application for renewal of a certificate to
practice.
(4)(a) Except as provided in division (A)(4)(b) of this
section, in the case of an applicant who prescribes opioid
analgesics or benzodiazepines, the applicant shall certify to the
board whether the applicant has been granted access to the drug
database established and maintained by the state board of pharmacy
pursuant to section 4729.75 of the Revised Code.
(b) The requirement in division (A)(4)(a) of this section
does not apply if either of the following is the case:
(i) The state board of pharmacy notifies the state medical
board pursuant to section 4729.861 of the Revised Code that the
applicant has been restricted from obtaining further information
from the drug database.
(ii) The state board of pharmacy no longer maintains the drug
database.
(c) If an applicant certifies to the state medical board that
the applicant has been granted access to the drug database and the
board finds through an audit or other means that the applicant has
not been granted access, the board may take action under section
4730.25 of the Revised Code.
(5) Each application for renewal of a certificate to
prescribe shall be accompanied by a biennial renewal fee of fifty
dollars. The board shall deposit the fees in accordance with
section 4731.24 of the Revised Code.
(6) The applicant shall report any criminal offense that
constitutes grounds under section 4730.25 of the Revised Code for
refusing to issue a certificate to prescribe to which the
applicant has pleaded guilty, of which the applicant has been
found guilty, or for which the applicant has been found eligible
for intervention in lieu of conviction, since last signing an
application for a certificate to prescribe.
(B) The board shall review all renewal applications received.
If an applicant submits a complete renewal application and meets
the requirements for renewal specified in section 4730.49 of the
Revised Code, the board shall issue to the applicant a renewed
certificate to prescribe.
Sec. 4730.53. (A) As used in this section, "drug database"
means the database established and maintained by the state board
of pharmacy pursuant to section 4729.75 of the Revised Code.
(B) The Except as provided in divisions (C) and (E) of this
section, a physician assistant holding a certificate to prescribe
issued under this chapter shall comply with all of the following
as conditions of prescribing a drug that is either an opioid
analgesic or a benzodiazepine as part of a patient's course of
treatment for a particular condition:
(1) Before initially prescribing the drug, the physician
assistant or the physician assistant's delegate shall request from
the drug database a report of information related to the patient
that covers at least the twelve months immediately preceding the
date of the request. If the physician assistant practices
primarily in a county of this state that adjoins another state,
the physician assistant or delegate also shall request a report of
any information available in the drug database that pertains to
prescriptions issued or drugs furnished to the patient in the
state adjoining that county.
(2) If the patient's course of treatment for the condition
continues for more than ninety days after the initial report is
requested, the physician assistant or delegate shall make periodic
requests for reports of information from the drug database until
the course of treatment has ended. The requests shall be made at
intervals not exceeding ninety days, determined according to the
date the initial request was made. The request shall be made in
the same manner provided in division (B)(1) of this section for
requesting the initial report of information from the drug
database.
(3) On receipt of a report under division (B)(1) or (2) of
this section, the physician assistant shall assess the information
in the report. The physician assistant shall document in the
patient's record that the report was received and the information
was assessed.
(C) Division (B) of this section does not apply in any of the
following circumstances:
(1) A drug database report regarding the patient is not
available, in which case the physician assistant shall document in
the patient's record the reason that the report is not available.
(2) The drug is prescribed in an amount indicated for a
period not to exceed seven days.
(3) The drug is prescribed for the treatment of cancer or
another condition associated with cancer.
(4) The drug is prescribed to a hospice patient in a hospice
care program, as those terms are defined in section 3712.01 of the
Revised Code, or any other patient diagnosed as terminally ill.
(5) The drug is prescribed for administration in a hospital,
nursing home, or residential care facility.
(D) With respect to prescribing any drug that is not an
opioid analgesic or a benzodiazepine but is included in the drug
database pursuant to rules adopted under section 4729.84 of the
Revised Code, the state medical board shall adopt rules in
accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code that establish
standards and procedures to be followed by a physician assistant
who holds a certificate to prescribe issued under this chapter
regarding the review of patient information available through the
drug database under division (A)(5) of section 4729.80 of the
Revised Code. The rules shall be adopted in accordance with
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
(C)(E) This section and the rules adopted under it do not
apply if the state board of pharmacy no longer maintains the drug
database.
Sec. 4731.055. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Drug database" means the database established and
maintained by the state board of pharmacy pursuant to section
4729.75 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Physician" means an individual authorized under this
chapter to practice medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine and
surgery, or podiatric medicine and surgery.
(B) The Except as provided in divisions (C) and (E) of this
section, a physician shall comply with all of the following as
conditions of prescribing a drug that is either an opioid
analgesic or a benzodiazepine, or personally furnishing a complete
or partial supply of such a drug, as part of a patient's course of
treatment for a particular condition:
(1) Before initially prescribing or furnishing the drug, the
physician or the physician's delegate shall request from the drug
database a report of information related to the patient that
covers at least the twelve months immediately preceding the date
of the request. If the physician practices primarily in a county
of this state that adjoins another state, the physician or
delegate also shall request a report of any information available
in the drug database that pertains to prescriptions issued or
drugs furnished to the patient in the state adjoining that county.
(2) If the patient's course of treatment for the condition
continues for more than ninety days after the initial report is
requested, the physician or delegate shall make periodic requests
for reports of information from the drug database until the course
of treatment has ended. The requests shall be made at intervals
not exceeding ninety days, determined according to the date the
initial request was made. The request shall be made in the same
manner provided in division (B)(1) of this section for requesting
the initial report of information from the drug database.
(3) On receipt of a report under division (B)(1) or (2) of
this section, the physician shall assess the information in the
report. The physician shall document in the patient's record that
the report was received and the information was assessed.
(C) Division (B) of this section does not apply in any of the
following circumstances:
(1) A drug database report regarding the patient is not
available, in which case the physician shall document in the
patient's record the reason that the report is not available.
(2) The drug is prescribed or personally furnished in an
amount indicated for a period not to exceed seven days.
(3) The drug is prescribed or personally furnished for the
treatment of cancer or another condition associated with cancer.
(4) The drug is prescribed or personally furnished to a
hospice patient in a hospice care program, as those terms are
defined in section 3712.01 of the Revised Code, or any other
patient diagnosed as terminally ill.
