A Board of Psychology did not err in choosing to revoke a psychologist's license once it learned that a conditional indefinite suspension, with jurisdiction to revoke, was not possible, the District Court of Appeal of Florida held June 6 (William Kale, Ph.D. v. Department of Health). The board hoped to…
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The traditional appointed board model for regulating the professions has been a fixture of state government for well over a century. But new models of delivering services, plus a pro-competition climate at the state and federal level, may be threatening the classic regulatory structure. The February 25 U.S. Supreme Court…
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Neil A. Van Dyck, 64, of Roseville, California, pleaded guilty to health care fraud, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. According to court documents, Van Dyck was a California-licensed podiatrist who operated a podiatry practice in Roseville called Placer Podiatry. Van Dyck offered “spa”-like treatments and performed routine foot…
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The Arizona state attorney general's office denied a request by the state's former medical board director to pay legal fees she incurred from a high-profile 2013 investigation by the state ombudsman. In a scathing report last October, the ombudsman found that both the director and deputy director ordered state employees…
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A board's decision not to rescind a settlement agreement with a doctor, which the doctor said was offered to her without proper disclosures, was affirmed by the Court of Appeals of Iowa, in an August 27 ruling (DeLouis v. Iowa Board of Medicine). In 2012, the Iowa Board of Medicine…
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A psychologist licensed in Israel, but not in the U.S., illegally offered his services in Pennsylvania and must pay civil penalties and stop holding himself out as a psychologist, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled August 11. (Abraham v. Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, Board of Psychology). The memorandum…
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An appellate court in Arizona ruled May 27 that the state cosmetology board may ban so-called fish pedicures, an unconventional method of dead-skin removal in which a customer places a foot or hand in a tank containing fish known as "doctor fish," which literally eat away dead skin from the…
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A recommended order by an administrative law judge to revoke a dentist's license for possessing child pornography did not bear ample factual foundation, the Third District Court of Appeal of Florida held (Borges v. Department of Health). In an August 13 ruling, the appellate court reversed and remanded the state…
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According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) is a federal information repository dedicated to improving health care quality, promoting patient safety, and preventing fraud and abuse. The NPDB is a federal government program that collects and publishes negative information on health…
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The fact that his mistakes were unintentional and not proven to have hurt an animal was not a basis to reverse a veterinarian's two-month suspension, said an appeals court in Arkansas November 20. The court dismissed the appeal of the suspension which was imposed after a client accused the veterinarian…
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