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Enforcement committee lists top 10 violations; staff urges practitioners and schools to review reporting rules
Summary
Board staff presented the board’s updated top 10 enforcement violations and discussed reporting requirements; staff posted the list online and encouraged schools to share it with students and licensees.
Board staff reviewed an updated list of the top 10 enforcement issues the California Acupuncture Board sees in investigations and disciplinary matters, and urged practitioners, schools and professional associations to use the list to reduce future violations.
Presenting the list, board legal staff identified the top items as: convictions or arrests disclosed to the board; unlawful practice or unlicensed practice; failure to register an address change; unregistered practice location or incorrect display of licenses; negligence or incompetence (including failure to remove needles or causing adverse reactions such as burns); malpractice settlements (reporting threshold noted); sexual misconduct; infection-control failures; discipline by another public agency; and failure to notify the board of a false or assumed name.
Legal counsel summarized statutory and regulatory authorities used during investigations, noting the Business & Professions Code and board regulations in the California Code of Regulations. Counsel emphasized that malpractice settlements and certain reportable events must be disclosed to the board. One presenter noted a $3,000 reporting threshold for settlements as a reporting trigger during the meeting and recommended licensees and schools become familiar with those requirements.
Stakeholders supported wider dissemination. Neil Miller (Cal ATMA) urged the board to distribute the list to acupuncture schools and recommended posting the top‑10 sheet in school facilities. Marilyn Allen (American Acupuncture Council) described malpractice patterns and warned that some complications (for example, pneumothorax and burns) can lead to large hospital bills and follow‑on malpractice claims. Board staff said the list had been posted to the board website and encouraged schools to use it in training and ethics classes.
Board members noted enforcement’s cost to the agency and said clearer education should reduce preventable investigations. The committee did not vote on any disciplinary matters during this segment; staff recorded no committee votes. The committee agreed to include the enforcement committee update on the full board’s executive report and to continue posting materials on the board website for schools and licensees to reference.