(5) The drug is prescribed or personally furnished for
administration in a hospital, nursing home, or residential care
facility.
(6) The drug is prescribed or personally furnished to treat
acute pain resulting from a surgical or other invasive procedure
or a delivery.
(D) With respect to prescribing or personally furnishing any
drug that is not an opioid analgesic or a benzodiazepine but is
included in the drug database pursuant to rules adopted under
section 4729.84 of the Revised Code, the state medical board shall
adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code
that establish standards and procedures to be followed by a
physician regarding the review of patient information available
through the drug database under division (A)(5) of section 4729.80
of the Revised Code.
The rules shall be adopted in accordance with
Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
(C)(E) This section and the rules adopted under it do not
apply if the state board of pharmacy no longer maintains the drug
database.
Sec. 4731.22. (A) The state medical board, by an affirmative
vote of not fewer than six of its members, may limit, revoke, or
suspend an individual's certificate to practice, refuse to grant a
certificate to an individual, refuse to register an individual,
refuse to reinstate a certificate, or reprimand or place on
probation the holder of a certificate if the individual or
certificate holder is found by the board to have committed fraud
during the administration of the examination for a certificate to
practice or to have committed fraud, misrepresentation, or
deception in applying for or securing any certificate to practice
or certificate of registration issued by the board.
(B) The board, by an affirmative vote of not fewer than six
members, shall, to the extent permitted by law, limit, revoke, or
suspend an individual's certificate to practice, refuse to
register an individual, refuse to reinstate a certificate, or
reprimand or place on probation the holder of a certificate for
one or more of the following reasons:
(1) Permitting one's name or one's certificate to practice or
certificate of registration to be used by a person, group, or
corporation when the individual concerned is not actually
directing the treatment given;
(2) Failure to maintain minimal standards applicable to the
selection or administration of drugs, or failure to employ
acceptable scientific methods in the selection of drugs or other
modalities for treatment of disease;
(3) Selling, giving away, personally furnishing, prescribing,
or administering drugs for other than legal and legitimate
therapeutic purposes or a plea of guilty to, a judicial finding of
guilt of, or a judicial finding of eligibility for intervention in
lieu of conviction of, a violation of any federal or state law
regulating the possession, distribution, or use of any drug;
(4) Willfully betraying a professional confidence.
For purposes of this division, "willfully betraying a
professional confidence" does not include providing any
information, documents, or reports to a child fatality review
board under sections 307.621 to 307.629 of the Revised Code and
does not include the making of a report of an employee's use of a
drug of abuse, or a report of a condition of an employee other
than one involving the use of a drug of abuse, to the employer of
the employee as described in division (B) of section 2305.33 of
the Revised Code. Nothing in this division affects the immunity
from civil liability conferred by that section upon a physician
who makes either type of report in accordance with division (B) of
that section. As used in this division, "employee," "employer,"
and "physician" have the same meanings as in section 2305.33 of
the Revised Code.
(5) Making a false, fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading
statement in the solicitation of or advertising for patients; in
relation to the practice of medicine and surgery, osteopathic
medicine and surgery, podiatric medicine and surgery, or a limited
branch of medicine; or in securing or attempting to secure any
certificate to practice or certificate of registration issued by
the board.
As used in this division, "false, fraudulent, deceptive, or
misleading statement" means a statement that includes a
misrepresentation of fact, is likely to mislead or deceive because
of a failure to disclose material facts, is intended or is likely
to create false or unjustified expectations of favorable results,
or includes representations or implications that in reasonable
probability will cause an ordinarily prudent person to
misunderstand or be deceived.
(6) A departure from, or the failure to conform to, minimal
standards of care of similar practitioners under the same or
similar circumstances, whether or not actual injury to a patient
is established;
(7) Representing, with the purpose of obtaining compensation
or other advantage as personal gain or for any other person, that
an incurable disease or injury, or other incurable condition, can
be permanently cured;
(8) The obtaining of, or attempting to obtain, money or
anything of value by fraudulent misrepresentations in the course
of practice;
(9) A plea of guilty to, a judicial finding of guilt of, or a
judicial finding of eligibility for intervention in lieu of
conviction for, a felony;
(10) Commission of an act that constitutes a felony in this
state, regardless of the jurisdiction in which the act was
committed;
(11) A plea of guilty to, a judicial finding of guilt of, or
a judicial finding of eligibility for intervention in lieu of
conviction for, a misdemeanor committed in the course of practice;
(12) Commission of an act in the course of practice that
constitutes a misdemeanor in this state, regardless of the
jurisdiction in which the act was committed;
(13) A plea of guilty to, a judicial finding of guilt of, or
a judicial finding of eligibility for intervention in lieu of
conviction for, a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude;
(14) Commission of an act involving moral turpitude that
constitutes a misdemeanor in this state, regardless of the
jurisdiction in which the act was committed;
(15) Violation of the conditions of limitation placed by the
board upon a certificate to practice;
(16) Failure to pay license renewal fees specified in this
chapter;
(17) Except as authorized in section 4731.31 of the Revised
Code, engaging in the division of fees for referral of patients,
or the receiving of a thing of value in return for a specific
referral of a patient to utilize a particular service or business;
(18) Subject to section 4731.226 of the Revised Code,
violation of any provision of a code of ethics of the American
medical association, the American osteopathic association, the
American podiatric medical association, or any other national
professional organizations that the board specifies by rule. The
state medical board shall obtain and keep on file current copies
of the codes of ethics of the various national professional
organizations. The individual whose certificate is being suspended
or revoked shall not be found to have violated any provision of a
code of ethics of an organization not appropriate to the
individual's profession.
For purposes of this division, a "provision of a code of
ethics of a national professional organization" does not include
any provision that would preclude the making of a report by a
physician of an employee's use of a drug of abuse, or of a
condition of an employee other than one involving the use of a
drug of abuse, to the employer of the employee as described in
division (B) of section 2305.33 of the Revised Code. Nothing in
this division affects the immunity from civil liability conferred
by that section upon a physician who makes either type of report
in accordance with division (B) of that section. As used in this
division, "employee," "employer," and "physician" have the same
meanings as in section 2305.33 of the Revised Code.
