As an acupuncturist, your work renders you an essential part of alternative medicine. However, like any other medical professional, one mistake or false allegation from a patient, another acupuncturist, or any other party can jeopardize your license and career along with it. However, you need not let this happen. A professional license defense attorney would know how to help you, and you should contact one immediately.

At Fresno License Attorney, we have fought against and exposed false allegations and negotiated plea deals that let our clients keep their professional licenses even when they made mistakes. We work to find mitigating evidence in our clients’ favor and best submit it at the administrative proceedings. If you have prepared to be an acupuncturist in California and the Acupuncture Board or California Department of Consumer Affairs has accused you of misconduct, call us for a consultation and case evaluation.

We will guide you through investigations, Accusation filings, administrative proceedings, the appeals process, and petitions. Whether you have difficulty having the board approve your license, are petitioning to vacate a citation or reinstate your license, or wish to prevent license revocation, our lawyers boast the experience and resources to help you.

What Acupuncturists Do

Acupuncturists are medical practitioners who practice acupuncture, a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine that originated more than 2,000 years ago.

Some reasons people seek acupuncture services are asthma, arthritis, and headache pain. However, these professionals also attend to a wide range of other health conditions, like carpal tunnel syndrome, stroke rehabilitation, addiction, lower back pain, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, et cetera. Most doctors include acupuncture services as a complementary form of medicine to assist in treating and controlling a wide range of illnesses and conditions.

As an acupuncturist, you must be skilled, competent, and accurate when manipulating and inserting needles to prevent the likelihood of inflicting punctured organs, pain, and infection. However, your skills do not stop there. Your patients additionally depend on you for recommendations on diet modifications, exercises, and lifestyle changes whenever warranted.

California Acupuncture Board

You must possess a professional license before administering acupuncture treatment in California. California only recognizes acupuncturists who are certified and licensed in California, irrespective of whether or not they are certified in another state. California has regulated acupuncture services for over fifty years via the Acupuncture Licensing Act. The agency administering this law is The California Acupuncture Board.

The following are the duties of the California Acupuncture Board:

  • Giving licensing exams
  • Licensing new professionals who have prevailed in the California acupuncture licensing examinations
  • Overseeing the administration and development of the acupuncture services
  • Renewing existing acupuncture licenses
  • Coming up with regulations and rules that enact the Acupuncture Licensing Act (acupuncture professionals can comment on any proposed regulation and air their views)
  • Managing the board's daily administrative affairs
  • Enforcing the Acupuncture Licensing Act

License Application, Denial, and Statement of Issues

Seeking to become an acupuncturist is exciting since it is the last obstacle before you start your career. Applying to be board-licensed is a straightforward procedure for many people. However, for others, prior criminal liability and other problems can prevent them from obtaining the license. Your lawyer can complete your application and file it for you to increase the chances of approval.

If you submit your application paperwork and the board denies it, it is not the end for you. An application denial is called a Statement of Issues. An experienced attorney can fight for the board to grant you a license fairly. If the Acupuncture Board must impose probation against your license, your counsel can negotiate favorable terms. Some approaches to your defense could include clearing up any prior criminal problems to show the board your rehabilitation.

Board Investigations

If a patient, another acupuncturist, or any other party brings a complaint to the board against you, the board may investigate the matter. In this case, the board will send you a Notice of Investigation to inform you that you are under investigation. Sometimes, the board can conduct a sting operation, depending on the facts in the complaint. This especially happens with supposed criminal violations, like selling or possessing regulated substances or prostitution.

Do not talk to the board or the investigators without first talking to a skilled license defense lawyer to avoid unintentionally incriminating yourself or limiting your defense strategies. Your lawyer will help you answer questions correctly and advise you when to remain silent.

If the board serves you an interim license suspension when you are under investigation, your lawyer can challenge it. An interim suspension during investigations means you cannot practice acupuncture until the investigations are over. These investigations may take months or even years, and you cannot afford to wait all that long without practicing your career.

As the investigations proceed, the board might dismiss the matter if it encounters sufficient resistance from an experienced license defense attorney or if there is merely insufficient evidence to warrant disciplinary action. With the appropriate legal advice and representation, an investigation might end as soon as the interviewing stage, and the case is entirely dismissed.

However, the Acupuncture Board will send the case to the Office of the Attorney General if it has adequate evidence and basis to proceed. The attorney general or their deputy can then select to bring a complaint, formally called an Accusation, against you.

Accusation Filing

An Accusation refers to an official complaint that the Office of the Attorney General drafts. It seeks different disciplinary actions against you that might stem from liability for a criminal offense substantially related to acupuncture practice, accusations of other unprofessional acts such as drug abuse, or a violation of the standards of care.

Once the Office of the Attorney General has filed an Accusation against you, you will be served with the same. You have a maximum of fifteen days starting the day you are served with the official Accusation to respond by filing a Notice of Defense. If you fail to respond promptly, the board might suspend your professional license via a default order.

You want representation from an experienced attorney if the Office of the Attorney General has pursued a formal Accusation against your license. You must act quickly, as your future and the career you have worked hard to build are in jeopardy.

