Sec. 20-54. Qualifications for practice. No person other than those described in
section 20-57 and those to whom a license has been reissued as provided by section 20-59 shall engage in the practice of podiatry in this state until he has presented to the
department satisfactory evidence that he has had a high school education or its equivalent, has received a diploma or other certificate of graduation from an accredited school
or college of chiropody or podiatry approved by the Board of Examiners in Podiatry
with the consent of the Commissioner of Public Health nor shall any person so practice
until he has obtained a license from the Department of Public Health after meeting the
requirements of this chapter. A graduate of an approved school of chiropody or podiatry
subsequent to July 1, 1947, shall present satisfactory evidence that he has been a resident
student through not less than four graded courses of not less than thirty-two weeks each
in such approved school and has received the degree of D.S.C., Doctor of Surgical
Chiropody, or Pod. D., Doctor of Podiatry, or other equivalent degree; and, if a graduate
of an approved chiropody or podiatry school subsequent to July 1, 1951, that he has
completed, before beginning the study of podiatry, a course of study of an academic
year of not less than thirty-two weeks' duration in a college or scientific school approved
by said board with the consent of the Commissioner of Public Health, which course
included the study of chemistry and physics or biology; and if a graduate of an approved
college of podiatry or podiatric medicine subsequent to July 1, 1971, that he has completed a course of study of two such prepodiatry college years, including the study of
chemistry, physics or mathematics and biology, and that he received the degree of
D.P.M., Doctor of Podiatric Medicine. No provision of this section shall be construed
to prevent graduates of a podiatric college, approved by the Board of Examiners in
Podiatry with the consent of the Commissioner of Public Health, from receiving practical
training in podiatry in a residency program in an accredited hospital facility which
program is accredited by the Council on Podiatric Education.
(1949 Rev., S. 4552, 4556; 1949, S. 2274d; 1955, S. 2273d; 1963, P.A. 247; 1971, P.A. 124; 1972, P.A. 232; P.A. 76-113, S. 4; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 80-484, S. 25, 176; P.A. 81-472, S. 133, 159; P.A. 91-113, S. 3; P.A. 93-381, S.
9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58.)
History: 1963 act added provision re one who has received a degree equivalent to a D.S.C. or Pod. D; 1971 act added
requirements applicable to persons graduating from approved podiatry colleges after July 1, 1971; 1972 act allowed mathematics study as alternative to physics study for graduates after July 1, 1971; P.A. 76-113 deleted citizenship requirement
for applicants; P.A. 77-614 replaced department of health with department of health services, effective January 1, 1979;
P.A. 80-484 substituted "license" for "certificate", required presentation of credentials to health services department rather
than to board of examiners, required consent of health services commissioner for approval of schools or colleges and
deleted requirements that applicant be or intends to become a resident, that he be of good moral character and that he have
received from board of examiners a certificate of qualification; P.A. 81-472 made technical changes; P.A. 91-113 amended
section to clarify residency programs for graduates of podiatric colleges and to specify that diploma or certificate must be
from an accredited school or college; P.A. 93-381 replaced department and commissioner of health services with department
and commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and
Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July
1, 1995.
See Sec. 19a-88 re annual renewal of licenses.
Sec. 20-51 et seq. cited. 207 C. 674, 679.
Sec. 20-55. Examinations. Fees. The Department of Public Health shall hold examinations under the supervision of the board at least once each year and on such other
days and at such time and place as the department may designate. Candidates shall be
examined in the following subjects: Anatomy and histology, physiology, dermatology
and syphilology, bacteriology and pathology, chemistry, pharmacy and materia medica,
theory and practice of podiatry, including diagnosis, podiatric orthopedics and therapeutics in all branches as taught and practiced in the approved schools and colleges of
podiatry. The fee for such examination shall be four hundred fifty dollars. The examination shall be prescribed by the department with the advice and consent of the board.
Passing scores shall be established by the department with the consent of the board.
(1949 Rev., S. 4557; 1957, P.A. 174, S. 1; 1959, P.A. 616, S. 17; June, 1971, P.A. 8, S. 46; P.A. 77-614, S. 377, 610;
P.A. 80-484, S. 26, 176; P.A. 81-471, S. 19, 71; P.A. 89-251, S. 77, 203; P.A. 91-113, S. 4; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6, S.
