Title BPC — California Bus. & Prof. Code

The board and each committee or panel shall keep an official record of all their proceedings.

The board may adopt, amend, or repeal, in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, those regulations as may be necessary to enable it to carry into effect the provisions of law relating to the practice of medicine.

The office of the board shall be in the City of Sacramento. Suboffices may be established in the Cities of Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco or the environs of such cities. Notwithstanding any other law, legal proceedings against the board shall be instituted in any one o…

(a) The board, by and with the approval of the director, may employ an executive director exempt from the provisions of the Civil Service Act and may also employ investigators, legal counsel, medical consultants, and other assistance as it may deem necessary to carry this chapter…

(a) If the board publishes a directory pursuant to Section 112, it may require persons licensed pursuant to this chapter to furnish any information as it may deem necessary to enable it to compile the directory. (b) Each licensee shall report to the board each and every change of…

The directory shall be prima facie evidence of the authority of the persons named therein to practice under this act, unless such authority has been revoked, suspended, or otherwise limited pursuant to this chapter subsequent to the publication of the directory.

(a) The board, in conjunction with the Board of Registered Nursing, and in consultation with the Physician Assistant Board and professionals in the field, shall review issues and problems surrounding the use of laser or intense light pulse devices for elective cosmetic procedures…

(a) The board may select and contract with necessary medical consultants who are licensed physicians and surgeons to assist it in its programs. Subject to Section 19130 of the Government Code, the board may contract with these consultants on a sole source basis. (b) Every consult…

(a) The board shall establish a Complainant Liaison Unit comprised of board staff responsible for the following: (1) Respond to communications from the public about the complaint review and enforcement process. (2) After a complaint has been referred to a field investigation, ass…

The board through its regular mailing shall notify all licensees of the existence of pain management guidelines published by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research of the Public Health Service within the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and shall pro…

The board shall initiate the process of adopting regulations on or before January 1, 2019, to require its licentiates and registrants to provide notice to their clients or patients that the practitioner is licensed or registered in this state by the board, that the practitioner’s…

(a) The board shall post on its Internet Web site the following information on the current status of the license for all current and former licensees: (1) Whether or not the licensee is presently in good standing. (2) Current American Board of Medical Specialties certification or…

(a) The board may establish a pilot program to expand the practice of telehealth in this state. (b) To implement this pilot program, the board may convene a working group of interested parties from the public and private sectors, including, but not limited to, state health-relate…

The provisions of this chapter insofar as they are substantially the same as provisions relating to the same subject matter of previous medical practice acts shall be construed as restatements and continuations thereof, and not as new enactments.

The rights given by any certificate issued under any preceding medical practice act are not affected by the enactment of this chapter, nor by the repeal of any law upon which such rights are based, but such rights shall hereafter be exercised according to the provisions of this c…

“Person” means any individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, or other organization, or any combination thereof, except that only natural persons shall be licensed under this chapter.

“Professional” relates to the art and science of medicine and surgery and to such other arts and sciences as may be included within the field of medicine and surgery.

“Medical licensing authority” refers to any officer, board, commission, or department of another state upon whose certificate a reciprocity certificate may be issued.

Whenever a course of instruction is required for any certificate, it shall be satisfied by a resident course of medical instruction. Whenever a resident course of instruction is mentioned in this chapter, it shall be interpreted to mean classroom, laboratory, practical, and clini…

Whenever any requirement is provided for any certificate relating to a medical school or hospital, or any reference is made to a medical school or hospital, the medical school and hospital shall be ones approved by the Division of Licensing.

Whenever the words “diagnose” or “diagnosis” are used in this chapter, they include any undertaking by any method, device, or procedure whatsoever, and whether gratuitous or not, to ascertain or establish whether a person is suffering from any physical or mental disorder. Such te…

All certificates issued by the board shall state the extent and character of the practice which is permitted.

The terms “license” and “certificate” as used in this chapter are deemed to be synonomous.

The term “licensee” as used in this chapter means the holder of a physician’s and surgeon’s certificate or doctor of podiatric medicine’s certificate, as the case may be, who is engaged in the professional practice authorized by the certificate under the jurisdiction of the appro…

Notwithstanding any other law, the Medical Board of California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California shall require each applicant to furnish to the board a full set of fingerprints for purposes of conducting criminal history record checks. The board shall submit to the …

The Division of Licensing shall issue one form of certificate to all physicians and surgeons licensed by the board which shall be designated as a “physician’s and surgeon’s certificate.”

