225 ILCS 30/95

(225 ILCS 30/95) (from Ch. 111, par. 8401-95)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028)

Sec. 95. Grounds for discipline.

(1) The Department may refuse to issue or renew, or may revoke, suspend, place on probation, reprimand, or take other disciplinary or non-disciplinary action as the Department may deem appropriate, including imposing fines not to exceed $10,000 for each violation, with regard to any license or certificate for any one or combination of the following causes:

(a) Material misstatement in furnishing information to the Department.

(b) Violations of this Act or of rules adopted under this Act.

(c) Conviction by plea of guilty or nolo contendere, finding of guilt, jury verdict, or entry of judgment or by sentencing of any crime, including, but not limited to, convictions, preceding sentences of supervision, conditional discharge, or first offender probation, under the laws of any jurisdiction of the United States (i) that is a felony or (ii) that is a misdemeanor, an essential element of which is dishonesty, or that is directly related to the practice of the profession.

(d) Fraud or any misrepresentation in applying for or procuring a license under this Act or in connection with applying for renewal of a license under this Act.

(e) Professional incompetence or gross negligence.

(f) Malpractice.

(g) Aiding or assisting another person in violating any provision of this Act or its rules.

(h) Failing to provide information within 60 days in response to a written request made by the Department.

(i) Engaging in dishonorable, unethical or unprofessional conduct of a character likely to deceive, defraud, or harm the public.

(j) Habitual or excessive use or abuse of drugs defined in law as controlled substances, alcohol, or any other substance that results in the inability to practice with reasonable judgment, skill, or safety.

(k) Discipline by another state, the District of Columbia, territory, country, or governmental agency if at least one of the grounds for the discipline is the same or substantially equivalent to those set forth in this Act.

(l) Charging for professional services not rendered, including filing false statements for the collection of fees for which services are not rendered. Nothing in this paragraph (1) affects any bona fide independent contractor or employment arrangements among health care professionals, health facilities, health care providers, or other entities, except as otherwise prohibited by law. Any employment arrangements may include provisions for compensation, health insurance, pension, or other employment benefits for the provision of services within the scope of the licensee's practice under this Act. Nothing in this paragraph (1) shall be construed to require an employment arrangement to receive professional fees for services rendered.

(m) A finding by the Department that the licensee, after having his or her license placed on probationary status, has violated the terms of probation.

(n) Willfully making or filing false records or reports in his or her practice, including, but not limited to, false records filed with State agencies or departments.

(o) Allowing one's license under this Act to be used by an unlicensed person in violation of this Act.

(p) Practicing under a false or, except as provided by law, an assumed name.

(q) Gross and willful overcharging for professional services.

(r) (Blank).

(s) Willfully failing to report an instance of suspected child abuse or neglect as required by the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.

(t) Cheating on or attempting to subvert a licensing examination administered under this Act.

(u) Mental illness or disability that results in the inability to practice under this Act with reasonable judgment, skill, or safety.

(v) Physical illness, including, but not limited to, deterioration through the aging process or loss of motor skill that results in a licensee's inability to practice under this Act with reasonable judgment, skill, or safety.

(w) Advising an individual to discontinue, reduce, increase, or otherwise alter the intake of a drug prescribed by a physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches or by a prescriber as defined in Section 102 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act.

(2) The Department may refuse to issue or may suspend without hearing, as provided for in the Code of Civil Procedure, the license of any person who fails to file a return, or pay the tax, penalty, or interest shown in a filed return, or pay any final assessment of the tax, penalty, or interest as required by any tax Act administered by the Illinois Department of Revenue, until such time as the requirements of any such tax Act are satisfied in accordance with subsection (g) of Section 2105-15 of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois.

(3) (Blank).

(4) In cases where the Department of Healthcare and Family Services has previously determined a licensee or a potential licensee is more than 30 days delinquent in the payment of child support and has subsequently certified the delinquency to the Department, the Department may refuse to issue or renew or may revoke or suspend that person's license or may take other disciplinary action against that person based solely upon the certification of delinquency made by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services in accordance with item (5) of subsection (a) of Section 2105-15 of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois.

(5) The determination by a circuit court that a licensee is subject to involuntary admission or judicial admission, as provided in the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code, operates as an automatic suspension. The suspension shall end only upon a finding by a court that the patient is no longer subject to involuntary admission or judicial admission and the issuance of an order so finding and discharging the patient.

(6) In enforcing this Act, the Department, upon a showing of a possible violation, may compel an individual licensed to practice under this Act, or who has applied for licensure under this Act, to submit to a mental or physical examination, or both, as required by and at the expense of the Department. The Department may order the examining physician to present testimony concerning the mental or physical examination of the licensee or applicant. No information shall be excluded by reason of any common law or statutory privilege relating to communications between the licensee or applicant and the examining physician. The examining physicians shall be specifically designated by the Department. The individual to be examined may have, at his or her own expense, another physician of his or her choice present during all aspects of this examination. The examination shall be performed by a physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches. Failure of an individual to submit to a mental or physical examination, when directed, shall result in an automatic suspension without hearing.

A person holding a license under this Act or who has applied for a license under this Act who, because of a physical or mental illness or disability, including, but not limited to, deterioration through the aging process or loss of motor skill, is unable to practice the profession with reasonable judgment, skill, or safety, may be required by the Department to submit to care, counseling, or treatment by physicians approved or designated by the Department as a condition, term, or restriction for continued, reinstated, or renewed licensure to practice. Submission to care, counseling, or treatment as required by the Department shall not be considered discipline of a license. If the licensee refuses to enter into a care, counseling, or treatment agreement or fails to abide by the terms of the agreement, then the Department may file a complaint to revoke, suspend, or otherwise discipline the license of the individual. The Secretary may order the license suspended immediately, pending a hearing by the Department. Fines shall not be assessed in disciplinary actions involving physical or mental illness or impairment.

In instances in which the Secretary immediately suspends a person's license under this Section, a hearing on that person's license must be convened by the Department within 15 days after the suspension and completed without appreciable delay. The Department shall have the authority to review the subject individual's record of treatment and counseling regarding the impairment to the extent permitted by applicable federal statutes and regulations safeguarding the confidentiality of medical records.

An individual licensed under this Act and affected under this Section shall be afforded an opportunity to demonstrate to the Department that he or she can resume practice in compliance with acceptable and prevailing standards under the provisions of his or her license.

(Source: P.A. 100-872, eff. 8-14-18.)