Texas Administrative Code
Title 22 - EXAMINING BOARDS
Part 9 - TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD
Chapter 186 - RESPIRATORY CARE PRACTITIONERS
Section 186.22 - Impaired Respiratory Care Practitioners
Universal Citation: 22 TX Admin Code ยง 186.22
Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Mental or physical examination requirement.
(1) The advisory board may
require a practitioner/applicant to submit to a mental and/or physical
examination by a physician or physicians designated by the advisory board if
the advisory board has probable cause to believe that the
practitioner/applicant is impaired. Impairment is present if one appears to be
unable to practice with reasonable skill and safety to patients by reason of
age, illness, drunkenness, excessive use of drugs, narcotics, chemicals, or any
other type of material; or as a result of any mental or physical condition.
(2) Probable cause may include,
but is not limited to, any one of the following:
(A) sworn statements from two people, willing
to testify before the advisory board, the Medical Board, committees of those
boards, or the State Office of Administrative Hearings that a certain
practitioner/applicant is impaired;
(B) a sworn statement from an official
representative of the Texas Society for Respiratory Care stating that the
representative is willing to testify before the advisory board that a certain
practitioner/applicant is impaired;
(C) evidence that a practitioner/applicant
left a treatment program for alcohol or chemical dependency before completion
of that program;
(D) evidence that
a practitioner/applicant is guilty of intemperate use of drugs or alcohol;
(E) evidence of repeated arrests
of a practitioner/applicant for intoxication;
(F) evidence of recurring temporary
commitments of a practitioner/applicant to a mental institution;
(G) medical records indicating that a
practitioner/applicant has an illness or condition which results in the
inability to function properly in his or her practice; or
(H) actions or statements by a
practitioner/applicant at a hearing conducted by the advisory board or the
Medical Board that gives the advisory board or the Medical Board reason to
believe that the practitioner or applicant has an impairment.
(3) Upon presentation to the
Executive Director of probable cause, the advisory board authorizes the
Executive Director to write the practitioner/applicant requesting that the
practitioner/applicant submit to a physical or mental examination within 30
days of the receipt of the letter from the Executive Director. The letter shall
state the reasons for the request for the mental or physical examination, the
physician or physicians the Executive Director has approved to conduct such
examinations, and the date by which the examination and the results are to be
received by the advisory board.
(4) If the practitioner/applicant to whom a
letter requiring a mental or physical examination is sent refuses to submit to
the examination, the advisory board, through its Executive Director, shall
issue an order requiring the practitioner/applicant to show cause why the
practitioner/applicant should not be required to submit to the examination and
shall schedule a hearing on the order not later than the 30 days after the date
on which the notice of the hearing is provided to the practitioner. The
practitioner/applicant shall be notified by either personal service or
certified mail with return receipt requested.
(5) At the show cause hearing provided for in
paragraph (4) of this subsection, a panel of the advisory board's
representatives shall determine whether the practitioner/applicant shall submit
to an evaluation or that the matter shall be closed with no examination
required.
(A) At the hearing, the
practitioner/applicant and the practitioner/applicant's attorney, if any, are
entitled to present testimony and other evidence showing that the
practitioner/applicant should not be required to submit to the examination.
(B) If, after consideration of the
evidence presented at the show cause hearing, the panel determines that the
practitioner/applicant shall submit to an examination, the advisory board's
representatives shall, through its Executive Director, issue an order requiring
the examination within 60 days after the date of the entry of the order
requiring examination. A practitioner/applicant is entitled to cross-examine an
expert who offers testimony at hearing before the advisory board.
(C) If the panel determines that no such
examination is necessary, the panel will withdraw the request for examination.
(D) The results of any advisory
board-ordered mental or physical examination are confidential shall be
presented to the advisory board under seal for it to take whatever action is
deemed necessary and appropriate based on the results of the mental or physical
examination. A practitioner/applicant shall be provided the results of an
examination and given the opportunity to provide a response at least 30 days
before the advisory board takes action.
(6) In fulfilling its obligations under
§604.052(1)(H) of the
Act, the advisory board shall refer the practitioner /applicant to the most
appropriate medical specialist for evaluation. The advisory board may not
require a practitioner /applicant to submit to an examination by a physician
having a specialty specified by the advisory board unless medically indicated.
The advisory board may not require a practitioner /applicant to submit to an
examination to be conducted an unreasonable distance from the person's home or
place of business unless the practitioner /applicant resides and works in an
area in which there are a limited number of physicians able to perform an
appropriate examination.
(7) The
guidelines adopted under this subsection do not impair or remove the advisory
board's power to make an independent licensing or disciplinary decision unless
a temporary suspension is convened.
(b) Chapter 180 of this title (relating to Texas Physician Health Program and Rehabilitation Orders) shall be applied to respiratory care practitioners who are believed to be impaired and eligible for the Texas Physician Health Program.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Texas may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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