Holistic medicine is rapidly gaining popularity throughout California for managing and treating a range of health conditions. Often, acupuncture alleviates patients’ conditions and has proven to be an effective alternative option for treating many illnesses and symptoms. As an acupuncturist practicing anywhere in California, you are required to comply with the strict professional standards that the California Acupuncture Board (CAB) outlines. Like other medical practitioners, the law expects you to attend to patients professionally and safely.
Due to the established strict rules and guidelines, acupuncturists always face the risk of official complaints. A complaint against you can quickly escalate into a disciplinary process and, ultimately, disciplinary action that can adversely impact your career. Fortunately, a skilled professional license defense attorney can help you before the situation worsens. At Los Angeles License Attorney, we can assist you in fighting any possible disciplinary actions or sanctions against you. Call us today to discuss your case.
What Is the California Acupuncture Board?
The CAB is the body responsible for regulating and overseeing acupuncture practice in California. This body was established to safeguard the health of the general public by ensuring high professional standards. Some of its crucial roles included licensing qualified acupuncturists, enforcing ethical standards, and setting educational requirements.
The board’s objectives are to ensure that only eligible persons practice acupuncture, enforce a strict code of ethics, and maintain high educational standards. To meet these objectives, the board implements various regulations and programs, including administering the California Acupuncture Licensing Examination (CALE), investigating complaints against acupuncturists, and setting continuing education requirements. By doing this, the board endeavors to promote effective and safe acupuncture practices statewide.
Consequently, the CAB’s role is not to help or defend acupuncturists. It exists to safeguard the public against substandard or unsafe practices, and it will impose disciplinary action on any practitioner it finds to have violated the law.
The Requirements for Securing an Acupuncture License in California
When you wish to be licensed as an acupuncturist in California, you must satisfy all the requirements outlined by the CAB and meet the qualifications set forth under the Acupuncture Licensure Act. The requirements for a professional license for acupuncturists in California are:
- You must be at least eighteen years old
- You must not have faced a denial per Division 1.5
- Prevail in the board-administered written exam, which tests an applicant’s knowledge, competency, and ability in acupuncture practice
- You must provide satisfactory evidence that you have completed any of these:
- Documented clinical experience and educational training that satisfies the standards established per Sections 4941 and 4939 of the Acupuncturist Act if you completed your training and education outside of the United States
- Satisfactorily completed a tutorial program in an acupuncturist’s practice as approved by the CAB
- An approved training and educational program
- You must have completed a board-approved clinical internship program
- You must have paid the initial licensing fee and any other necessary fees
Common Allegations Against Acupuncturists
The board might deny or grant admission contingent on all of the abovementioned requirements. Similarly, the board could also revoke, suspend, or impose probation conditions on your license if it finds you guilty of professional misconduct. Although no precise definition exists for professional misconduct, some examples as described under the law include the following:
- Using any regulated substance or alcohol to the point or in a way that is dangerous to you, another individual, or the public
- Using alcohol or any regulated substance to an extent that it impairs your ability to practice acupuncture safely
- Securing an acupuncturist certificate via deceit or fraud
- Conviction of an offense significantly connected to the functions, duties, and qualifications of an acupuncturist.
- Acting fraudulently or dishonestly, leading to injury to another
- Misleading, false, or improper advertising
- Gross violations of the California Health Code
- Incompetence, negligence, or gross negligence
- Impersonating another licensed acupuncturist or permitting someone else to use your license
- Aiding and abetting the unlicensed practice of acupuncture
- Abandoning a patient with no written notice, before they had a reasonable chance to find your replacement
- Falsifying or failing to keep adequate medical records
- Using harassment or threats against any licensee or patient
The Disciplinary Process
The CAB’s disciplinary process against a licensed or aspiring acupuncturist starts with the filing of an official complaint against them. Anyone can file an official complaint against an acupuncturist or license applicant. And since acupuncturists are held to a higher professional standard, even a seemingly minor allegation can result in the loss of your license.
When someone files a complaint against you, the CAB will review it and take one of two actions: dismiss it for lack of evidence or initiate an investigation when there is evidence. If it decides to proceed, it will send you a Notice of Investigation as it further reviews the allegations mentioned in the complaint. If you hire a lawyer early in the disciplinary process, they can intervene early enough in the investigations and assist you in presenting a defense strategy.
Based on the results of the outcome of the investigations, the board might decide to:
- Drop the case for lack of enough evidence
- Impose a lenient disciplinary action if the investigation reveals your violation was minor
- Send the case to the Office of the Attorney General for a formal action
If, during investigations, the board believes you pose a continuing danger to patients’ safety and health, it can issue an interim suspension order (ISO) against your license. This is an order that temporarily bars you from practicing until the investigation is over.
If your case is sent to the Office of the Attorney General, the Attorney General will file a formal Accusation against you if you are a license holder or a Statement of Issues if you are a license applicant and send you notice of the same. You must respond to this notice within 15 days of receipt by filing a Notice of Defense and Request for Discovery.
A Notice of Defense informs the board that you will contest the allegations against you and are officially requesting a hearing. It serves as an official denial of charges, preserving your right to defend your license against revocation or suspension. If you do not file a Notice of Defense within 15 days, the board will issue a default judgment, resulting in the automatic loss of your license.
