SF 1377

as introduced - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to health; providing for specialty licensure 
  1.3             for dentists and requiring malpractice insurance; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 150A.06, 
  1.5             subdivision 1c; 150A.08, subdivision 1. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 150A.06, 
  1.8   subdivision 1c, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 1c.  [SPECIALTY DENTISTS.] (a) The board may grant a 
  1.10  specialty license in the following specialty areas of dentistry: 
  1.11     (1) endodontics; 
  1.12     (2) oral and maxillofacial surgery; 
  1.13     (3) oral pathology; 
  1.14     (4) orthodontics; 
  1.15     (5) pediatric dentistry; 
  1.16     (6) periodontics; 
  1.17     (7) prosthodontics; and 
  1.18     (8) public health. 
  1.19     (b) Notwithstanding section 147.081, subdivision 3, a 
  1.20  person practicing in the specialty area of oral and 
  1.21  maxillofacial surgery must either be licensed by the board under 
  1.22  subdivision 1, or have a specialty license in the oral and 
  1.23  maxillofacial surgery specialty area.  Notwithstanding paragraph 
  1.24  (c), an oral and maxillofacial surgery specialty license may be 
  1.25  issued to a person not licensed under subdivision 1 that are 
  2.1   recognized by the American Dental Association.  
  2.2      (c) (b) An applicant for a specialty license shall: 
  2.3      (1) have successfully completed an advanced education 
  2.4   program approved by the commission on accreditation in one of 
  2.5   the specialty areas; 
  2.6      (2) or have announced a limitation of practice before 1967; 
  2.7   or 
  2.8      (3) (2)(i) have been certified by a specialty examining 
  2.9   board approved by the board of dentistry; 
  2.10     (ii) provide evidence of having passed a clinical exam for 
  2.11  licensure in another state or Canadian province; or 
  2.12     (iii) in the case of oral and maxillofacial surgeons only, 
  2.13  hold a Minnesota medical license in good standing; 
  2.14     (3) have for at least 2,000 hours in the last 36 months 
  2.15  prior to the date of application been in active practice or in 
  2.16  an accredited specialty training program in the United States, 
  2.17  Canada, or in the United State government service; 
  2.18     (4) undergo an evaluation process that includes an 
  2.19  interview by a committee of the board in which the candidate 
  2.20  must satisfactorily respond to questions designed to determine 
  2.21  the applicant's knowledge of dental subjects and ability to 
  2.22  practice and which may include review of patient records and may 
  2.23  include the assistance of specialists in the evaluation process; 
  2.24     (5) at the board's discretion, pass a board-approved 
  2.25  English proficiency test if English is not the applicant's 
  2.26  primary language; 
  2.27     (6) pass parts I and II of the National Dental Board 
  2.28  Examinations; 
  2.29     (7) pass the Minnesota board of dentistry jurisprudence 
  2.30  exam; and 
  2.31     (8) meet all other requirements prescribed by the board.  
  2.32     The board shall also require the applicant to be licensed 
  2.33  under subdivision 1 or have an equivalent license in another 
  2.34  state as determined by the board, meet all other requirements 
  2.35  prescribed by the board, and pay a nonrefundable fee set by the 
  2.36  board. 
  3.1      (c) The application must include: 
  3.2      (1) a completed application furnished by the board; 
  3.3      (2) at least two character references from dentists, one of 
  3.4   whom shall be from a dentist practicing in the same specialty 
  3.5   area, and the other from the director of the specialty program 
  3.6   attended; 
  3.7      (3) a licensed physician's statement attesting to the 
  3.8   applicant's physical and mental condition; 
  3.9      (4) a statement from a licensed ophthalmologist or 
  3.10  optometrist attesting to the applicant's visual acuity; 
  3.11     (5) a fee as prescribed in Minnesota Rules, part 3100.2000, 
  3.12  subpart 3; 
  3.13     (6) a notarized, unmounted, passport-type photograph, three 
  3.14  inches by three inches, taken not more than six months before 
  3.15  the date of application; and 
  3.16     (7) if requested by the board, complete records on a sample 
  3.17  of patients treated by the applicant.  The number of records 
  3.18  requested shall be established by the board.  The sample must be 
  3.19  drawn from patients treated by the applicant during the 36 
  3.20  months preceding the date of application, and shall be 
  3.21  reasonably representative of the treatment typically provided by 
  3.22  the applicant. 
  3.23     (d) A dentist with an equivalent license in another state 
  3.24  and a Minnesota specialty license in Minnesota is limited in 
  3.25  Minnesota to practicing only in the dentist's specialty license 
  3.26  area as defined by the board. 
