(1) Unprofessional
conduct as used in this article 240 means:
(a) Resorting to fraud, misrepresentation, or deception in applying for,
securing, renewing, or seeking reinstatement of a license to practice medicine or a
license to practice as a physician assistant or an anesthesiologist assistant in this
state or any other state, in applying for professional liability coverage, required
pursuant to section 13-64-301, or privileges at a hospital, or in taking the
examination provided for in this article 240;
(b) Any conviction of an offense of moral turpitude, a felony, or a crime that
would constitute a violation of this article 240. For purposes of this subsection
(1)(b), conviction includes the entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or the
imposition of a deferred sentence.
(c) Administering, dispensing, or prescribing any habit-forming drug or any
controlled substance as defined in section 18-18-102 (5) other than in the course of
legitimate professional practice;
(d) Any conviction of violation of any federal or state law regulating the
possession, distribution, or use of any controlled substance, as defined in section
18-18-102 (5), and, in determining if a license should be denied, revoked, or
suspended, or if the licensee should be placed on probation, the board shall be
governed by sections 12-20-202 (5) and 24-5-101. For purposes of this subsection
(1)(d), conviction includes the entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or the
imposition of a deferred sentence.
(e) The use of a substance, including alcohol, an illicit drug, or a controlled
substance as defined in section 18-18-102 (5), which results in the inability to
practice with reasonable judgment, skill, or safety;
(f) The aiding or abetting, in the practice of medicine, of any person not
licensed to practice medicine as defined under this article 240 or of any person
whose license to practice medicine is suspended;
(g) (I) Except as otherwise provided in sections 12-240-138, 25-3-103.7, and
25-3-314, practicing medicine as the partner, agent, or employee of, or in joint
venture with, any person who does not hold a license to practice medicine within
this state, or practicing medicine as an employee of, or in joint venture with, any
partnership or association any of whose partners or associates do not hold a license
to practice medicine within this state, or practicing medicine as an employee of or in
joint venture with any corporation other than a professional service corporation for
the practice of medicine as described in section 12-240-138. Any licensee holding a
license to practice medicine in this state may accept employment from any person,
partnership, association, or corporation to examine and treat the employees of the
person, partnership, association, or corporation.
(II) (A) Nothing in this subsection (1)(g) shall be construed to permit a
professional service corporation for the practice of medicine, as described in
section 12-240-138, to practice medicine.
(B) Nothing in this subsection (1)(g) shall be construed to otherwise create an
exception to the corporate practice of medicine doctrine.
(h) Violating, or attempting to violate, directly or indirectly, or assisting in or
abetting the violation of or conspiring to violate any provision or term of this article
240 or an applicable provision of article 20 or 30 of this title 12;
(i) Failing to notify the board, as required by section 12-30-108 (1), of a
current physical illness, physical condition, or behavioral, mental health, or
substance use disorder that impairs the licensee's judgment or impacts the
licensee's ability to perform a medical service with reasonable skill and safety to
patients; failing to act within the limitations created by a current physical illness,
physical condition, or behavioral, mental health, or substance use disorder that
renders the licensee unable to perform a medical service with reasonable skill and
safety to the patient; or failing to comply with the limitations agreed to under a
confidential agreement entered into pursuant to sections 12-30-108 and 12-240-126. This subsection (1)(i) does not require the disclosure of a physical illness,
physical condition, or behavioral, mental health, or substance use disorder that no
longer impairs the licensee's judgment or impacts the licensee's ability to perform a
medical service with reasonable skill and safety to patients, as determined by a
peer health assistance program designated as a provider by the board.
(j) Any act or omission that fails to meet generally accepted standards of
medical practice;
(k) Engaging in a sexual act with a patient during the course of patient care
or within six months immediately following the termination of the licensee's
professional relationship with the patient. Sexual act, as used in this subsection
(1)(k), means sexual contact, sexual intrusion, or sexual penetration as defined in
section 18-3-401.
(l) Refusal of an attending physician to comply with the terms of a
declaration executed by a patient pursuant to the provisions of article 18 of title 15
and failure of the attending physician to transfer care of the patient to another
physician;
(m) (I) Violation of abuse of health insurance pursuant to section 18-13-119; or
(II) Advertising through newspapers, magazines, circulars, direct mail,
directories, radio, television, or otherwise that the licensee will perform any act
prohibited by section 18-13-119 (3);
(n) Violation of any valid board order or any rule promulgated by the board in
conformance with law;
(o) Dispensing, injecting, or prescribing an anabolic steroid, as defined in
section 18-18-102 (3), for the purpose of the hormonal manipulation that is intended
to increase muscle mass, strength, or weight without a medical necessity to do so
or for the intended purpose of improving performance in any form of exercise,
sport, or game;
(p) Dispensing or injecting an anabolic steroid, as defined in section 18-18-102 (3), unless the anabolic steroid is dispensed from a pharmacy prescription drug
outlet pursuant to a prescription order or is dispensed by any practitioner in the
course of the practitioner's professional practice;
(q) Prescribing, distributing, or giving to a family member or to oneself
except on an emergency basis any controlled substance as defined in section 18-18-204 or as contained in schedule II of 21 U.S.C. sec. 812, as amended;
(r) Failing to report to the board, within thirty days after an adverse action,
that an adverse action has been taken against the licensee by another licensing
agency in another state or country, a peer review body, a health-care institution, a
professional or medical society or association, a governmental agency, a law
enforcement agency, or a court for acts or conduct that would constitute grounds
for disciplinary or adverse action as described in this article 240;
(s) Failing to report to the board, within thirty days, the surrender of a license
or other authorization to practice medicine in another state or jurisdiction or the
surrender of membership on any medical staff or in any medical or professional
association or society while under investigation by any of those authorities or
bodies for acts or conduct similar to acts or conduct that would constitute grounds
for action as described in this article 240;
(t) Failing to accurately answer the questionnaire accompanying the renewal
form as required pursuant to section 12-240-130 (2);
(u) (I) Engaging in any of the following activities and practices: Willful and
repeated ordering or performance, without clinical justification, of demonstrably
unnecessary laboratory tests or studies; the administration, without clinical
justification, of treatment that is demonstrably unnecessary; the failure to obtain
consultations or perform referrals when failing to do so is not consistent with the
standard of care for the profession; or ordering or performing, without clinical
justification, any service, X ray, or treatment that is contrary to recognized
standards of the practice of medicine as interpreted by the board.
