(225 ILCS 30/10) (from Ch. 111, par. 8401-10)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028)
Sec. 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics" means the autonomous accrediting agency for education programs that prepares students to begin careers as registered dietitian nutritionists or registered nutrition and dietetics technicians. "Address of record" means the designated address recorded by the Department in the applicant's or licensee's application
file or license file as maintained by the Department's licensure maintenance unit. "Board" means the Dietitian Nutritionist Practice Board
appointed by the Secretary.
"Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists" means the certifying board that credentials certified nutrition specialists. "Certified clinical nutritionist" means an individual certified by the Clinical Nutrition Certification Board. "Certified nutrition specialist" means an individual credentialed by the Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists that authorizes the individual to use the title "certified nutrition specialist" and the abbreviation "C.N.S.". "Commission on Dietetic Registration" means the credentialing agency for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. "Department" means the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
"Dietetics" means the integration, application, and communication of practice principles derived from the sciences of food, nutrition, social, business, and basic sciences to achieve and maintain the optimal nutrition status of individuals and groups.
"Diplomate of the American Clinical Board of Nutrition" means an individual credentialed by the American Clinical Board of Nutrition who is authorized to use the title "Diplomate of the American Clinical Board of Nutrition" and the abbreviation "DACBN".
"Email address of record" means the designated email address recorded by the Department in the applicant's application file or the licensee's license file, as maintained by the Department's licensure maintenance unit. "General nonmedical nutrition information" includes, but is not limited to, information on any of the following: (1) principles of good nutrition and food |
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(2) essential nutrients needed by the human body;
(3) actions of nutrients in the human body;
(4) nonindividualized effects of deficiencies or
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| excesses of nutrients in the human body;
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(5) foods, herbs, and dietary supplements that are
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| good sources of essential nutrients in the human body or otherwise useful to maintain good health; or
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(6) principles of self-care and healthy relationships
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"Health care professional" means a physician licensed under the Medical Practice Act of 1987, an advanced practice registered nurse licensed under the Nurse Practice Act, or a physician assistant licensed under the Physician Assistant Practice Act of 1987.
"Independent private practice of medical nutrition therapy" means the application of dietetics and nutrition knowledge and skills by an individual who regulates and is responsible for the nutritionist's own practice or treatment procedures.
"Licensed dietitian nutritionist" means a person licensed under this Act to
practice dietetics and nutrition, including the provision of medical nutrition therapy, as defined in this Section.
Activities of a licensed dietitian nutritionist do not include performing medical
diagnosis of human ailments or conditions of an individual.
"Medical nutrition therapy" means nutrition care services provided for the treatment or management of a disease or medical condition. "Medical nutrition therapy" includes the provision of any part or all of the following services, with notification to the patient's physician and appropriate record retention, or pursuant to the protocols, policies, or procedures of a health care facility, as defined in Section 3 of the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act:
(1) interpreting anthropometric, biochemical,
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| clinical, and dietary data in acute and chronic disease states and recommending and ordering nutrient needs based on the dietary data, including, but not limited to, enteral and parenteral nutrition;
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(2) food and nutrition counseling, including
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| counseling regarding prescription drug interactions;
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(3) developing and managing food service operations
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| with functions in nutrition care, including operations connected with healthcare facilities, implicated in the ordering, preparation, or serving of therapeutic diets, or otherwise utilized in the management or treatment of disease or medical conditions; and
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(4) medical weight control.
"Medical weight control" means medical nutrition therapy for the purpose of reducing, maintaining, or gaining weight.
"Nonmedical weight control" means nutrition care services for the purpose of reducing, maintaining, or gaining weight that do not constitute the treatment of a disease or medical condition. "Nonmedical weight control" includes weight control services for healthy population groups to achieve or maintain a healthy weight.
"Nutrition assessment" means the systematic process of obtaining, verifying, and interpreting biochemical, anthropometric, physical, nutrigenomic, and dietary data in order to make decisions about the nature and cause of nutrition-related problems, including an ongoing, dynamic process that: (i) involves an initial data collection and a reassessment and analysis of client or community needs; and (ii) provides the foundation for identifying and labeling problems and making nutritional recommendations and ordering nutritional interventions, including enteral and parenteral nutrition.