(19) Inability to practice according to acceptable and
prevailing standards of care by reason of mental illness or
physical illness, including, but not limited to, physical
deterioration that adversely affects cognitive, motor, or
perceptive skills.
In enforcing this division, the board, upon a showing of a
possible violation, may compel any individual authorized to
practice by this chapter or who has submitted an application
pursuant to this chapter to submit to a mental examination,
physical examination, including an HIV test, or both a mental and
a physical examination. The expense of the examination is the
responsibility of the individual compelled to be examined. Failure
to submit to a mental or physical examination or consent to an HIV
test ordered by the board constitutes an admission of the
allegations against the individual unless the failure is due to
circumstances beyond the individual's control, and a default and
final order may be entered without the taking of testimony or
presentation of evidence. If the board finds an individual unable
to practice because of the reasons set forth in this division, the
board shall require the individual to submit to care, counseling,
or treatment by physicians approved or designated by the board, as
a condition for initial, continued, reinstated, or renewed
authority to practice. An individual affected under this division
shall be afforded an opportunity to demonstrate to the board the
ability to resume practice in compliance with acceptable and
prevailing standards under the provisions of the individual's
certificate. For the purpose of this division, any individual who
applies for or receives a certificate to practice under this
chapter accepts the privilege of practicing in this state and, by
so doing, shall be deemed to have given consent to submit to a
mental or physical examination when directed to do so in writing
by the board, and to have waived all objections to the
admissibility of testimony or examination reports that constitute
a privileged communication.
(20) Except when civil penalties are imposed under section
4731.225 or 4731.281 of the Revised Code, and subject to section
4731.226 of the Revised Code, violating or attempting to violate,
directly or indirectly, or assisting in or abetting the violation
of, or conspiring to violate, any provisions of this chapter or
any rule promulgated by the board.
This division does not apply to a violation or attempted
violation of, assisting in or abetting the violation of, or a
conspiracy to violate, any provision of this chapter or any rule
adopted by the board that would preclude the making of a report by
a physician of an employee's use of a drug of abuse, or of a
condition of an employee other than one involving the use of a
drug of abuse, to the employer of the employee as described in
division (B) of section 2305.33 of the Revised Code. Nothing in
this division affects the immunity from civil liability conferred
by that section upon a physician who makes either type of report
in accordance with division (B) of that section. As used in this
division, "employee," "employer," and "physician" have the same
meanings as in section 2305.33 of the Revised Code.
(21) The violation of section 3701.79 of the Revised Code or
of any abortion rule adopted by the public health council pursuant
to section 3701.341 of the Revised Code;
(22) Any of the following actions taken by an agency
responsible for authorizing, certifying, or regulating an
individual to practice a health care occupation or provide health
care services in this state or another jurisdiction, for any
reason other than the nonpayment of fees: the limitation,
revocation, or suspension of an individual's license to practice;
acceptance of an individual's license surrender; denial of a
license; refusal to renew or reinstate a license; imposition of
probation; or issuance of an order of censure or other reprimand;
(23) The violation of section 2919.12 of the Revised Code or
the performance or inducement of an abortion upon a pregnant woman
with actual knowledge that the conditions specified in division
(B) of section 2317.56 of the Revised Code have not been satisfied
or with a heedless indifference as to whether those conditions
have been satisfied, unless an affirmative defense as specified in
division (H)(2) of that section would apply in a civil action
authorized by division (H)(1) of that section;
(24) The revocation, suspension, restriction, reduction, or
termination of clinical privileges by the United States department
of defense or department of veterans affairs or the termination or
suspension of a certificate of registration to prescribe drugs by
the drug enforcement administration of the United States
department of justice;
(25) Termination or suspension from participation in the
medicare or medicaid programs by the department of health and
human services or other responsible agency for any act or acts
that also would constitute a violation of division (B)(2), (3),
(6), (8), or (19) of this section;
(26) Impairment of ability to practice according to
acceptable and prevailing standards of care because of habitual or
excessive use or abuse of drugs, alcohol, or other substances that
impair ability to practice.
For the purposes of this division, any individual authorized
to practice by this chapter accepts the privilege of practicing in
this state subject to supervision by the board. By filing an
application for or holding a certificate to practice under this
chapter, an individual shall be deemed to have given consent to
submit to a mental or physical examination when ordered to do so
by the board in writing, and to have waived all objections to the
admissibility of testimony or examination reports that constitute
privileged communications.
If it has reason to believe that any individual authorized to
practice by this chapter or any applicant for certification to
practice suffers such impairment, the board may compel the
individual to submit to a mental or physical examination, or both.
The expense of the examination is the responsibility of the
individual compelled to be examined. Any mental or physical
examination required under this division shall be undertaken by a
treatment provider or physician who is qualified to conduct the
examination and who is chosen by the board.
Failure to submit to a mental or physical examination ordered
by the board constitutes an admission of the allegations against
the individual unless the failure is due to circumstances beyond
the individual's control, and a default and final order may be
entered without the taking of testimony or presentation of
evidence. If the board determines that the individual's ability to
practice is impaired, the board shall suspend the individual's
certificate or deny the individual's application and shall require
the individual, as a condition for initial, continued, reinstated,
or renewed certification to practice, to submit to treatment.
Before being eligible to apply for reinstatement of a
certificate suspended under this division, the impaired
practitioner shall demonstrate to the board the ability to resume
practice in compliance with acceptable and prevailing standards of
care under the provisions of the practitioner's certificate. The
demonstration shall include, but shall not be limited to, the
following:
(a) Certification from a treatment provider approved under
section 4731.25 of the Revised Code that the individual has
successfully completed any required inpatient treatment;
(b) Evidence of continuing full compliance with an aftercare
contract or consent agreement;
(c) Two written reports indicating that the individual's
ability to practice has been assessed and that the individual has
been found capable of practicing according to acceptable and
prevailing standards of care. The reports shall be made by
individuals or providers approved by the board for making the
assessments and shall describe the basis for their determination.
The board may reinstate a certificate suspended under this
division after that demonstration and after the individual has
entered into a written consent agreement.
When the impaired practitioner resumes practice, the board
shall require continued monitoring of the individual. The
monitoring shall include, but not be limited to, compliance with
the written consent agreement entered into before reinstatement or
with conditions imposed by board order after a hearing, and, upon
termination of the consent agreement, submission to the board for
at least two years of annual written progress reports made under
penalty of perjury stating whether the individual has maintained
sobriety.
