§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.

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