20, 117; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58.)
History: 1959 act increased examination fee from thirty-five to fifty dollars; 1971 act raised examination fees to one
hundred dollars; P.A. 77-614 placed examinations within jurisdiction of department of health services rather than board
of examiners except that board establishes content of examination and time and place examination given, effective January
1, 1979; P.A. 80-484 essentially transferred all examination duties to department, retaining board in supervisory and
advisory capacity and added provision re establishment of passing scores; P.A. 81-471 deleted requirement that examination
be held on second Tuesday of July and provided that examination is to be held at least once each year; P.A. 89-251 increased
the examination fee from one hundred dollars to three hundred dollars; P.A. 91-113 replaced reference to chiropodical
orthopedics to podiatric orthopedics; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6 raised examination fee from three hundred to four hundred
fifty dollars; P.A. 93-381 replaced department of health services with department of public health and addiction services,
effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with
Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995.
Sec. 20-51 et seq. cited. 207 C. 674, 679.
Sec. 20-56. List of practitioners to be filed. The board shall file with the department a list of the practitioners of podiatry, which list said department shall keep on file
until replaced by a new list established by the board.
(1949 Rev., S. 4564; P.A. 77-614, S. 378, 610; P.A. 81-471, S. 20, 71.)
History: P.A. 77-614 rephrased provision to reflect department's assumption of responsibility for examinations; P.A.
81-471 deleted requirement that examination questions and answers be retained by the department of health services for
at least ninety days.
Sec. 20-51 et seq. cited. 207 C. 674, 679.
Sec. 20-57. Licensure without examination. The Department of Public Health
may accept a certificate issued by the National Board of Podiatry Examiners or the
license of any state board of podiatry examiners or duly authorized licensing agency of
any state in the United States or in the District of Columbia, in lieu of the written examination provided for in this chapter, if the department finds that such applicant has been
graduated from a chiropody or podiatry school or college recognized by the Connecticut
Board of Examiners in Podiatry at the time of his graduation from such school or college
and that such state board or licensing agency maintains standards for licensure determined by the department to be equal to or higher than those of this state, and that he
has presented to said department evidence showing him to be of good professional
standing, provided the application shall be accompanied by a fee of four hundred fifty
dollars. No license shall be issued under this section to any applicant against whom
professional disciplinary action is pending or who is the subject of an unresolved complaint. The department shall inform the board annually of the number of applications it
receives for licensure under this section.
(1949 Rev., S. 4558; 1955, S. 2275d; 1957, P.A. 174, S. 2; 1959, P.A. 616, S. 18; 1963, P.A. 334; February, 1965, P.A.
568, S. 1; June, 1971, P.A. 8, S. 47; P.A. 73-634; P.A. 76-113, S. 5; P.A. 80-484, S. 27, 176; P.A. 89-251, S. 78, 203; P.A.
93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 94-210, S. 23, 30; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58.)
History: 1959 act increased application fee from seventy-five dollars; 1963 act added provision re acceptance by board
of certificate issued by National Board of Podiatry Examiners; 1965 act added certification by National Board of Podiatry
Examiners as exception to five-year practice requirement; 1971 act increased application fee from one hundred to one
hundred fifty dollars; P.A. 73-634 permitted board to require that applicant pass an oral and practical examination; P.A.
76-113 deleted citizenship requirement for applicants; P.A. 80-484 transferred powers to waive written examination, etc.
from board of examiners to health services department, deleted provision re oral and practical examinations and requirements that applicant be or intends to become a resident, that he have practiced continuously for five years that he be of
good moral character, replaced "certificate of qualification" with "license" and prohibited issuance of license to applicants
against whom disciplinary action is pending or who are subject of an unresolved complaint and required that board be
informed of number of applications annually; P.A. 89-251 increased the application fee from one hundred fifty dollars to
four hundred fifty dollars; P.A. 93-381 replaced department of health services with department of public health and addiction
services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-210 added reference to duly authorized licensing agency of any state, replaced
requirement that examination be substantially similar to or of higher quality than Connecticut examination with requirement
that exam be equal to or higher than Connecticut exam in quality, removed reciprocity requirement and requirement of
ten years of practice outside of state if in state examination is not passed, effective June 9, 1994; P.A. 95-257 replaced
Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public
Health, effective July 1, 1995.