"Nutrition care services" means any part of the following services provided within a systematic process:
(1) assessing and evaluating the nutritional needs of
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| individuals and groups and determining resources and constraints in the practice setting;
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(2) ordering nutrition-related laboratory tests in
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| accordance with State law to check and track nutrition status and monitor effectiveness of nutrition interventions, dietary plans, and orders;
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(3) establishing priorities, goals, and objectives
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| that meet an individual's nutritional needs and are consistent with available resources and constraints;
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(4) providing nutrition counseling in health and
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(5) developing, implementing, and managing nutrition
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| care systems and food service operations;
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(6) evaluating, making changes in, and maintaining
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| appropriate standards of quality in food and nutrition services; and
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(7) recommending, ordering, and providing therapeutic
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"Nutrition counseling" means a supportive process, characterized by a collaborative counselor-patient or counselor-client relationship with individuals or groups, to establish food and nutrition priorities, goals, and individualized action plans and general physical activity guidance that acknowledge and foster responsibility for self-care to treat an existing condition or to promote health.
"Nutrition intervention" means the purposefully planned actions and counseling intended to positively change a nutrition-related behavior, risk factor, environmental condition, or aspect of the health status for an individual, target groups, or the community at large.
"Nutrition monitoring and evaluation" means identifying patient or client outcomes relevant to the patient's or client's identified and labeled nutritional problems and comparing the outcomes with the patient's or client's previous health status, intervention goals, or reference standards to determine the progress made in achieving desired outcomes of nutrition care and whether planned nutrition interventions should be continued or revised.
"Patient" means an individual recipient of medical nutrition therapy, whether in the outpatient, inpatient, or nonclinical setting.
"Practice experience" means a preprofessional, documented, supervised
experience obtained by a supervisee in the practice of dietetics and nutrition and the provision of medical nutrition therapy that is acceptable to the
Department as compliance with requirements for licensure, as specified in Section
45. It includes a planned, continuous, and documented, supervised
practice experience obtained under the supervision of a qualified supervisor, as defined in this Section, which is a component of the educational requirements
for licensure, as specified in Section 45.
"Qualified supervisor" means:
(1) When supervising the provision of medical
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| nutrition therapy by a supervisee, an individual who is:
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(A) a registered dietitian nutritionist or a
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| certified nutrition specialist;
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(B) a licensed dietitian nutritionist licensed
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(C) a health care professional licensed under the
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| laws of the State, including a licensed or certified dietitian nutritionist, who acts under the licensed scope of practice.
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(2) When supervising the provision of nutrition care
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| services not constituting medical nutrition therapy by a supervisee, an individual who either meets the requirements of paragraph (1) or all of the following requirements:
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(A) has been regularly employed or self-employed
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| in the field of clinical nutrition for at least 3 of the last 5 years immediately preceding commencement of the applicant's supervised practice experience; and
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(B) holds a doctoral degree with a major course
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| of study in dietetics, human nutrition, foods and nutrition, community nutrition, public health nutrition, nutrition education, nutrition, nutrition science, clinical nutrition, applied clinical nutrition, nutrition counseling, nutrition and functional medicine, nutritional biochemistry, nutrition and integrative health, or an equivalent course of study as recommended by the Board and approved by the Department conferred by either:
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(i) a United States regionally accredited
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| college or university accredited at the time of graduation from the appropriate regional accrediting agency recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation and the United States Department of Education; or
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(ii) an institution outside the United States
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| and its territories with the supervisor's doctoral degree validated as equivalent to the doctoral degree conferred by a United States regionally accredited college or university as recommended by the Board and approved by the Department.
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A "qualified supervisor" under paragraph (1) shall be licensed in the State if supervising a supervisee providing medical nutrition therapy to an individual in the State.
"Registered dietitian" or "registered dietitian nutritionist" means an individual who is credentialed as a registered dietitian or registered dietitian nutritionist by the Commission
on Dietetic Registration, the accrediting body of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, or its successor organization, and is authorized to use the titles "registered dietitian nutritionist" and "registered dietitian" and the corresponding abbreviations "RDN" and "RD".
"Secretary" means the Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation or a person authorized by the Secretary to act in the Secretary's stead.
