17 CAR § 140-604 – Licensing

(a) All respiratory care practitioners in the State of Arkansas must be licensed to practice, except as otherwise stated in Arkansas Code § 17-99-301.
(b) Examination. The Arkansas State Medical Board shall register as a respiratory care practitioner and shall issue a license to any person who satisfactorily passes the examination provided for in the Arkansas Respiratory Care Act, Arkansas Code § 17-99-101 et seq., and who otherwise meets the requirements for qualification contained herein and pays a fee as determined by the board.
(c) Waiver of examination. The board shall waive the examination and grant a license as a licensed respiratory care practitioner to any person who meets the qualifications outlined in Arkansas Code § 17-99-302.
(d) Temporary license.
1. (1) The Director of the Arkansas State Medical Board may issue a temporary permit without examination to practice respiratory care to persons who are not licensed in other states but otherwise meet the qualifications for licensure set out in the Arkansas Respiratory Care Act.
2. (2) The temporary permit is valid for six (6) months and is not renewable.
(e) Reciprocity. A licensed respiratory care practitioner who has been issued a license in another state or territory whose qualifications for licensure meet or exceed those prescribed in the Arkansas Respiratory Care Act shall be issued a license to practice respiratory care in the State of Arkansas upon payment of the prescribed fees if the state or territory from which the applicant comes accords a similar privilege of licensure to persons licensed in this state by the board.
(f) Renewal.
1. (1) A license or reregistration fee of forty dollars ($40.00) shall be paid to the board by each respiratory care practitioner who holds a license to practice respiratory care in the State of Arkansas.
2. (2) The registration fee shall be paid by the last day of the birth month.
3. (3) The license of any person failing to reregister and pay said fee by the last day of the birth month shall expire automatically.
(g) Reinstatement.
1. (1) Any delinquent license of less than five (5) years may be reinstated by paying all delinquent fees and a penalty of ten dollars ($10.00) for each year or part of a year they have been delinquent.
2. (2) They will also be required to submit twelve (12) continuing educational units for each year delinquent.
3. (3) Any person who shall fail to reregister and pay the annual fee for five (5) consecutive years shall be required to be reexamined by the board, as per 17 CAR § 140-603, before their license may be reinstated.
(h) Refusal, revocation, and/or suspension of license. The board after due notice and hearing may deny or refuse to renew a license, or may suspend or revoke a license, of any licensee or applicant for licensure:
1. (1) Who is habitually drunk or who is addicted to the use of narcotic drugs;
2. (2) Who has been convicted of a violation of state or federal narcotic laws;
3. (3) Who is, in the judgment of the board, guilty of unprofessional conduct;
4. (4) Who has been convicted of any crime listed in Arkansas Code § 17-3-102;
5. (5) Who is guilty, in the judgment of the board, of gross negligence in their practice as a respiratory care practitioner;
6. (6) Who has obtained or attempted to obtain registration by fraud or material misrepresentation;
7. (7) Who has been declared insane by a court of competent jurisdiction and has not thereafter been lawfully declared sane; or
8. (8) Who has treated or undertaken to treat ailments to human beings other than by respiratory care and as authorized by the Arkansas Respiratory Care Act, or who has undertaken to practice independent of the prescription and direction of a licensed physician.