Title BPC, California Bus. & Prof. Code

(a) Except for reports received by the board pursuant to Section 801.01 or 805 that may be treated as complaints by the board and new complaints relating to a physician and surgeon who is the subject of a pending accusation or investigation or who is on probation, any complaint d…

(a) For purposes of this section, “patient representative” means the spouse or domestic partner of the patient, a person responsible for the care of the patient, or the patient’s next of kin. (b) (1) Before a complaint within the jurisdiction of the board pertaining to the qualit…

(a) For purposes of this section, “patient representative” means the spouse or domestic partner of the patient, a person responsible for the care of the patient, or the patient’s next of kin. (b) (1) At the time that a complaint is referred for a field investigation, the relevant…

(a) The Medical Board of California is the only licensing board that is authorized to investigate or commence disciplinary actions relating to physicians and surgeons who have been issued a certificate pursuant to Section 2050. (b) For purposes of this section, “investigate or co…

The board shall investigate any licensee against whom an information or indictment has been filed that alleges a violation of Section 550 of the Penal Code or Section 1871.4 of the Insurance Code, if the district attorney does not otherwise object to initiating an investigation. …

(a) A physician and surgeon shall not include or permit to be included any of the following provisions in an agreement to settle a civil dispute arising from his or her practice, whether the agreement is made before or after filing the action: (1) A provision that prohibits anoth…

(a) The board may deny a physician’s and surgeon’s certificate to an applicant guilty of unprofessional conduct or of any cause that would subject a licensee to revocation or suspension of their license. The board, in its sole discretion, may issue a probationary physician’s and …

(a) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 2221, the board may issue a physician’s and surgeon’s certificate to an applicant who has committed minor violations that the board deems, in its discretion, do not merit the denial of a certificate or require probationary status und…

(a) The board and the California Board of Podiatric Medicine shall investigate and may take disciplinary action, including, but not limited to, revocation or suspension of licenses, against physicians and surgeons and all others licensed or regulated by the board, or by the Calif…

The California Board of Podiatric Medicine shall enforce and administer this article as to doctors of podiatric medicine. Any acts of unprofessional conduct or other violations proscribed by this chapter are applicable to licensed doctors of podiatric medicine and wherever the Me…

(a) The board may delegate the authority under this chapter to conduct investigations and inspections and to institute proceedings to the executive director of the board or to other personnel as set forth in Section 2020. The board shall not delegate its authority to take final d…

(a) Notwithstanding Section 2263 and any other law making a communication between a physician and surgeon or a doctor of podiatric medicine and his or her patients a privileged communication, those provisions shall not apply to investigations or proceedings conducted under this c…

The board, the California Board of Podiatric Medicine, and the Attorney General, shall return any original documents received pursuant to Section 2225 to the licensee from whom they were obtained within seven calendar days. (Added by Stats. 1993, Ch. 1267, Sec. 21. Effective Janu…

(a) (1) A licensee who fails or refuses to comply with a request for the certified medical records of a patient, that is accompanied by that patient’s written authorization for release of records to the board, within 15 days of receiving the request and authorization, shall pay t…

When requested by an authorized officer of the law or by an authorized representative of the board, the owner, corporate officer, or manager of an entity licensed by the Board of Pharmacy shall provide the board, or its authorized representative, with the requested records within…

The Division of Medical Quality or the Senior Assistant Attorney General of the Health Quality Enforcement Section may inspect a licensed general or specialized hospital and require reports from them to determine if the hospital has adopted and is complying with the provisions of…

(a) A licensee whose matter has been heard by an administrative law judge of the Medical Quality Hearing Panel as designated in Section 11371 of the Government Code, or whose default has been entered, and who is found guilty, or who has entered into a stipulation for disciplinary…

(a) The board may delegate to its executive director the authority to issue an administrative confidential letter of advice to a licensee to resolve a complaint for an alleged minor violation of this chapter that is not related to patient care. The letter of advice may include an…

The board shall keep a copy of a complaint it receives concerning the unprofessional conduct of a licensee for seven years or until the statute of limitations for filing an accusation against a licensee has expired, whichever period is shorter, if the board finds after an investi…

The authority of the board or the California Board of Podiatric Medicine to discipline a licensee by placing him or her on probation includes, but is not limited to, the following: (a) Requiring the licensee to obtain additional professional training and to pass an examination up…

(a) On and after July 1, 2019, except as otherwise provided in subdivision (c), the board and the Podiatric Medical Board of California shall require a licensee to provide a separate disclosure that includes the licensee’s probation status, the length of the probation, the probat…

(a) A physician and surgeon shall not automatically deny treatment or medication to a qualified patient based solely on a positive drug screen for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or report of medical cannabis use without first completing a case-by-case evaluation of the patient that i…

(a) Protection of the public shall be the highest priority for the Division of Medical Quality, the California Board of Podiatric Medicine, and administrative law judges of the Medical Quality Hearing Panel in exercising their disciplinary authority. (b) In exercising his or her …

(a) All proceedings against a licensee for unprofessional conduct, or against an applicant for licensure for unprofessional conduct or cause, shall be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 …

(a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b), (c), and (e), any accusation filed against a licensee pursuant to Section 11503 of the Government Code shall be filed within three years after the board, or a division thereof, discovers the act or omission alleged as the ground for dis…

An administrative law judge as designated in Section 11371 of the Government Code may utilize the procedures in Section 11515 of the Government Code concerning any matters which may be officially or judicially noticed. (Added by Stats. 1990, Ch. 1597, Sec. 16.)