Sec. 20-51 et seq. cited. 207 C. 674, 679.
Sec. 20-58. Transmittal of certificate to Department of Health Services. License. Section 20-58 is repealed.
(1949 Rev., S. 4563; 1959, P.A. 616, S. 19; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 80-484, S. 175, 176.)
Sec. 20-58a. Professional liability insurance required, when. Amount of insurance. Reporting requirements. (a) Each person licensed to practice podiatric medicine
under the provisions of section 20-54 or 20-57 who provides direct patient care services
shall maintain professional liability insurance or other indemnity against liability for
professional malpractice. The amount of insurance which each such person shall carry
as insurance or indemnity against claims for injury or death for professional malpractice
shall not be less than five hundred thousand dollars for one person, per occurrence, with
an aggregate of not less than one million five hundred thousand dollars.
(b) Each insurance company which issues professional liability insurance, as defined in subdivisions (1), (6), (7), (8) and (9) of subsection (b) of section 38a-393, shall
on and after January 1, 1995, render to the Commissioner of Public Health a true record
of the names and addresses, according to classification, of cancellations of and refusals
to renew professional liability insurance policies and the reasons for such cancellation
or refusal to renew said policies for the year ending on the thirty-first day of December
next preceding.
(P.A. 94-71, S. 5; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 96-180, S. 69, 166.)
History: P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-180 required addresses to be included with the
record of names in Subsec. (b), effective June 3, 1996.
Sec. 20-59. Disciplinary action by board; grounds. The board may take any of
the actions set forth in section 19a-17 for any of the following reasons: (1) Procurement
of a license by fraud or material deception; (2) conviction in a court of competent jurisdiction, either within or without this state, of any crime in the practice of podiatry; (3)
fraudulent or deceptive conduct in the course of professional services or activities; (4)
illegal or incompetent or negligent conduct in the practice of podiatry; (5) habitual
intemperance in the use of spirituous stimulants or addiction to the use of morphine,
cocaine or other drugs having a similar effect; (6) aiding and abetting the practice of
podiatry by an unlicensed person or a person whose license has been suspended or
revoked; (7) mental illness or deficiency of the practitioner; (8) physical illness or loss
of motor skill, including but not limited to, deterioration through the aging process, of
the practitioner; (9) undertaking or engaging in any medical practice beyond the privileges and rights accorded to the practitioner of podiatry by the provisions of this chapter;
(10) failure to maintain professional liability insurance or other indemnity against liability for professional malpractice as provided in subsection (a) of section 20-58a; or (11)
violation of any provision of this chapter or any regulation adopted hereunder. The
Commissioner of Public Health may order a license holder to submit to a reasonable
physical or mental examination if his physical or mental capacity to practice safely is
the subject of an investigation. Said commissioner may petition the superior court for
the judicial district of Hartford to enforce such order or any action taken pursuant to
section 19a-17. The clerk of any court in this state in which a person practicing podiatry
has been convicted of any crime shall, upon such conviction, make written report, in
duplicate, to the Department of Public Health of the name and residence of such person,
the crime of which such person was convicted and the date of conviction; and said
department shall forward one of such duplicate reports to the board.
(1949 Rev., S. 4559; P.A. 77-614, S. 379, 610; P.A. 80-484, S. 28, 176; P.A. 81-471, S. 21, 71; P.A. 88-230, S. 1, 12;
P.A. 90-98, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-142, S. 4, 7, 8; 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 94-71, S. 11; P.A. 95-220, S. 4-6; 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58.)