"Telehealth" or "telepractice" means the delivery of services under this Act by using electronic communication, information technologies, or other means between an individual licensed under this Act in one location and a patient or client in another location, with or without an intervening healthcare provider. "Telehealth" or "telepractice" includes direct, interactive patient encounters, asynchronous store-and-forward technologies, and remote monitoring. Telehealth or telepractice is not prohibited under this Act provided that the provision of telehealth or telepractice services is appropriate for the client and the level of care provided meets the required level of care for that client. Individuals providing services regulated by this Act via telepractice shall comply with and are subject to all licensing and disciplinary provisions of this Act.
"Therapeutic diet" means a nutrition intervention prescribed by a health care professional or other authorized practitioner that provides food or nutrients via oral, enteral, and parenteral routes as part of treatment of disease or clinical conditions to modify, eliminate, decrease, or increase identified micronutrients and macronutrients in the diet, or to provide mechanically altered food when indicated.
(Source: P.A. 102-945, eff. 1-1-23.)
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(225 ILCS 30/17) (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028) Sec. 17. Other activities subject to licensure under this Act. (a) A licensed dietitian nutritionist may order patient or resident diets, including therapeutic diets, in accordance with the following: (1) Enteral and parenteral nutrition therapy shall |
| consist of enteral feedings or specialized intravenous solutions and shall only be performed by an individual licensed under this Act who:
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(a) is a registered dietitian or registered
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| dietitian nutritionist currently registered with the Commission on Dietetic Registration;
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(b) is a certified nutrition support clinician as
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| currently credentialed by the National Board of Nutrition Support Certification; or
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(c) meets the requirements set forth in rules
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| that the Department may establish as necessary to implement this Section to be consistent with competencies necessary for evaluating, ordering, and administrating enteral and parenteral nutrition therapies.
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(2) Notification to the patient's physician and
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| appropriate record retention, or pursuant to the protocols, policies, or procedures of a health care facility, as defined in the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act, in which the services are provided.
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(b) Developing and managing food service operations whose chief function is nutrition care or that are otherwise utilized in the management or treatment of diseases or medical conditions shall only be performed by an individual licensed under this Act with competencies in the management of health care food service.
(c) A licensed dietitian nutritionist may order oral therapeutic diets.
(d) A licensed dietitian nutritionist shall provide nutrition care services using systematic, evidence-based problem solving methods of the nutrition care process to critically think and make decisions to address nutrition-related problems and provide safe, effective, and quality nutrition services, including medical nutrition therapy, for individuals in clinical and community settings.
(Source: P.A. 102-945, eff. 1-1-23.)
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(225 ILCS 30/20) (from Ch. 111, par. 8401-20)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028)
Sec. 20. Exemptions. This Act does not prohibit or restrict:
(a) Any person licensed in this State under any other Act from engaging
in the practice for which he or she is licensed as long as the person does not hold oneself out as qualified, able, or licensed to provide medical nutrition therapy or use a title in connection with the person's name whose use is restricted to individuals licensed under this Act, as specified in Section 80.
(b) Any person from providing medical nutrition therapy if that person is
employed by
the United States or State government or any of its bureaus, divisions, departments, or
agencies
while in the discharge of the employee's official duties.
(c) The distribution of general nonmedical nutrition information by a person employed as a
cooperative extension home economist, to the extent the activities are part
of his or her employment.
(d) The provision of medical nutrition therapy by a person pursuing
a course of study leading to a degree in dietetics, nutrition, or an equivalent
major from a United States regionally accredited school or
program, but only if all of the following apply if: (i) the activities and services constitute a part of a supervised
course of study; (ii) the person does not engage in the independent private practice of medical nutrition therapy; (iii) the person is appropriately supervised by a qualified supervisor who agrees to assume full professional responsibility for the work of the individual by verifying, directing, and authorizing the work; and (iv) and the person is designated by a title that clearly
indicates the person's status as a student, trainee, or supervisee.
(e) (Blank).
(e-5) The activities and services of an individual seeking to fulfill post-degree supervised practice experience requirements in order to qualify for licensing as a licensed dietitian nutritionist under this Act, so long as the individual is not engaged in the independent private practice of medical nutrition therapy and is in compliance with all applicable regulations regarding supervision, including, but not limited to, the requirement that the supervised practice experience must be under the order, control, and full professional responsibility of the individual's supervisor and the individual is designated by a title that clearly indicates the person's status as a student, trainee, or supervisee. The Department may, by rule, adopt further limitations on individuals practicing under this subsection. (f) A person, including a licensed acupuncturist, from: (1) providing verbal nutrition information as an |
| operator or employee of a health food store or business that sells health products, including dietary supplements, food, herbs, or food materials; or
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(2) disseminating written general nonmedical
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| nutrition information in connection with the marketing and distribution of those products, or discussing the use of those products, both individually and as components of nutritional programs, including explanations of their federally regulated label claims, any known drug-nutrient interactions, their role in various nonindividualized diets, or suggestions as how to best use and combine them.
