Grounds for Discipline, Unprofessional Conduct, and Enforcement
Grounds for Discipline, Unprofessional Conduct, and Enforcement
This domain tests what conduct exposes a North Dakota chiropractor to discipline and how the Board enforces it.
Core rules
- Grounds commonly include fraud or deceit in obtaining a license, practice beyond scope, gross negligence or incompetence, recordkeeping failures, false advertising, fee splitting, substance impairment, patient exploitation, criminal convictions, and discipline in another state.
- Unprofessional conduct is broader than malpractice. It includes dishonest billing, falsified CE, confidentiality breaches, and failure to cooperate with the Board.
- Enforcement begins with a complaint or Board-initiated review. Interim action may be used where patient safety requires it.
- Sanctions include reprimand, fine, probation, restricted practice, suspension, revocation, and conditions such as CE or monitoring.
- A licensee usually must report certain adverse actions to the Board.
Worked example
A chiropractor is convicted of insurance fraud for billing for unattended electrical stimulation. The conviction is independently reportable and supports discipline even if patient care was clinically adequate. The Board may consider the conduct's relationship to honesty and licensure, impose suspension, and require ethics CE. The licensee cannot keep practicing during a summary suspension.
Traps
Do not assume only bad clinical outcomes trigger discipline. Do not treat a malpractice settlement as the end of the matter; the Board has its own standards. Do not fail to self-report a conviction or another state's action. Do not continue practice after an interim suspension while appealing.