Administrative Hearing

Once the attorney general's office files an Accusation against you and you respond, your case will be scheduled for an administrative hearing, which takes place at the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) and is presided over by an ALJ (administrative law judge). During the hearing, both sides (the defense and the board's side) will submit their arguments and evidence and cross-examine witnesses. Your lawyer can contest the prosecution's evidence and arguments during the proceedings and submit mitigating circumstances to minimize any disciplinary actions the board may impose.

The judge will then review the submitted evidence before making recommendations on the disciplinary actions the board should impose. The board may follow the ALJ’s recommendations but is not obligated to do so. When imposing disciplinary actions, the board must adhere to disciplinary guidelines.

The following are the various disciplinary actions the Acupuncture Board might impose against you:

  • A fine and citation—the board might impose a fine of thousands or hundreds of dollars.
  • Public reprimand—This is a formal warning that your actions are unacceptable and must be corrected.
  • License revocation or suspension—a license suspension will prevent you from practicing acupuncture in California for a given period. A license revocation will prevent you from practicing indefinitely.
  • Placing you on probation—when your license is placed on probation, you will be allowed to continue practicing acupuncture, but with particular requirements and restrictions. Probation is a much better disciplinary action than a revocation or suspension.
  • Requiring you to reimburse the disciplinary proceeding costs
  • Denying you license renewal

Your reputation and livelihood might be at stake when an Accusation is brought against you, which may lead to punishment. Any disciplinary action is a severe matter, even if it is not the revocation or suspension of your professional license. If your license is placed on probation, it could have long enduring effects on your professional and business standing. The Acupuncture Board also publicizes Disciplinary actions against acupuncturists on its website, making them accessible to the general public. That means potential patients can see them by conducting a web search.

If the board has imposed disciplinary action, you have thirty days to appeal the final decision and fifteen days to appeal a citation. If this period elapses, you will lose the opportunity forever. Therefore, if you wish to appeal, you want to hire a skilled license defense attorney who understands how the process works so they can move swiftly.

Petition for Penalty Reduction or License Reinstatement

If the Acupuncture board did suspend or revoke your professional license, it would not be the end for you. After a particular period of revocation or suspension, you can petition the board to give you your license back. Additionally, you could request that the board adjust the probationary conditions or grant you early probation termination.

Your counsel can help you file these petitions. They will submit mitigating factors, such as rehab evidence, to the board to help decide.

Prevalent Reasons for Disciplinary Action

As an acupuncturist, you must cautiously follow the law, rules, and regulations to keep your license and evade other consequences. The board may impose disciplinary action against you in response to a complaint or after becoming aware of circumstances that would hinder your fitness to practice your profession or maintain your license.

Various reasons could subject you to disciplinary action by the board. Firstly, you could face disciplinary action for professional misconduct. You are expected to always observe professional standards. The Acupuncture Licensing Act lists the acts that may be deemed professional misconduct, including:

  • Possessing or using a regulated substance
  • Misleading or false advertisement
  • Knowingly failing to safeguard patients by neglecting to comply with the board's infection control guidelines.
  • Threatening or harassing patients
  • Firing a worker for trying to comply with acupuncture laws, rules, and regulations

You can be subject to acupuncture disciplinary actions even for offenses you perpetrate outside of duty, provided those offenses are substantially connected to an acupuncturist’s duties, functions, or qualifications. Some of the crimes deemed substantially connected to an acupuncturist's duties, functions, or qualifications include the following:

  • Driving while intoxicated with drugs and alcohol
  • Grand theft
  • Sexual battery
  • Domestic violence
  • Simple drug possession
  • Drug possession for sale

Secondly, you could be subject to disciplinary action as an acupuncturist if you have committed fraud. The general public puts significant trust in acupuncturists since they do not understand much about the practice themselves. You could commit fraudulent acts related to the aspects of your practice that may lead to disciplinary action, such as:

  • Deceit and fraud while applying for your license, like cheating in the licensing examination or inventing fake qualifications
  • Committing a dishonest or fraudulent act, including insurance fraud or overbilling
  • Committing an act involving corruption or dishonesty regarding an acupuncturist’s duties, functions, and qualifications
  • Modifying or altering a patient's medical records or creating false medical records with fraudulent intention
  • Failing to keep accurate and adequate records related to service provision to your patients (even though fraud generally requires intent, these laws sometimes capture unintentional activities)
  • Accusation for continuing education fraud
  • Failing to satisfy continuing education requirements

Thirdly, you can be subject to acupuncturist disciplinary action if you are incompetent or negligent in your practice. For example, you may have been negligent or grossly negligent when treating one patient. On the other hand, you could have been recurrently negligent in treating several patients. The Acupuncture Board might review the treatment results and establish that you are incompetent and must be subject to disciplinary action.

Find a Skilled Acupuncture License Defense Lawyer Near Me

At Fresno License Attorney, we have the necessary experience, legal knowledge, and dedication to defend our clients and fight for them so they do not lose their professional licenses. We will protect your future through all steps of the disciplinary process and resolve any legal challenge against your license. We have in-depth experience defending various professional licenses, from contracting to educational and medical licenses.

If you risk losing your acupuncture license, we advise you to refrain from relying on an unskilled license lawyer or trying to undergo the disciplinary process alone. We are readily available to assist. Call us at 559-777-7040 for a complimentary consultation.