Sec 32-934. Business entities; registration; fees; medical records protocol; civil penalty; exemptions; violation; classification

A. A business entity may not offer chiropractic services pursuant to this chapter unless:

1. The entity is registered with the board pursuant to this section and rules adopted pursuant to this chapter.

2. The services are conducted by a doctor of chiropractic who is licensed pursuant to this chapter.

B. The business entity must file a registration application and pay a fee as prescribed by the board by rule.

C. Registration expires on June 1 of each year. A business entity that wishes to renew a registration must submit an application for renewal as prescribed by the board on an annual basis before the expiration date and pay a renewal fee as prescribed by the board by rule. The board shall prorate the renewal fee for the first year registration renewal based on the first day of the month that the business entity was registered with the board. An entity that fails to renew the registration before the expiration date is subject to a late fee as prescribed by the board by rule.

D. A business entity must notify the board in writing within thirty days after any change:

1. In the entity's name, address or telephone number.

2. In the entity's officers or directors.

3. In the name of any doctor of chiropractic who is authorized to provide and who is responsible for providing or supervising the provision of chiropractic services in any facility.

E. The board shall impose a civil penalty as prescribed by the board by rule on a business entity that does not notify the board as required by subsection D of this section.

F. A business entity must comply with this chapter and board rules.

G. A business entity must establish a written protocol for the secure storage, transfer and access of the medical records of the business entity's patients. This protocol must include, at a minimum, procedures for:

1. Notifying patients of the future locations of their records if the business entity terminates or sells the practice.

2. Disposing of unclaimed medical records.

3. The timely response to requests by patients or their representatives for copies of their records.

H. A business entity must notify the board within thirty days after the entity's dissolution or the closing or relocation of any facility and must disclose to the board the entity's procedure by which its patients may obtain their records.

I. The board may impose discipline consistent with this chapter if an entity violates any statute or board rule.

J. The board shall deposit, pursuant to sections 35-146 and 35-147, civil penalties collected pursuant to this section in the state general fund.

K. This section does not apply to:

1. A facility owned by a person who is licensed pursuant to this chapter.

2. A sole proprietorship or partnership that consists of persons who are licensed pursuant to this chapter.

3. A professional corporation or professional limited liability company, the shares of which are owned by persons who are licensed pursuant to this chapter.

4. An administrator or executor of the estate of a deceased doctor of chiropractic or a person who is legally authorized to act for a doctor of chiropractic who has been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent for not more than one year after the date of the doctor of chiropractic's death or incapacitation.

5. A health care institution that is licensed pursuant to title 36.

6. A health professional who is not licensed pursuant to this chapter but who acts within the scope of practice as prescribed by the health professional's regulatory board.

L. A business entity that offers chiropractic services pursuant to this chapter without complying with the registration requirements of this section is guilty of a class 6 felony.