(27) A second or subsequent violation of section 4731.66 or
4731.69 of the Revised Code;
(28) Except as provided in division (N) of this section:
(a) Waiving the payment of all or any part of a deductible or
copayment that a patient, pursuant to a health insurance or health
care policy, contract, or plan that covers the individual's
services, otherwise would be required to pay if the waiver is used
as an enticement to a patient or group of patients to receive
health care services from that individual;
(b) Advertising that the individual will waive the payment of
all or any part of a deductible or copayment that a patient,
pursuant to a health insurance or health care policy, contract, or
plan that covers the individual's services, otherwise would be
required to pay.
(29) Failure to use universal blood and body fluid
precautions established by rules adopted under section 4731.051 of
the Revised Code;
(30) Failure to provide notice to, and receive acknowledgment
of the notice from, a patient when required by section 4731.143 of
the Revised Code prior to providing nonemergency professional
services, or failure to maintain that notice in the patient's
file;
(31) Failure of a physician supervising a physician assistant
to maintain supervision in accordance with the requirements of
Chapter 4730. of the Revised Code and the rules adopted under that
chapter;
(32) Failure of a physician or podiatrist to enter into a
standard care arrangement with a clinical nurse specialist,
certified nurse-midwife, or certified nurse practitioner with whom
the physician or podiatrist is in collaboration pursuant to
section 4731.27 of the Revised Code or failure to fulfill the
responsibilities of collaboration after entering into a standard
care arrangement;
(33) Failure to comply with the terms of a consult agreement
entered into with a pharmacist pursuant to section 4729.39 of the
Revised Code;
(34) Failure to cooperate in an investigation conducted by
the board under division (F) of this section, including failure to
comply with a subpoena or order issued by the board or failure to
answer truthfully a question presented by the board in an
investigative interview, an investigative office conference, at a
deposition, or in written interrogatories, except that failure to
cooperate with an investigation shall not constitute grounds for
discipline under this section if a court of competent jurisdiction
has issued an order that either quashes a subpoena or permits the
individual to withhold the testimony or evidence in issue;
(35) Failure to supervise an oriental medicine practitioner
or acupuncturist in accordance with Chapter 4762. of the Revised
Code and the board's rules for providing that supervision;
(36) Failure to supervise an anesthesiologist assistant in
accordance with Chapter 4760. of the Revised Code and the board's
rules for supervision of an anesthesiologist assistant;
(37) Assisting suicide as defined in section 3795.01 of the
Revised Code;
(38) Failure to comply with the requirements of section
2317.561 of the Revised Code;
(39) Failure to supervise a radiologist assistant in
accordance with Chapter 4774. of the Revised Code and the board's
rules for supervision of radiologist assistants;
(40) Performing or inducing an abortion at an office or
facility with knowledge that the office or facility fails to post
the notice required under section 3701.791 of the Revised Code;
(41) Failure to comply with the standards and procedures
established in rules under section 4731.054 of the Revised Code
for the operation of or the provision of care at a pain management
clinic;
(42) Failure to comply with the standards and procedures
established in rules under section 4731.054 of the Revised Code
for providing supervision, direction, and control of individuals
at a pain management clinic;
(43) Failure to comply with the requirements of section
4729.79 or 4731.055 of the Revised Code, unless the state board of
pharmacy no longer maintains a drug database pursuant to section
4729.75 of the Revised Code;
(44) Failure to comply with the requirements of section
2919.171 of the Revised Code or failure to submit to the
department of health in accordance with a court order a complete
report as described in section 2919.171 of the Revised Code;
(45) Practicing at a facility that is subject to licensure as
a category III terminal distributor of dangerous drugs with a pain
management clinic classification unless the person operating the
facility has obtained and maintains the license with the
classification;
(46) Owning a facility that is subject to licensure as a
category III terminal distributor of dangerous drugs with a pain
management clinic classification unless the facility is licensed
with the classification;
(47) Failure to comply with the requirement regarding
maintaining notes described in division (B) of section 2919.191 of
the Revised Code or failure to satisfy the requirements of section
2919.191 of the Revised Code prior to performing or inducing an
abortion upon a pregnant woman.
(C) Disciplinary actions taken by the board under divisions
(A) and (B) of this section shall be taken pursuant to an
adjudication under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, except that
in lieu of an adjudication, the board may enter into a consent
agreement with an individual to resolve an allegation of a
violation of this chapter or any rule adopted under it. A consent
agreement, when ratified by an affirmative vote of not fewer than
six members of the board, shall constitute the findings and order
of the board with respect to the matter addressed in the
agreement. If the board refuses to ratify a consent agreement, the
admissions and findings contained in the consent agreement shall
be of no force or effect.
A telephone conference call may be utilized for ratification
of a consent agreement that revokes or suspends an individual's
certificate to practice. The telephone conference call shall be
considered a special meeting under division (F) of section 121.22
of the Revised Code.
If the board takes disciplinary action against an individual
under division (B) of this section for a second or subsequent plea
of guilty to, or judicial finding of guilt of, a violation of
section 2919.123 of the Revised Code, the disciplinary action
shall consist of a suspension of the individual's certificate to
practice for a period of at least one year or, if determined
appropriate by the board, a more serious sanction involving the
individual's certificate to practice. Any consent agreement
entered into under this division with an individual that pertains
to a second or subsequent plea of guilty to, or judicial finding
of guilt of, a violation of that section shall provide for a
suspension of the individual's certificate to practice for a
period of at least one year or, if determined appropriate by the
board, a more serious sanction involving the individual's
certificate to practice.
(D) For purposes of divisions (B)(10), (12), and (14) of this
section, the commission of the act may be established by a finding
by the board, pursuant to an adjudication under Chapter 119. of
the Revised Code, that the individual committed the act. The board
does not have jurisdiction under those divisions if the trial
court renders a final judgment in the individual's favor and that
judgment is based upon an adjudication on the merits. The board
has jurisdiction under those divisions if the trial court issues
an order of dismissal upon technical or procedural grounds.
