Nursing board would set complaint and record-clearing rules

The nursing board would set procedures for handling complaints, including notice, evidence review, confidentiality, and investigation priorities. The rules cover complaints against licensees and certificate holders, along with complaints about nursing programs and schools. Complainants generally must identify themselves and participate in an evidentiary interview. The board may protect a complainant’s identity when retaliation, danger, or patient safety concerns justify confidentiality. The board may act on an anonymous complaint only when it has enough information about a patient-safety violation without the complainant’s testimony. The board must limit investigations to relevant issues but may investigate other misconduct discovered during the investigation. The board generally must submit, dismiss, or extend a complaint investigation within 180 days after receiving it; one additional 100-day period may apply, and another regulatory or criminal investigation suspends these deadlines.

The nursing board would be allowed to clear most older disciplinary actions once for a licensee or certificate holder, and would be required to clear certain minor actions when listed requirements are met. The rules cover disciplinary actions against nurses and certificate holders, including actions for late renewal, incomplete continuing education, documentation errors, and other violations. Minor renewal, education, and documentation cases must be at least two years old, fully completed, and followed by no later violations. Other eligible actions must be at least five years old, fully completed, followed by no later violations, and part of a record with no more than two total disciplinary actions from any regulatory authority. The board may not clear actions involving serious criminal conduct, patient harm or death, sexual misconduct, impairment, controlled-substance diversion, fraud, or falsified or maliciously altered health records. The board must report an expungement to national databases that received the original action, and the person would not have to report the cleared action on later license, permit, or certificate applications. A qualifying minor action must be at least two years old, while most other qualifying actions must be at least five years old; each licensee or certificate holder may receive expungement only once.