It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 5-37-5.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 5-37 entitled "Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline" is hereby amended to read as follows:

{ADD 5-37-5.1. Unprofessional conduct. -- ADD} The term "unprofessional conduct" as used in this chapter shall include but not be limited to the following items or any combination thereof and may be further defined by regulations established by the board with the prior approval of the director:

(1) fraudulent or deceptive procuring or use of a license or limited registration;

(2) all advertising of medical business which is intended or has a tendency to deceive the public;

(3) conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude; conviction of a felony; conviction of a crime arising out of the practice of medicine;

(4) abandonment of patient;

(5) dependence upon controlled substances, habitual drunkeness or rendering professional services to a patient while the physician or limited registrant is intoxicated or incapacitated by the use of drugs;

(6) promotion by a physician or limited registrant of the sale of drugs, devices, appliances, or goods or services provided for a patient in such a manner as to exploit the patient for the financial gain of the physician or limited registrant;

(7) immoral conduct of a physician or limited registrant in the practice of medicine;

(8) willfully making and filing false reports or records in the practice of medicine;

(9) willful omission to file or record, or willfully impeding or obstructing a filing or recording, or inducing another person to omit to file or record medical or other reports as required by law;

(10) failure to furnish details of a patient's medical record to succeeding physicians, health care facility, or other health care providers upon proper request pursuant to 5-37.3-4 of the general laws of the state of Rhode Island;

(11) solicitation of professional patronage by agents or persons or profiting from acts of those representing themselves to be agents of the licensed physician or limited registrants;

(12) division of fees or agreeing to split or divide the fees received for professional services for any person for bringing to or referring a patient;

(13) agreeing with clinical or bioanalytical laboratories to accept payments from such laboratories for individual tests or test series for patients;

(14) willful misrepresentation in treatments;

(15) practicing medicine with an unlicensed physician except in an accredited preceptorship or residency training program, or aiding or abetting such unlicensed persons in the practice of medicine;

(16) gross and willful overcharging for professional services; including filing of false statements for collection of fees for which services are not rendered or willfully making or assisting in making a false claim or deceptive claim or misrepresenting a material fact for use in determining rights to health care or other benefits;

(17) offering, undertaking or agreeing to cure or treat disease by a secret method, procedure, treatment or medicine;

(18) professional or mental incompetency;

(19) incompetent, negligent or willful misconduct in the practice of medicine which shall include the rendering of medically unnecessary services and any departure from or the failure to conform to the minimal standards of acceptable and prevailing medical practice in his area of expertise as shall be determined by the board. The board need not establish actual injury to the patient in order to adjudge a physician or limited registrant guilty of the above-named conduct;

(20) failure to comply with the provisions of chapter 4.7 of title 23;

(21) surrender, revocation, suspension, limitation of privilege based on quality of care provided or any other disciplinary action against a license or authorization to practice medicine in another state or jurisdiction; or surrender, revocation, suspension, or any other disciplinary action relating to a membership on any medical staff or in any medical or professional association or society while under disciplinary investigation by any of those authorities or bodies for acts or conduct similar to acts or conduct which would constitute grounds for action as set forth in this chapter;

(22) any adverse judgment, settlement or award arising from a medical liability claim related to acts or conduct which would constitute grounds for action as set forth in this chapter;

(23) failure to furnish the board, its chief administrative officer, investigator or representatives, information legally requested by the board;

(24) violation of any provision(s) of this chapter or the rules and regulations of the board or any rules or regulations promulgated by the director or of an action, stipulation or agreement of the board;

(25) cheating on or attempting to subvert the licensing examination;

(26) violating any state or federal law or regulation relating to controlled substances;

(27) failure to maintain standards established by peer review boards, including but not limited to standards related to proper utilization of services, use of nonaccepted procedure, and/or quality of care;

(28) medical malpractice;

(29) a physician, who, if he or she agrees to treat a beneficiary of health insurance under title XVIII of the social security act [42 U.S.C. Section 1395.], charges or collects from such beneficiary any amount in excess of the reasonable charge for that service as determined by the United States secretary of health and human services.

{ADD (30) Sexual contact between a physician and patient during the existence of the physician/patient relationship. ADD}

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.