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(g) The practice of dietetics and nutrition services by an educator who is in the
employ of a nonprofit organization; a federal,
state, county, or municipal agency, or other political subdivision; an
elementary or secondary school; or a regionally accredited institution of
higher education, as long as the activities and services of the educator are
part of his or her employment.
(h) (Blank).
(h-5) An individual providing medical weight control services for individuals with prediabetes or obesity if:
(1) under a program of instruction approved in
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| writing by, consultation is available from, and no program change can be initiated without prior approval by one of the following: a dietitian nutritionist licensed in this State; or a State-licensed health care professional lawfully practicing within the scope of a license granted by the State to provide the scope of the individual's licensed profession and consistent with accepted professional standards for providing nutrition care services to treat or manage the disease or medical condition for which medical weight control is being provided; or
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(2) as part of a plan of care overseen and delegated
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| by a State-licensed health care professional lawfully practicing within the scope of a license granted by the State to provide acting within the scope of the individual's licensed profession and consistent with accepted professional standards for providing nutrition care services to treat or manage the disease or medical condition for which medical weight control is being provided.
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(i) The practice of dietetics and nutrition services for the limited purpose of education and research by any person with a
masters or doctorate degree with a major in nutrition or equivalent from a
regionally accredited school recognized by the Department.
(j) A person from providing general nonmedical nutrition information, nutrition recommendations for prevention and wellness, health coaching, holistic and wellness education, guidance, motivation, behavior change management, nonmedical weight control, or other nutrition care services provided that any such services do not constitute medical nutrition therapy and as long as the person does not hold oneself out as qualified, able, or licensed to provide medical nutrition therapy or use a title in connection with the individual's name whose use is restricted to individuals licensed under this Act, as specified in Section 80.
(k) The provision of nutrition care services by a nutrition and dietetic technician or a graduate of a 2 year
associate program or a 4 year baccalaureate program from a school or
program accredited at the time of graduation by the appropriate
accrediting agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation
and the United States Department of Education with a major course of study in human
nutrition, food and nutrition or its equivalent, as authorized by the
Department, who is directly supervised by an individual licensed under this
Act.
(l) Providing nutrition information as an employee of a nursing
facility operated exclusively by and for those relying upon spiritual means
through prayer alone for healing in accordance with the tenets and
practices of a recognized church or religious denomination.
(m) A dietary technical support person working in a hospital setting or a regulated Department of Public Health, Department of Human Services, or Department on Aging facility or program who has been trained and is supervised while engaged in the practice of dietetics and nutrition by a licensed dietitian nutritionist in accordance with this Act and whose services are retained by that facility or program on a full-time or regular, ongoing consultant basis.
(n) The provision of nutrition care services without remuneration to family members.
(o) The practice of dietetics and nutrition for a period not exceeding 6 months by a person who is in the State on a temporary basis to assist in a case of public health emergency and who meets the qualifications for a licensed dietitian nutritionist as set forth in Section 45 and is licensed in another state as a provider of medical nutrition therapy.
The provisions of this Act shall not be construed to prohibit
or limit any person from the free dissemination of information, from
conducting a class or seminar, or from giving a speech related to nutrition
if that person does not hold himself or herself out as a licensed dietitian nutritionist
in a manner prohibited by Section 15.
Nothing in this Section shall be construed to permit a student, trainee, or supervisee to offer the student's, trainee's, or supervisee's services as a dietitian or nutritionist to any other person, other than as specifically excepted in this Section, unless the student, trainee, or supervisee is licensed under this Act.
The provisions of this Act shall not be construed to prohibit or limit any physician licensed under the Medical Practice Act of 1987 from practicing or delegating nutrition-related therapies and procedures by consultation, by organization policy, or by contract to an appropriately trained, qualified, and supervised individual licensed under this Act.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the ability of any other licensed health care professional in this State to order therapeutic diets if the ordering of therapeutic diets falls within the scope of the licensee's license.