(a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (c), the board shall automatically revoke a license under either of the following circumstances: (A) The licensee, at any time after January 1, 1947, has been convicted in any court in or outside of this state of any offense that, if comm…

(a) (1) Notwithstanding Section 2236, the board or its designee shall automatically suspend a license following a conviction of a felony by a licensee, where the conviction involves a violation of one or more of the statutes identified in subdivision (b) whether in the course of …

The board may, by stipulation or settlement with the affected physician and surgeon, issue a public letter of reprimand after it has conducted an investigation or inspection as provided in this article, rather than filing or prosecuting a formal accusation. The public letter of r…

The board shall take action against any licensee who is charged with unprofessional conduct. In addition to other provisions of this article, unprofessional conduct includes, but is not limited to, the following: (a) Violating or attempting to violate, directly or indirectly, ass…

(a) A physician and surgeon shall not be subject to discipline pursuant to subdivision (b), (c), or (d) of Section 2234 solely on the basis that the treatment or advice he or she rendered to a patient is alternative or complementary medicine, including the treatment of persistent…

Upon referral from the division, the Senior Assistant Attorney General of the Health Quality Enforcement Section shall initiate action against any licensee who obtains a certificate by fraud or misrepresentation, including a reciprocity certificate which is based upon a certifica…

(a) The conviction of any offense substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a physician and surgeon constitutes unprofessional conduct within the meaning of this chapter. The record of conviction shall be conclusive evidence only of the fact that the co…

(a) A physician and surgeon’s certificate shall be suspended automatically during any time that the holder of the certificate is incarcerated after conviction of a felony, regardless of whether the conviction has been appealed. The Division of Medical Quality shall, immediately u…

(a) Notwithstanding Article 9 (commencing with Section 700) of Chapter 1 of Division 2 or any other provision of law, a physician and surgeon’s certificate shall be automatically placed on inactive status during any period of time that the holder of the certificate is incarcerate…

(a) The conviction of a charge of violating any federal statutes or regulations or any statute or regulation of this state, regulating dangerous drugs or controlled substances, constitutes unprofessional conduct. The record of the conviction is conclusive evidence of such unprofe…

A violation of any federal statute or federal regulation or any of the statutes or regulations of this state regulating dangerous drugs or controlled substances constitutes unprofessional conduct. (Amended by Stats. 1984, Ch. 1635, Sec. 2.)

(a) The use or prescribing for or administering to himself or herself, of any controlled substance; or the use of any of the dangerous drugs specified in Section 4022, or of alcoholic beverages, to the extent, or in such a manner as to be dangerous or injurious to the licensee, o…

(a) A physician and surgeon who performs a medical procedure outside of a general acute care hospital, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code, that results in the death of any patient on whom that medical treatment was performed by the physici…

(a) A physician and surgeon may prescribe, dispense, or administer prescription drugs, including prescription controlled substances, to a person with substance use disorder under the physician and surgeon’s treatment for a purpose other than maintenance on, or detoxification from…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, nothing shall preclude a physician and surgeon from prescribing the use of a phototherapy device to a patient of any age. For purposes of this section, the term “phototherapy device” shall have the same meaning as in Section 22702. (Add…

(a) A physician and surgeon may prescribe for, or dispense or administer to, a person under their treatment for a medical condition dangerous drugs or prescription controlled substances for the treatment of pain or a condition causing pain, including, but not limited to, intracta…

The Division of Medical Quality shall develop standards before June 1, 2002, to assure the competent review in cases concerning the management, including, but not limited to, the undertreatment, undermedication, and overmedication of a patient’s pain. The division may consult wit…

(a) Prescribing, dispensing, or furnishing dangerous drugs as defined in Section 4022 without an appropriate prior examination and a medical indication, constitutes unprofessional conduct. An appropriate prior examination does not require a synchronous interaction between the pat…

(a) No person or entity may prescribe, dispense, or furnish, or cause to be prescribed, dispensed, or furnished, dangerous drugs or dangerous devices, as defined in Section 4022, on the Internet for delivery to any person in this state, without an appropriate prior examination an…

Notwithstanding any other law, a physician and surgeon, a nurse practitioner acting within the scope of Section 2837.103 or 2837.104, a registered nurse acting in accordance with Section 2725.2, a certified nurse-midwife acting within the scope of Section 2746.51, a nurse practit…