History: P.A. 77-614 replaced department of health with department of health services and allowed disciplinary action
for violations of chapter or related regulations, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 80-484 rephrased reference to actions of
disciplinary nature, substituted "license" for "certificate of qualification", deleted grounds re crimes of moral turpitude,
felony or misdemeanor, immoral, dishonorable or unprofessional conduct and misleading, etc. advertising, added grounds
re deception, physical illness and loss of motor skill, added provisions re required physical or mental examinations and re
petitions to court for enforcement of orders or actions and deleted provision re revocation etc. of correlated licenses issued
by health services department and reissuance of certificates; P.A. 81-471 made minor changes in wording; P.A. 88-230
replaced "judicial district of Hartford-New Britain" with "judicial district of Hartford", effective September 1, 1991; P.A.
90-98 changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1991, to September 1, 1993; P.A. 93-142 changed the
effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1993, to September 1, 1996, effective June 14, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced
department and commissioner of health services with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services,
effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-71 inserted new Subdiv. (10) concerning failure to maintain professional liability insurance
or other indemnity against liability for professional malpractice and renumbered former Subdiv. (10) as (11); P.A. 95-220
changed the effective date of P.A. 88-230 from September 1, 1996, to September 1, 1998, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department
of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995.
Sec. 20-51 et seq. cited. 207 C. 674, 675, 679. Cited. Id. Cited. 208 C. 709, 713.
Does not unlawfully delegate legislative power to a nonelective body. 22 CA 193-195, 198, 199.
Subdiv. (4):
Cited. 207 C. 674, 676.
Cited. 22 CA 181-183, 191.
Subdiv. (9):
Cited. 208 C. 709, 724.
Secs. 20-60 to 20-62. Jurisdiction of charges against practitioner; hearing; revocation or suspension of license. Appeal. Restoration of right to practice upon
reversal of conviction. Sections 20-60 to 20-62, inclusive, are repealed.
(1949 Rev., S. 4560-4562; 1971, P.A. 101; 870, S. 56; P.A. 76-436, S. 418, 681; P.A. 77-603, S. 61, 125; 77-614, S.
323, 380, 381, 610; P.A. 80-484, S. 175, 176.)
Sec. 20-63. Title "Doctor" not to be used. No person granted a certificate under
this chapter shall display or use the title "Doctor" or its synonym without the designation
"Podiatrist" or "Podiatric Medicine" and shall not mislead the public as to the limited
professional scope of practice to treat human ailments.
(1949 Rev., S. 4565; P.A. 91-113, S. 5.)
History: P.A. 91-113 amended section to include "Podiatric Medicine" as designation to be used with "Doctor" and to
change reference to professional qualifications to professional scope of practice.
Sec. 20-51 et seq. cited. 207 C. 674, 679. Cited. 208 C. 709, 723.
Sec. 20-64. Ownership or operation of office. Section 20-64 is repealed.
(1949, Rev., S. 4566; P.A. 80-484, S. 175, 176.)
Sec. 20-65. Penalty. Any person, except a licensed podiatrist, a licensed natureopathic physician or a physician licensed to practice medicine or surgery, who practices
or attempts to practice podiatry, or any person who buys, sells or fraudulently obtains
any diploma or license to practice podiatry, or any person who uses the title "podiatrist"
or any word or title to induce the belief that such person is engaged in the practice of
podiatry, without complying with the provisions of this chapter, upon the first conviction
shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than five years
or be both fined and imprisoned, except that nothing herein contained shall be construed
to prohibit or restrict the sale or fitting of corrective, orthopedic or arch-supporting shoes
or commercial foot appliances by retail merchants and no such retail merchant shall be
permitted to practice podiatry without being licensed for such practice. For the purposes
of this section, each instance of patient contact or consultation that is in violation of any
provision of this chapter shall constitute a separate offense. Failure to renew a license
in a timely manner shall not constitute a violation for the purposes of this section.
(1949 Rev., S. 4567; P.A. 84-526, S. 5; P.A. 99-102, S. 23.)
History: P.A. 84-526 amended section by changing penalty for violation of any provision of chapter to a fine of not
more than five hundred dollars or imprisonment of not more than five years, and added provisions that each instance of
patient contact or consultation shall constitute a separate offense and failure to renew license in timely manner is not a
violation for purposes of section; P.A. 99-102 deleted obsolete reference to osteopathic physician and made technical
changes.
Cited. 146 C. 613. Sec. 20-51 et seq. cited. 207 C. 674, 679.