(Source: P.A. 102-945, eff. 1-1-23.)
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(225 ILCS 30/45) (from Ch. 111, par. 8401-45)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028)
Sec. 45. Dietitian nutritionist; qualifications. A person who meets all of the following requirements is
qualified to receive a license as a dietitian nutritionist:
(a) has applied in writing in form and substance |
| acceptable to the Department and submits proof of completion of all of the following educational, supervised practice experience, and examination requirements;
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(a-5) possesses a baccalaureate degree or post
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| baccalaureate degree with a major course of study in human nutrition, foods and nutrition, dietetics, food systems management, nutrition education, nutrition, nutrition science, clinical nutrition, applied clinical nutrition, nutrition counseling, nutrition and functional medicine, nutritional biochemistry, nutrition and integrative health, or an equivalent major course of study as recommended by the Board and approved by the Department from a school or program accredited at the time of graduation from the appropriate regional accrediting agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the United States Department of Education or a college or university in a foreign country that is substantially equivalent to the educational requirements in this Section, as recommended by the Board and approved by the Department. All education programs under this Section shall include education leading to competence in medical nutrition therapy. The Department may adopt rules as necessary to enforce this provision;
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(b) has successfully completed an examination
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| authorized by the Department which may be or may include examinations given by each of the American Clinical Board of Nutrition, the Certification Board of Nutrition Specialists, and the Commission on Dietetic Registration, or another examination approved by the Department. Before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, the Department may include examinations given by the Clinical Nutrition Certification Board.
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The Department shall establish by rule a waiver of
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| the examination requirement to applicants who, at the time of application, are acknowledged to be certified nutrition specialists by the Certification Board of Nutrition Specialists, diplomates of the American Clinical Board of Nutrition, or registered dietitians by the Commission on Dietetic Registration and who are in compliance with other qualifications as included in the Act. Prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, the Department may waive of the examination requirement to applicants who, at the time of application, are acknowledged to be certified clinical nutritionists by the Clinical Nutrition Certification Board; and
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(c) has completed a dietetic internship or
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| documented, supervised practice experience in dietetics and nutrition services of not less than 900 hours under the supervision of a qualified supervisor. All supervised practice experience under this Section shall include training leading to competence in medical nutrition therapy. The Department may adopt rules as necessary to enforce this provision. Prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, supervised practice experience in dietetics and nutrition services of not less than 900 hours under the supervision of a certified clinical nutritionist may also be accepted.
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(Source: P.A. 102-945, eff. 1-1-23.)
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(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 |
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(b) Violations of this Act or of rules adopted under
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(c) Conviction by plea of guilty or nolo contendere,
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| 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.
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(d) Fraud or any misrepresentation in applying for or
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| procuring a license under this Act or in connection with applying for renewal of a license under this Act.
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(e) Professional incompetence or gross negligence.
(f) Malpractice.
(g) Aiding or assisting another person in violating
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| any provision of this Act or its rules.
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(h) Failing to provide information within 60 days in
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| response to a written request made by the Department.
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(i) Engaging in dishonorable, unethical or
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| unprofessional conduct of a character likely to deceive, defraud, or harm the public.
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(j) Habitual or excessive use or abuse of drugs
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| defined in law as controlled substances, alcohol, or any other substance that results in the inability to practice with reasonable judgment, skill, or safety.
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(k) Discipline by another state, the District of
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| 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.
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(l) Charging for professional services not rendered,
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| 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.
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(m) A finding by the Department that the licensee,
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| after having his or her license placed on probationary status, has violated the terms of probation.
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(n) Willfully making or filing false records or
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| reports in his or her practice, including, but not limited to, false records filed with State agencies or departments.
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(o) Allowing one's license under this Act to be used
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| by an unlicensed person in violation of this Act.
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(p) Practicing under a false or, except as provided
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(q) Gross and willful overcharging for professional
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(r) (Blank).
(s) Willfully failing to report an instance of
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| suspected child abuse or neglect as required by the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
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(t) Cheating on or attempting to subvert a licensing
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| examination administered under this Act.
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(u) Mental illness or disability that results in the
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| inability to practice under this Act with reasonable judgment, skill, or safety.
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(v) Physical illness, including, but not limited to,
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| 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.
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(w) Advising an individual to discontinue, reduce,
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| 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.
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(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.)
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