(II) In determining which activities and practices are not consistent with the
standard of care or are contrary to recognized standards of the practice of
medicine, the board shall utilize, in addition to its own expertise, the standards
developed by recognized and established accreditation or review organizations that
meet requirements established by the board by rule. The determinations shall
include but need not be limited to appropriate ordering of laboratory tests and
studies, appropriate ordering of diagnostic tests and studies, appropriate treatment
of the medical condition under review, appropriate use of consultations or referrals
in patient care, and appropriate creation and maintenance of patient records.
(v) Falsifying or repeatedly making incorrect essential entries or repeatedly
failing to make essential entries on patient records;
(w) Committing a fraudulent insurance act, as defined in section 10-1-128;
(x) Failing to establish and continuously maintain financial responsibility, as
required in section 13-64-301;
(y) Failing to respond in an honest, materially responsive, and timely manner
to a complaint issued pursuant to section 12-240-125 (4);
(z) Advertising in a manner that is misleading, deceptive, or false;
(aa) Any act or omission in the practice of telemedicine that fails to meet
generally accepted standards of medical practice;
(bb) Entering into or continuing in a mentorship relationship with an
advanced practice registered nurse or a certified midwife pursuant to sections 12-240-108 and 12-255-112 (4) that fails to meet generally acceptable standards of
medical practice;
(cc) Repealed.
(dd) Failure to comply with the requirements of section 14 of article XVIII of
the state constitution, section 25-1.5-106, or the rules promulgated by the state
health agency pursuant to section 25-1.5-106 (3);
(ee) Engaging in conversion therapy with a patient who is under eighteen
years of age;
(ff) (I) Any suspension of a license pursuant to section 24-4-104 (4) as a
result of a formal charge for a crime pursuant to title 18, or that under federal law
or the law of another state would constitute a crime under title 18, where the board
finds the crime is a continuing threat to patient safety.
(II) A suspension issued pursuant to subsection (1)(ff)(I) of this section may
be continued until dismissal, acquittal, or conviction of the charges. A hearing on
the suspension may not occur until after the dismissal, acquittal, or conviction of
such charge unless the licensee opts to proceed to a hearing regarding the
suspension.
(gg) Any conviction of an offense under section 18-13-131. For purposes of
this subsection (1)(gg), conviction includes the entry of a plea of guilty or nolo
contendere or the imposition of a deferred sentence.
(hh) On and after March 1, 2024, repeated or willful failure without
reasonable cause to comply with the requirements of completing a medical
certification for a certificate of death in accordance with any applicable deadline
set forth in section 25-2-110;
(ii) Failing, without reasonable cause, to comply with the continuing medical
education requirement established in section 12-240-130.5 or to provide the
required evidence of completion of continuing medical education credit hours in
response to an audit by the board pursuant to section 12-240-130.5 (8);
(jj) Negligently violating section 25-3-133.
(2) (a) A licensee shall not be subject to disciplinary action by the board
solely for prescribing controlled substances for the relief of intractable pain.
(b) For the purposes of this subsection (2), intractable pain means a pain
state in which the cause of the pain cannot be removed and for which in the
generally accepted course of medical practice no relief or cure of the cause of the
pain is possible or none has been found after reasonable efforts including, but not
limited to, evaluation by the attending physician and one or more physicians
specializing in the treatment of the area, system, or organ of the body perceived as
the source of the pain.
(3) A licensee is not subject to disciplinary action by the board for issuing
standing orders and protocols regarding the use of epinephrine auto-injectors in a
public or nonpublic school in accordance with the requirements of section 22-1-119.5, for the actions taken by a school nurse or by any designated school personnel
who administers epinephrine auto-injectors in accordance with the requirements of
section 22-1-119.5, or for prescribing epinephrine auto-injectors in accordance with
the requirements of article 47 of title 25.
(4) The discipline of a license to practice medicine, of a license to practice as
a physician assistant, or of a license to practice as an anesthesiologist assistant in
another state, territory, or country shall be deemed to be unprofessional conduct.
For purposes of this subsection (4), discipline includes any sanction required to be
reported pursuant to 45 CFR 60.8. This subsection (4) applies only to discipline that
is based upon an act or omission in the other state, territory, or country that is
defined substantially the same as unprofessional conduct pursuant to subsection
(1) of this section.
(5) (a) For purposes of this section, alternative medicine means those
health-care methods of diagnosis, treatment, or healing that are not generally used
but that provide a reasonable potential for therapeutic gain in a patient's medical
condition that is not outweighed by the risk of the methods. A licensee who
practices alternative medicine shall inform each patient in writing, during the initial
patient contact, of the licensee's education, experience, and credentials related to
the alternative medicine practiced by the licensee. The board shall not take
disciplinary action against a licensee solely on the grounds that the licensee
practices alternative medicine.
(b) Nothing in subsection (5)(a) of this section prevents disciplinary action
against a licensee for practicing medicine, practicing as a physician assistant, or
practicing as an anesthesiologist assistant in violation of this article 240.