Title 5, Title 5 and Professions

An applicant for examination for a license to practice acupuncture and Chinese medicine or any branch of acupuncture and Chinese medicine shall: (1) Submit an application to the department on forms provided by the department; (2) Submit satisfactory evidence that the applicant is…

The department shall issue a license for the practice of acupuncture and Chinese medicine where the applicant meets the requirements of § 5-37.2-12.1 except as exempted.

(a) No person shall be licensed as a doctor of acupuncture or doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine unless the person has passed the examination by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine or a credentialing body approved by the department.…

The health department may, at its discretion, issue a license without examination to a doctor of acupuncture or doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine who has been licensed, certified, or formally legally recognized as an acupuncturist in any state or territory if the followi…

The health department shall establish, by regulation, mandatory continuing education requirements for a doctor of acupuncture and a doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine licensed in this state, including, but not limited to, the following: (1) Each person licensed under this…

(a) Any doctor of acupuncture validly licensed, certified, or registered under prior law of this state shall be deemed as licensed under the provisions of this chapter. (b) No doctor of acupuncture licensed under this subsection shall accept or perform professional responsibiliti…

(a) Every person holding a license authorizing the person to practice acupuncture and Chinese medicine in this state shall record the person’s license with the city or town hall in the city or town where his or her office and residence are located. Every licensee upon a change of…

The department may either refuse to issue or may suspend or revoke any license for any one or any combination of the following causes: (1) Conviction of a felony, or conviction of a violation of any state or federal law regulating the possession, distribution, or use of any contr…

The department shall not refuse to issue, refuse to renew, suspend, or revoke any license for any of the causes enumerated in § 5-37.2-15, unless the person accused has been given at least twenty (20) days’ notice, in writing, of the charge against him or her and a hearing by the…

This chapter does not prohibit: (1) Gratuitous services of druggists or other persons in cases of emergency; (2) The domestic administration of family remedies; or (3) Any person from assisting any person in the practice of the healing arts licensed under this chapter, except tha…

Doctors of acupuncture and Chinese medicine shall observe and be subject to all state and municipal regulations relative to reporting all births and deaths in all matters pertaining to the public health.

(a) No seminar concerning acupuncture and Chinese medicine may be conducted in this state except in accordance with regulations prescribed by the department for bona fide educational seminars. (b) Any person who violates subsection (a) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Unless the context otherwise requires, the words, phrases, and derivatives employed in this chapter have the meanings ascribed to them in this section: (1) “Acupuncture” means the insertion of needles into the human body for the purpose of regulating physiology. (2) “Acupuncture …

A person who represents himself or herself as a practitioner of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, or any branch of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, and who engages in the practice of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, or any branch of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, in this sta…

(a) The department may maintain in any court of competent jurisdiction a suit for an injunction against any person or persons practicing acupuncture and Chinese medicine, or any branch of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, without a license. (b) This injunction: (1) May be issued …

This chapter shall not be construed to prohibit a physician from practicing acupuncture as authorized under § 5-37-20.

The proceeds of any fees collected pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be deposited as general revenues.

When in any law, resolution, document, record, instrument, proceeding, or other place the words “Oriental medicine” as applied in this chapter appear, they shall be construed to mean “Chinese medicine”.

For the purpose of conducting its responsibilities under this chapter, the department shall: (1) Engage persons of established reputation and known ability in acupuncture or Chinese medicine as consultants to the department; the Rhode Island Society of Acupuncture, and any other …

(a) Unless licensed as a doctor of acupuncture or Chinese medicine under this chapter, or exempt from licensure under the provisions of this chapter, no person shall practice or hold himself or herself out as practicing, or engaging in the practice of, acupuncture and Chinese med…

(a) Upon application to the department prior to July 1, 1980, any person who has been an instructor in the art of acupuncture or Chinese medicine at a domestic or foreign college or university satisfactory to the department for a period of two (2) years and who has had at least t…

This chapter may be cited as the “Confidentiality of Health Care Information Act.”

Any agreement purporting to waive the provisions of this chapter is declared to be against public policy and void.

If any provision of this chapter is held by a court to be invalid, that invalidity shall not affect the remaining provisions of this chapter, and to this end the provisions of this chapter are declared severable.

