Kentucky Medical Law and Court Decisions. (For the information and guidance of medical referees, physicians and officials, it has been deemed advisable to append to this report the statute of this State regulating the practice of medicine, and various opinions and decisions rendered under it.) THE MEDICAL LAW OF KENTUCKY. (As Amended in 1904.) Act of 1904. Sec. 1. A board to be known as the State Board of Health is hereby established. It shall consist of eight members, all of whom shall be legally qualified registered practitioners under this act, seven of whom shall be appointed by the Governor by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and the eighth member, who shall be the secretary and executive officer, shall be elected by the board, and by virtue of his office of secretary shall be a member of the board. One member of the board shall be a homeopathic, one an eclectic and one an osteopathic physician, and the other appointed members shall be regular, or allopathic physicians, all to be appointed by the Governor from lists of three names for each vacancy, furnished respectively by the State Society or Association of such schools or systems of practice as are entitled to the member, and the successors of such members shall be appointed in the same manner. If the board shall elect one of its members secretary, as it may do, the Governor shall appoint another member to complete the full number of the board. The president and secretary shall have authority to administer oaths for the purposes of this act, and the members of the board shall, before entering upon the discharge of their duties, take the oath prescribed by the Constitution for State officers. Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the county clerk of each Act of county to purchase a book of suitable size, to be known as the "Medical Register" of the county, and to set apart one full page for the registration of each physician; and when any physician shall 1893. die or remove from the county, he shall make a note of the same at the bottom of the page; and said clerk shall, on the first day of January in each year, transmit to the office of the State Board of Health a duly certified list of the physicians of said county registered under this law, together with such other information as is hereinafter required, and perform such other duties as are required by this law; and such clerk shall receive the sum of fifty cents from each physician so registered, which shall be his full compensation for all the duties required under this law. Act of 1893. Sec. 3. It shall be unlawful for any person to practice medicine, in any of its branches, within the limits of this State, who has not exhibited and registered in the county clerk's office of the county in which he resides his authority for so practicing medicine as herein prescribed, together with his age, address, place of birth, and the school or system of medicine to which he proposes to belong; and the person so registered shall subscribe and verify by oath, before such clerk, an affidavit containing such facts, which, if willfully false, shall subject the affiant to conviction and punishment for perjury. Act of 1904. Sec. 4. Authority to practice medicine under this act shall be a certificate from the State Board of Health, registered in the county in which the holder resides; and said board shall issue a certificate to any reputable physician who desires to practice medicine in this State, who has passed a satisfactory examination before it, in the branches of medicine as taught in reputable medical colleges; and said board shall, upon application, admit to examination any person of good moral character, who may possess any of the following qualifications: 1st. A diploma from a reputable medical college, legally chartered under the laws of this State. 2d. A diploma from a reputable and legally chartered medical college of some other State in this Union. 3d. Satisfactory evidence from the person claiming the same that such person was reputably and honorably engaged in the practice of medicine in this State prior to February 23, 1884. Applicants may present their credentials by mail or proxy and shall receive due notice of the place and date of examination. Certificates shall be signed by the president and secretary, and attested by the seal of the board, and the fee for each examination, including the certificate, shall not exceed the sum of ten dollars. The members of the board shall be entitled to receive ten dollars per day and their necessary traveling expenses for each day devoted to such examinations, to be paid from the fees provided herein, and the board shall have authority to provide for such assistants as it may deem necessary and pay for the same from the fund arising from such fees. 1904. Sec. 5. Examinations shall be held at least semi-annually Act of at Frankfort, Louisville, Lexington, or other centrally located places, and on such dates as the board may deem will best suit the convenience of applicants. The questions for all examinations in the branches common to all schools or systems of practice shall be prepared by a committee of the board, to consist of five members, one of which shall be a homeopath, one an eclectic, and one an osteopath, and said committee shall conduct all examinations and grade the same, and when any applicant has made the average prescribed by law, and is so graded, the Board of Health shall admit such applicant to the practice of his or her profession in this State. All examinations shall be conducted in writing, and in such manner that the result shall be entirely fair and impartial, the applicants being known by numbers so that no member of the Board shall be able to identify the papers of any applicant until they have been graded and the case passed upon; and all questions and answers, with the grade attached, shall be preserved for one year. All applicants examined at any one time shall have the same questions asked them in anatomy, physiology, obstetrics, and