The physician’s and surgeon’s certificate authorizes the holder to use drugs or devices in or upon human beings and to sever or penetrate the tissues of human beings and to use any and all other methods in the treatment of diseases, injuries, deformities, and other physical and m…

(a) Notwithstanding Section 146, any person who practices or attempts to practice, or who advertises or holds himself or herself out as practicing, any system or mode of treating the sick or afflicted in this state, or who diagnoses, treats, operates for, or prescribes for any ai…

(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (1) “Eligible patient” means a person who meets all of the following requirements: (A) Has an immediately life-threatening disease or condition as defined in Section 111548.1 of the Health and Safety Code. (B) Has…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person who complies with the requirements of Section 2053.6 shall not be in violation of Section 2051 or 2052 unless that person does any of the following: (1) Conducts surgery or any other procedure on another person that punctur…

(a) A person who provides services pursuant to Section 2053.5 that are not unlawful under Section 2051 or 2052 shall, prior to providing those services, do the following: (1) Disclose to the client in a written statement using plain language the following information: (A) That he…

(a) Any person who uses in any sign, business card, or letterhead, or, in an advertisement, the words “doctor” or “physician,” the letters or prefix “Dr.,” the initials “M.D.” or “D.O.,” or any other terms or letters indicating or implying that the person is a physician and surge…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person issued a physician’s and surgeon’s certificate by the Medical Board of California pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be entitled to use of the initials “M.D.”

(a) The purpose of this section is to provide protection against retaliation for physicians who advocate for medically appropriate health care for their patients pursuant to Wickline v. State of California 192 Cal. App. 3d 1630. (b) It is the public policy of the State of Califor…

(a) The purpose of this section is to ensure that health care service plans and their contracting entities do not enter into contracts with physicians and surgeons or other licensed health care providers that interfere with any ethical responsibility or legal right of physicians …

(a) Nothing in this chapter prohibits service in the case of emergency, or the domestic administration of family remedies. (b) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit obtaining a blood specimen by skin puncture for the purpose of performing blood glucose testing fo…

Nothing in this chapter applies to any practitioner located outside this state, when in actual consultation, whether within this state or across state lines, with a licensed practitioner of this state, or when an invited guest of the California Medical Association or the Californ…

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as limiting the practice of other persons licensed, certified, or registered under any other provision of law relating to the healing arts when such person is engaged in his or her authorized and licensed practice.

Testing and guidance programs in schools, colleges, and universities and physical fitness tests given by public and private agencies in connection with employment or issuance or renewal of licenses or permits do not constitute the practice of medicine within the meaning or intent…

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed so as to discriminate against any particular school of medicine or surgery, school or college of podiatric medicine, or any other treatment, nor shall it regulate, prohibit, or apply to any kind of treatment by prayer, nor interfere in a…

(a) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent a regularly matriculated student undertaking a course of professional instruction in an approved medical school, or to prevent a foreign medical student who is enrolled in an approved medical school or clinical training pr…

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 2064 or any other provisions of this chapter, a regularly matriculated student undertaking a course of professional instruction in a medical school approved by the American Osteopathic Association or the Osteopathic Medical Board of Calif…

No medical school or clinical training program shall deny access to elective clerkships or preceptorships in any medical school or clinical training program in this state solely on the basis that a student is enrolled in an osteopathic medical school. Any violation of this sectio…

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, except as specified in subdivision (b), no student, including a person without lawful immigration status, a person who is exempt from nonresident tuition pursuant to Section 68130.5 of the Education Code, or a person who is both without lawful i…

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, except as specified in subdivision (b), no student, including a person without lawful immigration status, a person who is exempt from nonresident tuition pursuant to Section 68130.5 of the Education Code, or a person who is both without lawful i…

(a) Within 180 days after beginning a board-approved postgraduate training program pursuant to Section 2065, medical school graduates shall obtain a physician’s and surgeon’s postgraduate training license. To be considered for a postgraduate training license, the applicant shall …

Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 2064.5, the expiration date for any postgraduate training license that expires after June 1, 2023, and before December 31, 2023, shall be extended to March 31, 2024.

(a) The board may deny a postgraduate training license to an applicant guilty of unprofessional conduct or of any cause that would subject a licensee to revocation or suspension of his or her license. The board, in its sole discretion, may issue a probationary postgraduate traini…

(a) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 2064.7, the board may issue a postgraduate training license to an applicant who has committed minor violations that the board deems, in its discretion, do not merit the denial of a postgraduate training license or require probationar…

(a) Unless otherwise provided by law, a postgraduate training licensee, intern, resident, postdoctoral fellow, or instructor shall not engage in the practice of medicine, or receive compensation therefor, or offer to engage in the practice of medicine unless they hold a valid, un…