Lapsed License, CE Shortfall, and a Busy Schedule
Dr. E held a Kansas chiropractic license for 10 years, moved to Colorado, and let the Kansas license lapse 14 months ago. He returned to Kansas and, before checking the status, saw 11 patients in his new office over two weeks and billed three insurers. He has 32 hours of Colorado continuing education from the past two years, including 2 hours of ethics and 1 hour of pain management, but he never completed the Kansas jurisprudence requirement. He receives a Board letter stating that his license is lapsed and that he must apply for reinstatement. He has no malpractice claims and no prior discipline. He asks whether he can keep seeing patients while the reinstatement application is pending, whether his Colorado CE will count, and whether he must report the lapse to insurers.
1. May Dr. E continue practicing while his reinstatement application is pending?
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No. A lapsed license is not a license, and reinstatement is not retroactive. Dr. E must stop seeing patients immediately, cancel upcoming appointments, and arrange referrals or coverage for patients who need continuing care. Practicing during the pendency of an application would be unlicensed practice and would add a new violation while the Board is already reviewing the lapse. The fact that he did not know the license had lapsed is mitigation, not a defense.
He should document the date he stopped, notify staff, and preserve the records of the 11 patients already seen. He should not destroy or alter those records, and he should not bill for services after the lapse date. If patients need records or continuation of care, the clinic can provide administrative support that does not involve clinical judgment. The Board may consider whether he self-reported promptly and cooperated, but it will also look at the two weeks of treatment and the insurance billings.
2. How should Dr. E address the CE shortfall and the reinstatement process?
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Dr. E should treat the reinstatement process as a formal application, not a renewal. He should obtain the Board's current reinstatement requirements, submit the application and fees, and provide verified transcripts for the Colorado courses. Kansas chiropractors must meet the Board's continuing-education requirement for the renewal cycle; 32 hours is below the published total, and the Kansas jurisprudence component is missing. Colorado hours may count only if they are Board-approved and documented, so he should not assume that all 32 hours will be accepted.
He should complete the missing jurisprudence and any additional approved hours before or as directed by the Board. Falsifying CE or backdating certificates would convert a CE deficiency into a integrity violation. The Board may require additional CE, an examination, an interview, or conditions such as probation. His clean disciplinary history and lack of malpractice claims are favorable, but they do not guarantee reinstatement. He should keep copies of every submission and follow up in writing.
3. What are the consequences of the two weeks of practice and the insurer billings, and what should he disclose?
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The 11 patient encounters and three insurer billings create exposure for unlicensed practice and potentially for false claims. The Board can treat unlicensed practice as a violation of the Healing Arts Act and as a ground to deny or condition reinstatement. The insurers may also have contractual and fraud remedies. Dr. E should self-report the lapse and the dates of practice to the Board in the reinstatement packet, and he should contact the insurers' compliance departments to correct or refund the claims.
He should not wait for the insurers to discover the lapse. A prompt, accurate written disclosure with a refund plan is more credible than a minimal response. He should preserve all appointment, billing, and payment records and avoid altering clinical notes. Counsel can help him sequence the Board disclosure and insurer corrections. The Board will weigh the length of the lapse, the number of patients, whether any patient was harmed, whether billing continued after notice, and whether he cooperated. Rehabilitation and remediation are relevant, but the unlicensed practice cannot be undone by paying a fee.