(E) The sealing of conviction records by any court shall have
no effect upon a prior board order entered under this section or
upon the board's jurisdiction to take action under this section
if, based upon a plea of guilty, a judicial finding of guilt, or a
judicial finding of eligibility for intervention in lieu of
conviction, the board issued a notice of opportunity for a hearing
prior to the court's order to seal the records. The board shall
not be required to seal, destroy, redact, or otherwise modify its
records to reflect the court's sealing of conviction records.
(F)(1) The board shall investigate evidence that appears to
show that a person has violated any provision of this chapter or
any rule adopted under it. Any person may report to the board in a
signed writing any information that the person may have that
appears to show a violation of any provision of this chapter or
any rule adopted under it. In the absence of bad faith, any person
who reports information of that nature or who testifies before the
board in any adjudication conducted under Chapter 119. of the
Revised Code shall not be liable in damages in a civil action as a
result of the report or testimony. Each complaint or allegation of
a violation received by the board shall be assigned a case number
and shall be recorded by the board.
(2) Investigations of alleged violations of this chapter or
any rule adopted under it shall be supervised by the supervising
member elected by the board in accordance with section 4731.02 of
the Revised Code and by the secretary as provided in section
4731.39 of the Revised Code. The president may designate another
member of the board to supervise the investigation in place of the
supervising member. No member of the board who supervises the
investigation of a case shall participate in further adjudication
of the case.
(3) In investigating a possible violation of this chapter or
any rule adopted under this chapter, or in conducting an
inspection under division (E) of section 4731.054 of the Revised
Code, the board may question witnesses, conduct interviews,
administer oaths, order the taking of depositions, inspect and
copy any books, accounts, papers, records, or documents, issue
subpoenas, and compel the attendance of witnesses and production
of books, accounts, papers, records, documents, and testimony,
except that a subpoena for patient record information shall not be
issued without consultation with the attorney general's office and
approval of the secretary and supervising member of the board.
(a) Before issuance of a subpoena for patient record
information, the secretary and supervising member shall determine
whether there is probable cause to believe that the complaint
filed alleges a violation of this chapter or any rule adopted
under it and that the records sought are relevant to the alleged
violation and material to the investigation. The subpoena may
apply only to records that cover a reasonable period of time
surrounding the alleged violation.
(b) On failure to comply with any subpoena issued by the
board and after reasonable notice to the person being subpoenaed,
the board may move for an order compelling the production of
persons or records pursuant to the Rules of Civil Procedure.
(c) A subpoena issued by the board may be served by a
sheriff, the sheriff's deputy, or a board employee designated by
the board. Service of a subpoena issued by the board may be made
by delivering a copy of the subpoena to the person named therein,
reading it to the person, or leaving it at the person's usual
place of residence, usual place of business, or address on file
with the board. When serving a subpoena to an applicant for or the
holder of a certificate issued under this chapter, service of the
subpoena may be made by certified mail, return receipt requested,
and the subpoena shall be deemed served on the date delivery is
made or the date the person refuses to accept delivery. If the
person being served refuses to accept the subpoena or is not
located, service may be made to an attorney who notifies the board
that the attorney is representing the person.
(d) A sheriff's deputy who serves a subpoena shall receive
the same fees as a sheriff. Each witness who appears before the
board in obedience to a subpoena shall receive the fees and
mileage provided for under section 119.094 of the Revised Code.
(4) All hearings, investigations, and inspections of the
board shall be considered civil actions for the purposes of
section 2305.252 of the Revised Code.
(5) A report required to be submitted to the board under this
chapter, a complaint, or information received by the board
pursuant to an investigation or pursuant to an inspection under
division (E) of section 4731.054 of the Revised Code is
confidential and not subject to discovery in any civil action.
The board shall conduct all investigations or inspections and
proceedings in a manner that protects the confidentiality of
patients and persons who file complaints with the board. The board
shall not make public the names or any other identifying
information about patients or complainants unless proper consent
is given or, in the case of a patient, a waiver of the patient
privilege exists under division (B) of section 2317.02 of the
Revised Code, except that consent or a waiver of that nature is
not required if the board possesses reliable and substantial
evidence that no bona fide physician-patient relationship exists.
The board may share any information it receives pursuant to
an investigation or inspection, including patient records and
patient record information, with law enforcement agencies, other
licensing boards, and other governmental agencies that are
prosecuting, adjudicating, or investigating alleged violations of
statutes or administrative rules. An agency or board that receives
the information shall comply with the same requirements regarding
confidentiality as those with which the state medical board must
comply, notwithstanding any conflicting provision of the Revised
Code or procedure of the agency or board that applies when it is
dealing with other information in its possession. In a judicial
proceeding, the information may be admitted into evidence only in
accordance with the Rules of Evidence, but the court shall require
that appropriate measures are taken to ensure that confidentiality
is maintained with respect to any part of the information that
contains names or other identifying information about patients or
complainants whose confidentiality was protected by the state
medical board when the information was in the board's possession.
Measures to ensure confidentiality that may be taken by the court
include sealing its records or deleting specific information from
its records.
(6) On a quarterly basis, the board shall prepare a report
that documents the disposition of all cases during the preceding
three months. The report shall contain the following information
for each case with which the board has completed its activities:
(a) The case number assigned to the complaint or alleged
violation;
(b) The type of certificate to practice, if any, held by the
individual against whom the complaint is directed;
(c) A description of the allegations contained in the
complaint;
(d) The disposition of the case.
The report shall state how many cases are still pending and
shall be prepared in a manner that protects the identity of each
person involved in each case. The report shall be a public record
under section 149.43 of the Revised Code.
(G) If the secretary and supervising member determine both of
the following, they may recommend that the board suspend an
individual's certificate to practice without a prior hearing:
(1) That there is clear and convincing evidence that an
individual has violated division (B) of this section;
(2) That the individual's continued practice presents a
danger of immediate and serious harm to the public.
Written allegations shall be prepared for consideration by
the board. The board, upon review of those allegations and by an
affirmative vote of not fewer than six of its members, excluding
the secretary and supervising member, may suspend a certificate
without a prior hearing. A telephone conference call may be
utilized for reviewing the allegations and taking the vote on the
summary suspension.