  3.27     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 150A.08, 
  3.28  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  3.29     Subdivision 1.  [GROUNDS.] The board may refuse or by order 
  3.30  suspend or revoke, limit or modify by imposing conditions it 
  3.31  deems necessary, any license to practice dentistry or dental 
  3.32  hygiene or the registration of any dental assistant upon any of 
  3.33  the following grounds: 
  3.34     (1) Fraud or deception in connection with the practice of 
  3.35  dentistry or the securing of a license or annual registration 
  3.36  certificate; 
  4.1      (2) Conviction, including a finding or verdict of guilt, an 
  4.2   admission of guilt, or a no contest plea, in any court of a 
  4.3   felony or gross misdemeanor reasonably related to the practice 
  4.4   of dentistry as evidenced by a certified copy of the conviction; 
  4.5      (3) Conviction, including a finding or verdict of guilt, an 
  4.6   admission of guilt, or a no contest plea, in any court of an 
  4.7   offense involving moral turpitude as evidenced by a certified 
  4.8   copy of the conviction; 
  4.9      (4) Habitual overindulgence in the use of intoxicating 
  4.10  liquors; 
  4.11     (5) Improper or unauthorized prescription, dispensing, 
  4.12  administering, or personal or other use of any legend drug as 
  4.13  defined in chapter 151, of any chemical as defined in chapter 
  4.14  151, or of any controlled substance as defined in chapter 152; 
  4.15     (6) Conduct unbecoming a person licensed to practice 
  4.16  dentistry or dental hygiene or registered as a dental assistant, 
  4.17  or conduct contrary to the best interest of the public, as such 
  4.18  conduct is defined by the rules of the board; 
  4.19     (7) Gross immorality; 
  4.20     (8) Any physical, mental, emotional, or other disability 
  4.21  which adversely affects a dentist's, dental hygienist's, or 
  4.22  registered dental assistant's ability to perform the service for 
  4.23  which the person is licensed or registered; 
  4.24     (9) Revocation or suspension of a license, registration, or 
  4.25  equivalent authority to practice, or other disciplinary action 
  4.26  or denial of a license or registration application taken by a 
  4.27  licensing, registering, or credentialing authority of another 
  4.28  state, territory, or country as evidenced by a certified copy of 
  4.29  the licensing authority's order, if the disciplinary action or 
  4.30  application denial was based on facts that would provide a basis 
  4.31  for disciplinary action under this chapter and if the action was 
  4.32  taken only after affording the credentialed person or applicant 
  4.33  notice and opportunity to refute the allegations or pursuant to 
  4.34  stipulation or other agreement; 
  4.35     (10) Failure to maintain adequate safety and sanitary 
  4.36  conditions for a dental office in accordance with the standards 
  5.1   established by the rules of the board; 
  5.2      (11) Failure to maintain malpractice insurance related to 
  5.3   the practice of dentistry; 
  5.4      (12) Employing, assisting, or enabling in any manner an 
  5.5   unlicensed person to practice dentistry; 
  5.6      (12) (13) Failure or refusal to attend, testify, and 
  5.7   produce records as directed by the board under subdivision 7; 
  5.8      (13) (14) Violation of, or failure to comply with, any 
  5.9   other provisions of sections 150A.01 to 150A.12, the rules of 
  5.10  the board of dentistry, or any disciplinary order issued by the 
  5.11  board, section 144.335 or 595.02, subdivision 1, paragraph (d), 
  5.12  or for any other just cause related to the practice of 
  5.13  dentistry.  Suspension, revocation, modification or limitation 
  5.14  of any license shall not be based upon any judgment as to 
  5.15  therapeutic or monetary value of any individual drug prescribed 
  5.16  or any individual treatment rendered, but only upon a repeated 
  5.17  pattern of conduct; 
  5.18     (14) (15) Knowingly providing false or misleading 
  5.19  information that is directly related to the care of that patient 
  5.20  unless done for an accepted therapeutic purpose such as the 
  5.21  administration of a placebo; or 
  5.22     (15) (16) Aiding suicide or aiding attempted suicide in 
  5.23  violation of section 609.215 as established by any of the 
  5.24  following:  
  5.25     (i) a copy of the record of criminal conviction or plea of 
  5.26  guilty for a felony in violation of section 609.215, subdivision 
  5.27  1 or 2; 
  5.28     (ii) a copy of the record of a judgment of contempt of 
  5.29  court for violating an injunction issued under section 609.215, 
  5.30  subdivision 4; 
  5.31     (iii) a copy of the record of a judgment assessing damages 
  5.32  under section 609.215, subdivision 5; or 
  5.33     (iv) a finding by the board that the person violated 
  5.34  section 609.215, subdivision 1 or 2.  The board shall 
  5.35  investigate any complaint of a violation of section 609.215, 
  5.36  subdivision 1 or 2.