Sec. 20-126o. Disciplinary action by the department.

(a) The Department of Public Health may take any of the actions set forth in section 19a-17 for any of the following causes: (1) The presentation to the department of any diploma, license or certificate illegally or fraudulently obtained, or obtained from an institution that is not accredited or from an unrecognized or irregular institution or state board, or obtained by the practice of any fraud or deception; (2) illegal conduct; (3) negligent, incompetent or wrongful conduct in professional activities; (4) conviction of the violation of any of the provisions of sections 20-126h to 20-126w, inclusive, by any court of criminal jurisdiction; (5) the violation of any of the provisions of said sections or of the regulations adopted hereunder or the refusal to comply with any of said provisions or regulations; (6) the aiding or abetting in the practice of dental hygiene of a person not licensed to practice dental hygiene in this state; (7) engaging in fraud or material deception in the course of professional activities; (8) the effects of physical or mental illness, emotional disorder or loss of motor skill, including, but not limited to, deterioration through the aging process, upon the license holder; (9) abuse or excessive use of drugs, including alcohol, narcotics or chemicals; or (10) failure to provide information to the Department of Public Health required to complete a health care provider profile, as set forth in section 20-13j. A violation of any of the provisions of sections 20-126h to 20-126w, inclusive, by any unlicensed employee in the practice of dental hygiene, with the knowledge of his employer, shall be deemed a violation thereof by his employer. The Commissioner of Public Health may order a license holder to submit to a reasonable physical or mental examination if his physical or mental capacity to practice safely is the subject of an investigation. Said commissioner may petition the superior court for the judicial district of Hartford to enforce such order or any action taken pursuant to said section 19a-17.

(b) For purposes of subdivision (7) of subsection (a) of this section, fraud or material deception shall include, but not be limited to, the following practices: (1) Submission of a claim form to a third party intentionally reporting incorrect treatment dates for the purpose of assisting a patient in obtaining benefits under a dental plan, which benefits would otherwise be disallowed; (2) increasing a fee to a patient for a service in excess of the fee charged solely because the patient has dental insurance; (3) intentionally describing a dental hygiene procedure incorrectly on a third-party claim form in order to receive a greater payment or reimbursement or intentionally misrepresenting a dental hygiene procedure not otherwise eligible for payment or reimbursement on such claim form for the purpose of receiving payment or reimbursement; and (4) intentionally accepting payment from a third party as payment in full for patient services rendered when (A) the patient has been excused from payment of any applicable deductible by the license holder and (B) such license holder fails to notify the third party of such action.

(P.A. 88-230, S. 1, 12; P.A. 90-98, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-142, S. 4, 7, 8; P.A. 94-149, S. 8; P.A. 95-220, S. 4–6; 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 08-109, S. 8.)

History: (Revisor's note: P.A. 88-230, P.A. 90-98 and P.A. 93-142 authorized substitution of “judicial district of Hartford” for “judicial district of Hartford-New Britain” in public and special acts of the 1994 regular and special sessions, effective September 1, 1996); P.A. 95-220 changed effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1996, to September 1, 1998; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 08-109 made a technical change and added failure to provide information for health care provider profile to list of grounds for disciplinary action in Subsec. (a), effective January 1, 2010.