Public Act 093-0999
 
SB2254 Enrolled LRB093 15882 RCE 41499 b

    AN ACT concerning professional regulation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Acupuncture Practice Act is amended by
changing Sections 10, 15, 40, and 110 as follows:
 
    (225 ILCS 2/10)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2008)
    Sec. 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
    "Acupuncture" means the evaluation or treatment of persons
affected through a method of stimulation of a certain point or
points on or immediately below the surface of the body by the
insertion of pre-sterilized, single-use, disposable needles,
unless medically contraindicated, with or without the
application of heat, electronic stimulation, or manual
pressure to prevent or modify the perception of pain, to
normalize physiological functions, or for the treatment of
certain diseases or dysfunctions of the body. Acupuncture does
not include radiology, electrosurgery, chiropractic technique,
physical therapy, naprapathic technique, use or prescribing of
any drugs, medications, herbal preparations, nutritional
supplements, serums, or vaccines, or determination of a
differential diagnosis. An acupuncturist registered under this
Act who is not also licensed as a physical therapist under the
Illinois Physical Therapy Act shall not hold himself or herself
out as being qualified to provide physical therapy or
physiotherapy services. An acupuncturist shall refer to a
licensed physician or dentist, any patient whose condition
should, at the time of evaluation or treatment, be determined
to be beyond the scope of practice of the acupuncturist.
    "Acupuncturist" means a person who practices acupuncture
and who is licensed by the Department.
    "Board" means the Board of Acupuncture.
    "Dentist" means a person licensed under the Illinois Dental
Practice Act.
    "Department" means the Department of Professional
Regulation.
    "Director" means the Director of Professional Regulation.
    "Physician" means a person licensed under the Medical
Practice Act of 1987.
    "Referral by written order" for purposes of this Act means
a diagnosis, substantiated by signature of a physician or
dentist, identifying that a patient's condition and
recommending treatment is such that it may be treated by
acupuncture as defined in this Act. The diagnosis shall remain
in effect until changed by the physician or dentist who may,
through express direction in the referral, shall maintain
management of the patient.
    "State" includes:
        (1) the states of the United States of America;
        (2) the District of Columbia; and
        (3) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(Source: P.A. 89-706, eff. 1-31-97; 90-61, eff. 7-3-97.)
 
    (225 ILCS 2/15)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2008)
    Sec. 15. Who may practice acupuncture. No person licensed
under this Act may treat human ailments otherwise than by the
practice of acupuncture as defined in this Act; and no person
licensed under this Act may practice acupuncture on another
person without having on file a written referral order from a
physician or dentist licensed in Illinois. A physician or
dentist licensed in Illinois may practice acupuncture. A
physician or a dentist may refer by written order a patient to
an acupuncturist for the practice of acupuncture as defined in
this Act and may, through express direction in the referral,
maintain management of the patient. Nothing in this Act shall
be construed to require a referral of a patient to an
acupuncturist for evaluation and treatment based on
acupuncture principles and techniques as taught by schools
accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and
Oriental Medicine or a similar accrediting body approved by the
Department. An acupuncturist shall refer to a licensed
physician or dentist, any patient whose condition should, at
the time of evaluation or treatment, be determined to be beyond
the scope of practice of the acupuncturist.
(Source: P.A. 89-706, eff. 1-31-97; 90-61, eff. 7-3-97.)
 
    (225 ILCS 2/40)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2008)
    Sec. 40. Application for licensure. Applications for
original licensure as an acupuncturist shall be made to the
Department in writing on forms prescribed by the Department and
shall be accompanied by the required fee, which shall not be
refundable.
    Until December 31, 2001, applicants shall submit with the
application proof of passing the National Certification
Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine National
Commission for the Certification of Acupuncturists examination
or a substantially equivalent examination approved by the
Department or meeting any other qualifications established by
the Department.
    On and after January 1, 2002, the Department shall issue a
license to an applicant who submits with the application proof
of each of the following:
        (1)(A) graduation from a school accredited by the
    Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental
    Medicine National Accreditation Commission for Schools and
    Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine or a similar
    accrediting body approved by the Department; or (B)
    completion of a comprehensive educational program approved
    by the Department; and
        (2) passing the National Certification Commission for
    Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine National Commission for
    the Certification of Acupuncturists' examination or a
    substantially equivalent examination approved by the
    Department.
    An applicant has 3 years from the date of his or her
application to complete the application process. If the process
has not been completed in 3 years, the application shall be
denied, the fee shall be forfeited, and the applicant must
reapply and meet the requirements in effect at the time of
reapplication.
(Source: P.A. 89-706, eff. 1-31-97; 90-61, eff. 7-3-97; 90-723,
eff. 1-1-99.)
 
