§ 37:624 — Causes for refusal to issue, suspension or revocation of licenses, permits, and

§624. Causes for refusal to issue, suspension or revocation of licenses, permits, and
certificates
A. The board may refuse to issue, suspend, or institute proceedings in any court of
competent jurisdiction to revoke any license, permit, or certificate issued under this Chapter
for any of the following causes:
(1) Conviction of a crime.
(2) Fraud, deceit, or perjury in obtaining a diploma or certificate.
(3) Habitual drunkenness.
(4) Habitual use of morphine, opium, cocaine, or other drugs having a similar effect.
(5) Refusing to submit to the examinations and inquiry of an examining committee
of physicians appointed or designated by the board to inquire into the podiatrist's physical
and mental fitness and ability to practice podiatric medicine with reasonable skill and safety
to patients.
(6) Providing false testimony before the board or providing false sworn information
to the board.
(7) Advertising any price, credit, terms, or agreement with reference to the practice
of podiatry.
(8) Prescribing, dispensing, or administering legally controlled substances or any
dependency-inducing medication without legitimate medical justification therefore or in
other than a legal or legitimate manner.
(9) Refusal of a licensing authority of another state to issue or renew a license,
permit, or certificate to practice podiatric medicine in that state or the revocation, suspension,
or other restriction imposed on a license, permit, or certificate issued by such licensing
authority which prevents or restricts practice in that state, or the surrender of a license,
permit, or certificate issued by another state when criminal or administrative charges are
pending or threatened against the holder of such license, permit, or certificate.
(10) Impersonation of another licensed practitioner.
(11) Incompetence.
(12) Violation of any rules and regulations of the board, or any provisions of this
Chapter.
(13) Employing solicitors or subsidizing agencies, or paying or presenting any person
money or any thing of value for the purpose of securing patients.
(14) Voluntary or involuntary commitment or interdiction by due process of law.
(15) Failure by a podiatrist to self-report in writing to the board any personal action
which constitutes a violation of this Chapter within thirty days of the occurrence.
(16) Maintaining an office or engaging in the practice of podiatry within the confines
of a physical or geographic location where business is carried on other than that of medicine,
podiatry, or related profession.
(17) Solicitation of patients or self-promotion through advertising or communication,
public or private, which is fraudulent, false, deceptive, or misleading.
(18) Making or submitting false, deceptive, or unfounded claims, reports, or opinions
to any patient, insurance company or indemnity association, company, individual, or
governmental authority for the purpose of obtaining any thing of economic value.
(19) Unprofessional conduct.
(20) Continuing or recurring podiatric practice which fails to satisfy the prevailing
and usually accepted standards of podiatric practice in this state.
(21) Immoral conduct in exercising the privileges provided for by license, permit,
or certificate issued pursuant to this Chapter.
(22) Gross, willful, and continued overcharging for professional services.
(23) Abandonment of a patient.
(24) Knowingly performing any act which, in any way, assists an unqualified person
to practice podiatry, or having professional connection with or lending one's name to an
illegal practitioner.
(25) Soliciting, accepting, or receiving any thing of economic value in return for and
based on the referral of patients to another person, firm, or corporation or in return for the
prescription of medications or medical devices.
(26) Persistent violation of federal or state laws relative to control of social diseases.
(27) Inability to practice podiatric medicine with reasonable skill or safety to patients
because of mental illness or deficiency; physical illness, including but not limited to
deterioration through the aging process or loss of motor skills; or excessive use or abuse of
drugs, including alcohol.
(28) Using the title of "Doctor" or "Dr." as a prefix to his name without using the
term of "Podiatrist" or the equivalent as a suffix to his name in connection with it.
B. The board may, in instances it deems proper, adopt rules and regulations
necessary to enable it to carry into effect the provisions of this Chapter. Such rules and
regulations shall be promulgated in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.
C. The board may, as a probationary condition, or as a condition of the reinstatement
of any license, permit, or certificate suspended or revoked hereunder, require the license,
permit, or certificate holder to pay all costs of the board proceedings, including investigators',
stenographers', and attorney fees, and to pay a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars.
D. Any license, permit, or certificate suspended, revoked, or otherwise restricted by
the board may be reinstated by the board.
E. The board's final decision in an adjudication proceeding conducted pursuant to
this Section, other than by consent order, agreement, or other informal disposition, shall
constitute a public record, and the board may disclose and provide such final decision to any
person, firm, or corporation, or to the public generally. The board's disposition of an
adjudication proceeding by consent order shall not constitute a public record, but the board
shall have authority and discretion to disclose such disposition.
F. No judicial order staying or enjoining the effectiveness or enforcement of a final
decision or order of the board in an adjudication proceeding, whether issued pursuant to R.S.
49:978.1(C) or otherwise, shall be effective, or be issued to be effective, beyond the earlier
of either:
(1) One hundred twenty days from the date on which the board's decision or order
was rendered.
(2) The date on which the court enters judgment in a proceeding for judicial review
of the board's decision or order issued pursuant to R.S. 49:978.1.
G. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no judicial order staying,
enjoining, or continuing an adjudication proceeding before, or a preliminary, procedural, or
intermediate decision, ruling, order, or action of, the board shall be effective or issued to be
effective, whether pursuant to R.S. 49:978.1 or otherwise, prior to the exhaustion of all
administrative remedies and issuance of a final decision or order by the board.
H. No order staying or enjoining a final decision or order of the board shall be issued
unless the district court finds that the applicant or petitioner has established that the issuance
of the stay does neither of the following:
(1) Threaten harm to other interested parties, including individuals for whom the
applicant or petitioner may render medical services.
(2) Constitute a threat to the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of this state.
I. No stay of a final decision or order of the board shall be granted ex parte. The
court shall schedule a hearing on a request for a stay order within ten days from filing of the
request. The court's decision to either grant or deny the stay order shall be rendered within
five days after the conclusion of the hearing.

Legislative History

Acts 1970, No. 585, §1; Acts 2007, No. 204, §1, eff. June 27, 2007.