The board shall issue a written order of suspension by
certified mail or in person in accordance with section 119.07 of
the Revised Code. The order shall not be subject to suspension by
the court during pendency of any appeal filed under section 119.12
of the Revised Code. If the individual subject to the summary
suspension requests an adjudicatory hearing by the board, the date
set for the hearing shall be within fifteen days, but not earlier
than seven days, after the individual requests the hearing, unless
otherwise agreed to by both the board and the individual.
Any summary suspension imposed under this division shall
remain in effect, unless reversed on appeal, until a final
adjudicative order issued by the board pursuant to this section
and Chapter 119. of the Revised Code becomes effective. The board
shall issue its final adjudicative order within seventy-five days
after completion of its hearing. A failure to issue the order
within seventy-five days shall result in dissolution of the
summary suspension order but shall not invalidate any subsequent,
final adjudicative order.
(H) If the board takes action under division (B)(9), (11), or
(13) of this section and the judicial finding of guilt, guilty
plea, or judicial finding of eligibility for intervention in lieu
of conviction is overturned on appeal, upon exhaustion of the
criminal appeal, a petition for reconsideration of the order may
be filed with the board along with appropriate court documents.
Upon receipt of a petition of that nature and supporting court
documents, the board shall reinstate the individual's certificate
to practice. The board may then hold an adjudication under Chapter
119. of the Revised Code to determine whether the individual
committed the act in question. Notice of an opportunity for a
hearing shall be given in accordance with Chapter 119. of the
Revised Code. If the board finds, pursuant to an adjudication held
under this division, that the individual committed the act or if
no hearing is requested, the board may order any of the sanctions
identified under division (B) of this section.
(I) The certificate to practice issued to an individual under
this chapter and the individual's practice in this state are
automatically suspended as of the date of the individual's second
or subsequent plea of guilty to, or judicial finding of guilt of,
a violation of section 2919.123 of the Revised Code, or the date
the individual pleads guilty to, is found by a judge or jury to be
guilty of, or is subject to a judicial finding of eligibility for
intervention in lieu of conviction in this state or treatment or
intervention in lieu of conviction in another jurisdiction for any
of the following criminal offenses in this state or a
substantially equivalent criminal offense in another jurisdiction:
aggravated murder, murder, voluntary manslaughter, felonious
assault, kidnapping, rape, sexual battery, gross sexual
imposition, aggravated arson, aggravated robbery, or aggravated
burglary. Continued practice after suspension shall be considered
practicing without a certificate.
The board shall notify the individual subject to the
suspension by certified mail or in person in accordance with
section 119.07 of the Revised Code. If an individual whose
certificate is automatically suspended under this division fails
to make a timely request for an adjudication under Chapter 119. of
the Revised Code, the board shall do whichever of the following is
applicable:
(1) If the automatic suspension under this division is for a
second or subsequent plea of guilty to, or judicial finding of
guilt of, a violation of section 2919.123 of the Revised Code, the
board shall enter an order suspending the individual's certificate
to practice for a period of at least one year or, if determined
appropriate by the board, imposing a more serious sanction
involving the individual's certificate to practice.
(2) In all circumstances in which division (I)(1) of this
section does not apply, enter a final order permanently revoking
the individual's certificate to practice.
(J) If the board is required by Chapter 119. of the Revised
Code to give notice of an opportunity for a hearing and if the
individual subject to the notice does not timely request a hearing
in accordance with section 119.07 of the Revised Code, the board
is not required to hold a hearing, but may adopt, by an
affirmative vote of not fewer than six of its members, a final
order that contains the board's findings. In that final order, the
board may order any of the sanctions identified under division (A)
or (B) of this section.
(K) Any action taken by the board under division (B) of this
section resulting in a suspension from practice shall be
accompanied by a written statement of the conditions under which
the individual's certificate to practice may be reinstated. The
board shall adopt rules governing conditions to be imposed for
reinstatement. Reinstatement of a certificate suspended pursuant
to division (B) of this section requires an affirmative vote of
not fewer than six members of the board.
(L) When the board refuses to grant a certificate to an
applicant, revokes an individual's certificate to practice,
refuses to register an applicant, or refuses to reinstate an
individual's certificate to practice, the board may specify that
its action is permanent. An individual subject to a permanent
action taken by the board is forever thereafter ineligible to hold
a certificate to practice and the board shall not accept an
application for reinstatement of the certificate or for issuance
of a new certificate.
(M) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Revised Code,
all of the following apply:
(1) The surrender of a certificate issued under this chapter
shall not be effective unless or until accepted by the board. A
telephone conference call may be utilized for acceptance of the
surrender of an individual's certificate to practice. The
telephone conference call shall be considered a special meeting
under division (F) of section 121.22 of the Revised Code.
Reinstatement of a certificate surrendered to the board requires
an affirmative vote of not fewer than six members of the board.
(2) An application for a certificate made under the
provisions of this chapter may not be withdrawn without approval
of the board.
(3) Failure by an individual to renew a certificate of
registration in accordance with this chapter shall not remove or
limit the board's jurisdiction to take any disciplinary action
under this section against the individual.
(4) At the request of the board, a certificate holder shall
immediately surrender to the board a certificate that the board
has suspended, revoked, or permanently revoked.
(N) Sanctions shall not be imposed under division (B)(28) of
this section against any person who waives deductibles and
copayments as follows:
(1) In compliance with the health benefit plan that expressly
allows such a practice. Waiver of the deductibles or copayments
shall be made only with the full knowledge and consent of the plan
purchaser, payer, and third-party administrator. Documentation of
the consent shall be made available to the board upon request.
(2) For professional services rendered to any other person
authorized to practice pursuant to this chapter, to the extent
allowed by this chapter and rules adopted by the board.
(O) Under the board's investigative duties described in this
section and subject to division (F) of this section, the board
shall develop and implement a quality intervention program
designed to improve through remedial education the clinical and
communication skills of individuals authorized under this chapter
to practice medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine and
surgery, and podiatric medicine and surgery. In developing and
implementing the quality intervention program, the board may do
all of the following:
(1) Offer in appropriate cases as determined by the board an
educational and assessment program pursuant to an investigation
the board conducts under this section;
(2) Select providers of educational and assessment services,
including a quality intervention program panel of case reviewers;
(3) Make referrals to educational and assessment service
providers and approve individual educational programs recommended
by those providers. The board shall monitor the progress of each
individual undertaking a recommended individual educational
program.