    (225 ILCS 2/110)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2008)
    Sec. 110. Grounds for disciplinary action.
    (a) The Department may refuse to issue or to renew, place
on probation, suspend, revoke or take other disciplinary action
as deemed appropriate including the imposition of fines not to
exceed $5,000 for each violation, as the Department may deem
proper, with regard to a license for any one or combination of
the following causes:
        (1) Violations of the Act or its rules.
        (2) Conviction of any crime under the laws of any U.S.
    jurisdiction that is (i) a felony, (ii) a misdemeanor, an
    essential element of which is dishonesty, or (iii) directly
    related to the practice of the profession.
        (3) Making any misrepresentation for the purpose of
    obtaining a license.
        (4) Aiding or assisting another person in violating any
    provision of this Act or its rules.
        (5) Failing to provide information within 60 days in
    response to a written request made by the Department which
    has been sent by certified or registered mail to the
    licensee's last known address.
        (6) Discipline by another U.S. jurisdiction or foreign
    nation, if at least one of the grounds for the discipline
    is the same or substantially equivalent to one set forth in
    this Section.
        (7) Solicitation of professional services by means
    other than permitted under this Act.
        (8) Failure to provide a patient with a copy of his or
    her record upon the written request of the patient.
        (9) Gross negligence in the practice of acupuncture.
        (10) Habitual or excessive use or addiction to alcohol,
    narcotics, stimulants, or any other chemical agent or drug
    that results in an acupuncturist's inability to practice
    with reasonable judgment, skill, or safety.
        (11) A finding that licensure has been applied for or
    obtained by fraudulent means.
        (12) A pattern of practice or other behavior that
    demonstrates incapacity or incompetence to practice under
    this Act.
        (13) Being named as a perpetrator in an indicated
    report by the Department of Children and Family Services
    under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act and upon
    proof by clear and convincing evidence that the licensee
    has caused a child to be an abused child or a neglected
    child as defined in the Abused and Neglected Child
    Reporting Act.
        (14) Wilfully failing to report an instance of
    suspected child abuse or neglect as required by the Abused
    and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
        (15) The use of any words, abbreviations, figures or
    letters (such as Acupuncturist, Licensed Acupuncturist,
    Certified Acupuncturist, C.A., Act., Lic. Act., or Lic.
    Ac.) with the intention of indicating practice as a
    licensed acupuncturist without a valid license as an
    acupuncturist issued under this Act.
        (16) Using testimonials or claims of superior quality
    of care to entice the public or advertising fee comparisons
    of available services with those of other persons providing
    acupuncture services.
        (17) Advertising of professional services that the
    offeror of the services is not licensed to render.
    Advertising of professional services that contains false,
    fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading material or
    guarantees of success, statements that play upon the vanity
    or fears of the public, or statements that promote or
    produce unfair competition.
        (18) Having treated ailments of human beings other than
    by the practice of acupuncture as defined in this Act, or
    having treated ailments of human beings as a licensed
    acupuncturist pursuant to independent of a written
    referral by written order that provides for management of
    the patient by from a physician or dentist without having
    notified , or having failed to notify the physician or
    dentist who established the diagnosis that the patient is
    receiving acupuncture treatment pursuant to that
    diagnosis.
        (19) Unethical, unauthorized, or unprofessional
    conduct as defined by rule.
        (20) Physical illness including but not limited to
    deterioration through the aging process, mental illness,
    or disability that results in the inability to practice the
    profession with reasonable judgment, skill, and safety.
        (21) Violation of the Health Care Worker Self-Referral
    Act.
    The entry of an order by a circuit court establishing that
any person holding a license under this Act is subject to
involuntary admission or judicial admission as provided for in
the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code operates
as an automatic suspension of that license. That person may
have his or her license restored only upon the determination by
a circuit court that the patient is no longer subject to
involuntary admission or judicial admission and the issuance of
an order so finding and discharging the patient and upon the
Board's recommendation to the Department that the license be
restored. Where the circumstances so indicate, the Board may
recommend to the Department that it require an examination
prior to restoring a suspended license.
    The Department may refuse to issue or renew the license of
any person who fails to (i) file a return or to pay the tax,
penalty or interest shown in a filed return or (ii) pay any
final assessment of the tax, penalty, or interest as required
by any tax Act administered by the Illinois Department of
Revenue, until the time that the requirements of that tax Act
are satisfied.
    In enforcing this Section, the Department or Board upon a
showing of a possible violation may compel an individual
licensed to practice under this Act, or who has applied for
licensure under this Act, to submit to a mental or physical
examination, or both, as required by and at the expense of the
Department. The Department or Board may order the examining
physician to present testimony concerning the mental or
physical examination of the licensee or applicant. No
information shall be excluded by reason of any common law or
statutory privilege relating to communications between the
licensee or applicant and the examining physician. The
examining physicians shall be specifically designated by the
Board or Department. The individual to be examined may have, at
his or her own expense, another physician of his or her choice
present during all aspects of this examination. Failure of an
individual to submit to a mental or physical examination, when
directed, shall be grounds for suspension of his or her license
until the individual submits to the examination if the
Department finds, after notice and hearing, that the refusal to
submit to the examination was without reasonable cause.
    If the Department or Board finds an individual unable to
practice because of the reasons set forth in this Section, the
Department or Board may require that individual to submit to
care, counseling, or treatment by physicians approved or
designated by the Department or Board, as a condition, term, or
restriction for continued, reinstated, or renewed licensure to
practice; or, in lieu of care, counseling, or treatment, the
Department may file, or the Board may recommend to the
Department to file, a complaint to immediately suspend, revoke,
or otherwise discipline the license of the individual. An
individual whose license was granted, continued, reinstated,
renewed, disciplined or supervised subject to such terms,
conditions, or restrictions, and who fails to comply with such
terms, conditions, or restrictions, shall be referred to the
Director for a determination as to whether the individual shall
have his or her license suspended immediately, pending a
hearing by the Department.
    In instances in which the Director immediately suspends a
person's license under this Section, a hearing on that person's
license must be convened by the Department within 15 days after
the suspension and completed without appreciable delay. The
Department and Board shall have the authority to review the
subject individual's record of treatment and counseling
regarding the impairment to the extent permitted by applicable
federal statutes and regulations safeguarding the
confidentiality of medical records.
    An individual licensed under this Act and affected under
this Section shall be afforded an opportunity to demonstrate to
the Department or Board that he or she can resume practice in
compliance with acceptable and prevailing standards under the
provisions of his or her license.
(Source: P.A. 89-706, eff. 1-31-97; 90-61, eff. 7-3-97.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.