the other branches common to all systems of practice, and shall be required to make an average grade of 70, with a minimum of 60 in any one branch; but all examinations, involving methods or principles of treatment shall be made and graded by that member of the board who represents, or most nearly represents, the school or system of practice to which the applicant belongs, or the board may, in its discretion, omit the examination in such branches. No member of the board shall be a stockholder or member of the faculty or board of trustees of any medical college. Act of 1904. Sec. 6. Any person engaged in the practice of osteopathy in this State prior to February 1, 1904, who holds a diploma from a reputable osteopathic college, having a course of not less than four terms of five months each, legally chartered under the laws of any State in this Union, as determined by the osteopathic member of the board, and who makes application to the State Board of Health within ninety days after the passage of this act, accompanied by the fee herein before provided, shall receive a certificate from the board without an examination, which, when registered in the office of the county clerk of the county of his residence, as required of other certificates issued by the board, shall authorize the holder thereof to practice osteopathy in this Commonwealth, but it shall not permit him to administer drugs, nor to perform surgical operations with the knife. The words, "practice of medicine," in this act, shall be held to include the practice of osteopathy. But no person shall be permitted to practice osteopathy in this Commonwealth without an osteopathic diploma and certificate as provided in this section. 1904. Sec. 7. Any other person applying for authority to treat the Act of sick or injured, or in any way discharge the duties usually performed by physicians, whether by medical, surgical or mechanical means, shall apply to the State Board of Health, who shall examine them as to their competency in such manner as they may deem fair and best, but such examination shall always include anatomy, physiology and pathology, and the term "practice of medicine," as used in this act, shall be construed to be the treatment of any human ailment or infirmity by any method; but this shall not include trained or other nurses, or persons selling proprietary or patent medicines, when not traveling as a troup or troupes composed of two or more persons. Act of 1904. Sec. S. That any itinerant medical company of two or more persons traveling as a troupe or company as vendors of any drug, nostrum or instrument of any kind, intended for the treatment of any disease or injury, or who shall, by any writing or printing, profess to the public to treat disease or deformity by the use of any drug, nostrum, or instrument, shall pay to the board a license of $100 per month, which shall be at once covered into the State Treasury. The board shall issue a license to reputable and worthy applicants under this section upon payment of the fee each month, but may for sufficient cause refuse such license. Any such itinerant vendor traveling as a company or troupe, with two or more persons as members or in its employ, who shall treat or profess to treat or cure disease or injuries by the use of any drug, nostrum, or instrument without license to do so, or shall sell the same for such purpose, in violation of this section, shall, upon conviction, each and every person so engaged, be fined fifty dollars for the first offense, and upon each subsequent conviction shall be fined one hundred dollars. Act of 1893. Act of 1893. Sec. 9. Nothing in this law shall be construed as to authorize any itinerant doctor to register or to practice medicine in any county in this State. Sec. 10. Nothing in this law shall be so construed as to discriminate against any peculiar school or system of medicine, or to prohibit women from practicing midwifery, or to prohibit gratuitous services in case of emergency; nor shall this law apply to commissioned surgeons of the United States Army, Navy or Marine Hospital Service, or to legally qualified physicians of another State, called to see a particular case or family, but who does not open an office or appoint any place in this State where or she may meet patients or receive calls. Act of 1904. Sec. 11. The State Board of Health may refuse to issue the certificate provided for in this act for any of the following causes: 1st. The presentation to the board of any license, certificate or diploma which was illegally or fraudulently obtained, or the practice of fraud or deception in passing the examination. 2d. The commission of a criminal abortion, or conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude. 3d. Chronic or persistent inebriety, or addiction to a drug habit, to an extent which disqualifies the applicant to practice with safety to the people. 4th. Or other grossly unprofessional or dishonorable conduct of a character likely to deceive or defraud the public. The board may suspend or revoke a certificate for any of the causes for which it may refuse to grant a license under the provisions of this act. In all proceedings for suspension or revocation under this act the holder of the certificate shall be furnished with a copy of the complaint, and shall be given at least thirty days thereafter to prepare for a hearing; and he shall be heard in person or by counsel, or both, as he may elect, and in such hearing and in all matters arising in the course of their duties, the president and secretary shall have authority to administer oaths; and in such hearing the board may take oral or written proof for and against the complaint, as it may deem will best present the facts. In all cases of refusal, suspension, or revocation, the applicant or holder may appeal to the Governor, who may affirm or overrule the decision of the board. Upon the suspension or revocation of any certificate, it shall be the duty of the board to give official notice |