(4) Determine what constitutes successful completion of an
individual educational program and require further monitoring of
the individual who completed the program or other action that the
board determines to be appropriate;
(5) Adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the
Revised Code to further implement the quality intervention
program.
An individual who participates in an individual educational
program pursuant to this division shall pay the financial
obligations arising from that educational program.
Sec. 4731.281. (A) On or before the deadline established
under division (B) of this section for applying for renewal of a
certificate of registration, each person holding a certificate
under this chapter to practice medicine and surgery, osteopathic
medicine and surgery, or podiatric medicine and surgery shall
certify to the state medical board that in the preceding two years
the person has completed one hundred hours of continuing medical
education. The certification shall be made upon the application
for biennial registration submitted pursuant to division (B) of
this section. The board shall adopt rules providing for pro rata
reductions by month of the number of hours of continuing education
required for persons who are in their first registration period,
who have been disabled due to illness or accident, or who have
been absent from the country.
In determining whether a course, program, or activity
qualifies for credit as continuing medical education, the board
shall approve all continuing medical education taken by persons
holding a certificate to practice medicine and surgery that is
certified by the Ohio state medical association, all continuing
medical education taken by persons holding a certificate to
practice osteopathic medicine and surgery that is certified by the
Ohio osteopathic association, and all continuing medical education
taken by persons holding a certificate to practice podiatric
medicine and surgery that is certified by the Ohio podiatric
medical association. Each person holding a certificate to practice
under this chapter shall be given sufficient choice of continuing
education programs to ensure that the person has had a reasonable
opportunity to participate in continuing education programs that
are relevant to the person's medical practice in terms of subject
matter and level.
The board may require a random sample of persons holding a
certificate to practice under this chapter to submit materials
documenting completion of the continuing medical education
requirement during the preceding registration period, but this
provision shall not limit the board's authority to investigate
pursuant to section 4731.22 of the Revised Code.
(B)(1) Every person holding a certificate under this chapter
to practice medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine and
surgery, or podiatric medicine and surgery wishing to renew that
certificate shall apply to the board for a certificate of
registration upon an application furnished by the board, and pay
to the board at the time of application a fee of three hundred
five dollars, according to the following schedule:
(a) Persons whose last name begins with the letters "A"
through "B," on or before April 1, 2001, and the first day of
April of every odd-numbered year thereafter;
(b) Persons whose last name begins with the letters "C"
through "D," on or before January 1, 2001, and the first day of
January of every odd-numbered year thereafter;
(c) Persons whose last name begins with the letters "E"
through "G," on or before October 1, 2000, and the first day of
October of every even-numbered year thereafter;
(d) Persons whose last name begins with the letters "H"
through "K," on or before July 1, 2000, and the first day of July
of every even-numbered year thereafter;
(e) Persons whose last name begins with the letters "L"
through "M," on or before April 1, 2000, and the first day of
April of every even-numbered year thereafter;
(f) Persons whose last name begins with the letters "N"
through "R," on or before January 1, 2000, and the first day of
January of every even-numbered year thereafter;
(g) Persons whose last name begins with the letter "S," on or
before October 1, 1999, and the first day of October of every
odd-numbered year thereafter;
(h) Persons whose last name begins with the letters "T"
through "Z," on or before July 1, 1999, and the first day of July
of every odd-numbered year thereafter.
The board shall deposit the fee in accordance with section
4731.24 of the Revised Code, except that the board shall deposit
twenty dollars of the fee into the state treasury to the credit of
the physician loan repayment fund created by section 3702.78 of
the Revised Code.
(2) The board shall mail or cause to be mailed to every
person registered to practice medicine and surgery, osteopathic
medicine and surgery, or podiatric medicine and surgery, a notice
of registration renewal addressed to the person's last known
address or may cause the notice to be sent to the person through
the secretary of any recognized medical, osteopathic, or podiatric
society, according to the following schedule:
(a) To persons whose last name begins with the letters "A"
through "B," on or before January 1, 2001, and the first day of
January of every odd-numbered year thereafter;
(b) To persons whose last name begins with the letters "C"
through "D," on or before October 1, 2000, and the first day of
October of every even-numbered year thereafter;
(c) To persons whose last name begins with the letters "E"
through "G," on or before July 1, 2000, and the first day of July
of every even-numbered year thereafter;
(d) To persons whose last name begins with the letters "H"
through "K," on or before April 1, 2000, and the first day of
April of every even-numbered year thereafter;
(e) To persons whose last name begins with the letters "L"
through "M," on or before January 1, 2000, and the first day of
January of every even-numbered year thereafter;
(f) To persons whose last name begins with the letters "N"
through "R," on or before October 1, 1999, and the first day of
October of every odd-numbered year thereafter;
(g) To persons whose last name begins with the letter "S," on
or before July 1, 1999, and the first day of July of every
odd-numbered year thereafter;
(h) To persons whose last name begins with the letters "T"
through "Z," on or before April 1, 1999, and the first day of
April of every odd-numbered year thereafter.
(3) Failure of any person to receive a notice of renewal from
the board shall not excuse the person from the requirements
contained in this section.
(4) The board's notice shall inform the applicant of the
renewal procedure. The board shall provide the application for
registration renewal in a form determined by the board. The
(5) The applicant shall provide in the application the
applicant's full name, principal practice address and residence
address, the number of the applicant's certificate to practice,
and any other information required by the board.
The
(6)(a) Except as provided in division (B)(6)(b) of this
section, in the case of an applicant who prescribes or personally
furnishes opioid analgesics or benzodiazepines, the applicant
shall certify to the board whether the applicant has been granted
access to the drug database established and maintained by the
state board of pharmacy pursuant to section 4729.75 of the Revised
Code.
(b) The requirement in division (B)(6)(a) of this section
does not apply if either of the following is the case:
(i) The state board of pharmacy notifies the state medical
board pursuant to section 4729.861 of the Revised Code that the
applicant has been restricted from obtaining further information
from the drug database.
(ii) The state board of pharmacy no longer maintains the drug
database.
(c) If an applicant certifies to the state medical board that
the applicant has been granted access to the drug database and the
board finds through an audit or other means that the applicant has
not been granted access, the board may take action under section
4731.22 of the Revised Code.