Should the board proceed to send your case to the Attorney General’s Office, the initial step in protecting your professional license may entail a stipulated settlement. A stipulated settlement is an agreement between you and the board that solves your case without an official hearing. The settlement is legally binding, and to stipulate it, you must admit to committing the violations mentioned in the Accusation in return for a lesser disciplinary action like public reproval, probation, or fines rather than license revocation or suspension.
At this stage, your attorney will collect any evidence, contest the Accusation or Statement of Issues, and negotiate with the CAB. Should your lawyer succeed, you and the board will sign an agreement, and the board will terminate the complaint in accordance with the established terms. If you do not reach a stipulated settlement with the board, your case will proceed to an official administrative proceeding.
Should your case proceed, the Office of the Attorney General will schedule an administrative hearing. These hearings take place at the Offices of Administrative Hearings (OAH) and are presided over by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). During the proceedings, both you, through your lawyer, and the board, through the Deputy Attorney General, will present your cases. Both sides can call witnesses to testify, submit evidence, and make legal arguments.
Your lawyer will argue any exculpatory or mitigating evidence, contest the Accusation or Statement of Issues, and fight for the dismissal of the allegations against you. The ALJ will make the final decision at the end of the hearing.
If the ALJ finds you guilty, they will recommend to the board the disciplinary actions it can take against you. The board has the discretion to adopt the judge’s recommendations fully, modify them, or disregard them entirely and impose its own disciplinary actions.
Disciplinary Actions Against Acupuncturists
The CAB has the discretion to impose different disciplinary actions against an acupuncturist. Some of the disciplinary actions the board may impose against you if you are guilty of a violation include the following:
- Payment of administrative fines. This disciplinary action, although less severe, becomes a public record. The board publishes it on its website, and everyone can see for which violation you were disciplined.
- Letter of reprimand. This disciplinary action also leads to a public record, enabling prospective employers and patients to view it.
- License probation. This is when the board still allows you to practice acupuncture but subjects your license to certain conditions and restrictions.
- License suspension. A professional license suspension bars you from practicing acupuncture for a particular period specified by the board
- License revocation. A license revocation stops you from practicing for an indefinite period. This is a suspension of your license for an unspecified period
When deciding what disciplinary action to impose, the board considers various mitigating and aggravating factors present in the case. For example, they will consider circumstances such as:
- Whether you acknowledge your actions
- Whether you have any prior disciplinary actions
- The severity of the violation
- Steps you have taken to fix your mistakes, such as going to rehab
- Whether the victim suffered any injury
If you are unsatisfied with the ALJ’s ruling of your guilt, you can file an appeal. There are two timeframes for official filing: 15 days to file an appeal for a citation and 30 days to file an appeal for a final decision. Your lawyer will guide you on whether you should file an appeal and how the process works.
Petition to Reinstate License or Reduce Penalties
If the board has suspended or revoked your license and the appeal process has not worked, you still have an option. A suspended or revoked license does not necessarily mean you have been locked out of your career. After a particular period has passed, you are qualified to request the CAB to reinstate your license.
If you are sentenced to probation, you can generally ask the board to modify your probation terms and conditions or to terminate it early. Your lawyer can present mitigating factors and evidence of rehabilitation to the CAB, which can be convincing enough to make the board reinstate your sentence, terminate probation early, or modify the probation terms.
How a Criminal Charge or Conviction Can Impact Your Acupuncturist License
According to Section 490 of the California Business & Professions Code, the CAB can order a criminal court to restrict your professional license if you have a criminal charge pending against you. The criminal accusations, be they a felony or a misdemeanor, must be significantly related to your functions, duties, and qualifications as an acupuncturist, although other crimes that are not related may also land you in trouble. Some of the crimes the CAB considers may or do substantially impact the practice of acupuncture points, including the following:
- Domestic violence crimes, including corporal injury upon a spouse and domestic battery
- Petty theft or grand theft
- Sexual battery
- Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Insurance fraud
- Simple drug possession
- Drug possession for sale
- Insurance fraud
- Embezzlement
The board may order that the criminal court impose any of the following:
- A professional license restriction as a bail condition
- An interim suspension of the license until the resolution of your case
- A license restriction as a condition during sentencing
Note that you can be subject to discipline even if you committed the crime outside of work, provided the offense is significantly related to the duties, qualifications, and functions of an acupuncturist.
Find an Experienced Healthcare License Defense Attorney Near Me
Disciplinary action against your acupuncturist license can adversely affect your career, livelihood, and reputation. You want to consult a skilled healthcare professional license defense lawyer as soon as you learn there is a complaint or investigation against you. When you do so, you will have someone knowledgeable of these matters who knows how to guide and help you navigate the disciplinary process.
At Los Angeles License Defense Attorney, we are experts in defending healthcare professional licenses, including acupuncture licenses, against a wide range of allegations. If you have been accused of any form of professional misconduct or criminal offense, or your license faces any issue that could lead to revocation or suspension, do not hesitate to come to us for legal assistance. Call us at 424-554-1140 for a free consultation.
