| (a) Suspension of a license means that the office of
the practitioner is to be closed for the purposes of receiving, diagnosing,
treating, or consulting with patients, and the licensee may not participate
for income in any professional activity that is directly related to
diagnosis or treatment of a patient or activities that involve consultation
services related to management of a practice. The practitioner may
refer patients to another practitioner for treatment or consultation
during the period of the suspension, but the practitioner shall not
derive any income from such referrals. The practitioner may allow
another practitioner to see the practitioner's patients during the
period of the suspension the practitioner's office or other practitioner's
office, but the practitioner shall derive no income from the other
practitioner by way of referral fees, or the like.
(b) The practitioner's office may remain open for the
purposes of administrative work, including making future appointments,
arranging referrals, handling mail, processing accounts, billing,
and insurance matters, and other similar matters not directly related
to the diagnosis and treatment of patients.
(c) If the suspended practitioner shares offices with
another practitioner, the other practitioner shall be allowed to continue
to practice, but the suspended practitioner shall not share income
with the other practitioner, including any income derived in any way
from the diagnosis or treatment of patients. The department may, through
unannounced visits or by requesting documentation, check on the business
arrangement that the suspended practitioner has with the other practitioner(s)
regarding the renting of equipment, rental of business facilities,
referral fees or any other negotiated arrangement so as to be sure
that the suspended practitioner is not deriving any monies from the
practice of podiatric medicine.
(d) If a license suspension is probated, the commission
or executive director may require the licensee to:
(1) report regularly to the department on matters that
are the basis of the probation;
(2) limit practice to the areas prescribed by the commission
or executive director; or
(3) continue or review continuing professional education
until the licensee attains a degree of skill satisfactory to the department
in those areas that are the basis of the probation.
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