(7) The applicant shall include with the application a list
of the names and addresses of any clinical nurse specialists,
certified nurse-midwives, or certified nurse practitioners with
whom the applicant is currently collaborating, as defined in
section 4723.01 of the Revised Code. The applicant shall execute
and deliver the application to the board in a manner prescribed by
the board. Every person registered under this section shall give
written notice to the state medical board of any change of
principal practice address or residence address or in the list
within thirty days of the change.
(8) The applicant shall report any criminal offense to which
the applicant has pleaded guilty, of which the applicant has been
found guilty, or for which the applicant has been found eligible
for intervention in lieu of conviction, since last filing an
application for a certificate of registration.
(9) The applicant shall execute and deliver the application
to the board in a manner prescribed by the board.
(C) The board shall issue to any person holding a certificate
under this chapter to practice medicine and surgery, osteopathic
medicine and surgery, or podiatric medicine and surgery, upon
application and qualification therefor in accordance with this
section, a certificate of registration under the seal of the
board. A certificate of registration shall be valid for a two-year
period.
(D) Failure of any certificate holder to register and comply
with this section shall operate automatically to suspend the
holder's certificate to practice. Continued practice after the
suspension of the certificate to practice shall be considered as
practicing in violation of section 4731.41, 4731.43, or 4731.60 of
the Revised Code. If the certificate has been suspended pursuant
to this division for two years or less, it may be reinstated. The
board shall reinstate a certificate to practice suspended for
failure to register upon an applicant's submission of a renewal
application, the biennial registration fee, and the applicable
monetary penalty. The penalty for reinstatement shall be fifty
dollars. If the certificate has been suspended pursuant to this
division for more than two years, it may be restored. Subject to
section 4731.222 of the Revised Code, the board may restore a
certificate to practice suspended for failure to register upon an
applicant's submission of a restoration application, the biennial
registration fee, and the applicable monetary penalty and
compliance with sections 4776.01 to 4776.04 of the Revised Code.
The board shall not restore to an applicant a certificate to
practice unless the board, in its discretion, decides that the
results of the criminal records check do not make the applicant
ineligible for a certificate issued pursuant to section 4731.14,
4731.56, or 4731.57 of the Revised Code. The penalty for
restoration shall be one hundred dollars. The board shall deposit
the penalties in accordance with section 4731.24 of the Revised
Code.
(E) If an individual certifies completion of the number of
hours and type of continuing medical education required to receive
a certificate of registration or reinstatement of a certificate to
practice, and the board finds through the random samples it
conducts under this section or through any other means that the
individual did not complete the requisite continuing medical
education, the board may impose a civil penalty of not more than
five thousand dollars. The board's finding shall be made pursuant
to an adjudication under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code and by
an affirmative vote of not fewer than six members.
A civil penalty imposed under this division may be in
addition to or in lieu of any other action the board may take
under section 4731.22 of the Revised Code. The board shall deposit
civil penalties in accordance with section 4731.24 of the Revised
Code.
(F) The state medical board may obtain information not
protected by statutory or common law privilege from courts and
other sources concerning malpractice claims against any person
holding a certificate to practice under this chapter or practicing
as provided in section 4731.36 of the Revised Code.
(G) Each mailing sent by the board under division (B)(2) of
this section to a person registered to practice medicine and
surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery shall inform the
applicant of the reporting requirement established by division (H)
of section 3701.79 of the Revised Code. At the discretion of the
board, the information may be included on the application for
registration or on an accompanying page.
SECTION 2. That existing sections 4715.14, 4715.30,
4715.302, 4723.28, 4723.486, 4723.487, 4725.092, 4725.16, 4725.19,
4729.12, 4729.80, 4729.86, 4730.25, 4730.48, 4730.53, 4731.055,
4731.22, and 4731.281 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
SECTION 3. Sections 4715.14, 4723.486, 4725.16, 4729.12,
4730.48, and 4731.281 of the Revised Code, as amended by this act,
and section 4729.861, as enacted by this act, shall take effect
January 1, 2015.
SECTION 4. Sections 4715.30, 4715.302, 4723.28, 4723.487,
4725.092, 4725.19, 4730.25, 4730.53, 4731.055, and 4731.22 of the
Revised Code, as amended by this act, shall take effect April 1,
2015.
SECTION 5. As used in this section, "licensed health
professional authorized to prescribe drugs" means an individual
who is authorized by law to prescribe drugs, dangerous drugs, or
drug therapy-related devices in the course of the individual's
professional practice, including only the following: a dentist
licensed under Chapter 4715. of the Revised Code, an advanced
practice registered nurse who holds a certificate to prescribe
issued under Chapter 4723. of the Revised Code, an optometrist
licensed under Chapter 4725. of the Revised Code to practice
optometry under a therapeutic pharmaceutical agents certificate, a
physician assistant who holds a certificate to prescribe issued
under Chapter 4730. of the Revised Code, and a physician
authorized under Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code to practice
medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine and surgery, or
podiatric medicine and surgery.
Not later than January 1, 2015, each licensed health
professional authorized to prescribe drugs who prescribes opioid
analgesics or benzodiazepines and each pharmacist licensed under
Chapter 4729. of the Revised Code shall obtain access to the drug
database established and maintained by the State Board of Pharmacy
pursuant to section 4729.75 of the Revised Code, unless the Board
has restricted the professional or pharmacist from obtaining
information from the database or the Board no longer maintains the
database. Failure to comply with this section constitutes grounds
for certificate or license suspension.
SECTION 6. The General Assembly, applying the principle
stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that
amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of
simultaneous operation, finds that the following sections,
presented in this act as composites of the sections as amended by
the acts indicated, are the resulting versions of the sections in
effect prior to the effective date of the sections as presented in
this act:
Section 4715.14 of the Revised Code as amended by both Sub.
H.B. 190 and Sub. H.B. 215 of the 128th General Assembly.
Section 4723.487 of the Revised Code as amended by both Sub.
H.B. 303 and Sub. S.B. 301 of the 129th General Assembly.
Section 4725.16 of the Revised Code as amended by both Am.
Sub. H.B. 59 and Am. Sub. H.B. 98 of the 130th General Assembly.
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