Sec. 205.356. REHABILITATION ORDER. (a) The acupuncture board, through an agreed order or after a contested proceeding, may impose a nondisciplinary rehabilitation order on an applicant, as a prerequisite for issuing a license, or on a license holder based on:

(1) the person's intemperate use of drugs or alcohol directly resulting from habituation or addiction caused by medical care or treatment provided by a physician;

(2) the person's intemperate use of drugs or alcohol during the five years preceding the date of the report that could adversely affect the person's ability to safely practice as an acupuncturist, if the person:

(A) reported the use;

(B) has not previously been the subject of a substance abuse related order of the acupuncture board; and

(C) did not violate the standard of care as a result of the impairment;

(3) a judgment by a court that the person is of unsound mind; or

(4) the results of a mental or physical examination, or an admission by the person, indicating that the person suffers from a potentially dangerous limitation or an inability to practice as an acupuncturist with reasonable skill and safety by reason of illness or as a result of any physical or mental condition.

(b) The acupuncture board may not issue an order under this section if, before the individual signs the proposed order, the board receives a valid complaint with regard to the individual based on the individual's intemperate use of drugs or alcohol in a manner affecting the standard of care.

(c) The acupuncture board must determine whether an individual has committed a standard of care violation described by Subsection (a)(2) before imposing an order under this section.

(d) The acupuncture board may disclose a rehabilitation order to a local or statewide private acupuncture association only as provided by Section 205.3562.

Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 388, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 269 (S.B. 419), Sec. 3.25, eff. September 1, 2005.