(a) As used in this section: (1) “Confidential communications request” means a request by a insured individual or authorized representative covered under a health insurance policy that insurance communications containing confidential healthcare information be communicated to him …

The purpose of this chapter is to establish safeguards for maintaining the integrity of confidential healthcare information that relates to an individual.

As used in this chapter: (1) “Authorized representative” means: (i) A person empowered by the patient/client to assert or to waive the confidentiality, or to disclose or consent to the disclosure of confidential information, as established by this chapter. That person is not, exc…

(a)(1) Except as provided in subsection (b), or as specifically provided by the law, a patient’s confidential healthcare information shall not be released or transferred without the written consent of the patient, or his or her authorized representative, on a consent form meeting…

(a) Upon occurrence of an action or decision of any third party that adversely affects a patient and that is based in whole or in part upon that patient’s confidential healthcare information (including, but not limited to, the following actions or decisions: (1) Denial of an appl…

Notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter, healthcare providers shall, upon the written request of the patient, his or her authorized representative, or treating physician, transfer a copy of diagnostic test results to any subsequent healthcare provider.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), confidential healthcare communications shall not be subject to compulsory legal process in any type of judicial proceeding, and a patient or his or her authorized representative has the right to refuse to disclose, and to prevent a witnes…

(a) Except as provided in § 5-37.3-6, a healthcare provider or custodian of healthcare information may disclose confidential healthcare information in a judicial proceeding if the disclosure is pursuant to a subpoena and the provider or custodian is provided written certification…

Except as provided in § 5-37.3-6(b), confidential healthcare information and confidential healthcare communications are not subject to compulsory legal process in any legislative or administrative proceedings, and a patient or his or her authorized representative has the right to…

(a) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to interfere with the rights to confrontation and compulsory process secured to a defendant in a criminal prosecution pursuant to the state and federal constitutions. (b) This chapter shall not be construed to interfere with any fede…

(a) Notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter, healthcare providers may make confidential healthcare information available to medical peer-review boards without authorization. (b) Confidential healthcare information before a medical peer-review board shall remain strictly …

Whenever healthcare information subject to this chapter is relevant to a criminal proceeding and the patient to whom it pertains is incompetent due to a physical or mental incapacity and has no authorized representative, the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for the patient…

(a) Civil Penalties. Anyone who violates the provisions of this chapter may be held liable for actual and exemplary damages. (b) Criminal Penalties. Anyone who intentionally and knowingly violates the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than one t…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Intractable Pain Treatment Act.”

For purposes of this chapter: (1) “Chronic intractable pain” means pain that is: excruciating; constant; incurable, and of such severity that it dominates virtually every conscious moment; and/or produces mental and physical debilitation. A diagnosis and written documentation of …

(a) A practitioner may prescribe, administer, or dispense controlled substances not prohibited by law for a therapeutic purpose to a person diagnosed and treated by a practitioner for a condition resulting in intractable pain, if this diagnosis and treatment has been documented i…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Lyme Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Act.”

WHEREAS, The Governor’s Commission on Lyme Disease and Other Tick-Borne Diseases (the “Commission”) was formed by executive order in 2002; and WHEREAS, The General Assembly recognizes the negative impact of Lyme disease on Rhode Islanders; and WHEREAS, Rhode Island has the second…

For purposes of the chapter: (1) “Board” means the Rhode Island board of medical licensure and discipline. (2) “Long-term antibiotic therapy” means administration of oral, intramuscular, or intravenous antibiotics, singly or in combination, for periods of greater than four (4) we…

(a) A physician may prescribe, administer, or dispense antibiotic therapy for therapeutic purpose to a person diagnosed with and having symptoms of Lyme disease if this diagnosis and treatment plan has been documented in the physician’s medical record for that patient. No physici…

Every individual or group hospital or medical-expense insurance policy or individual or group hospital or medical-services plan contract delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in this state on or after January 1, 2004, shall provide for Lyme disease treatment as provided in c…

(a) Every physician, or his/her in-office designee, who orders a laboratory test for the presence of Lyme disease shall provide to the patient or his/her legal representative the following information: “ACCORDING TO THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, AS OF 2011 LYME …