(a) As used in this section:

(1) “Active professional practice” includes, but is not limited to, activities of a currently licensed physician who functions as the medical director of a managed care organization or other organization;

(2) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Public Health;

(3) “Contact hour” means a minimum of fifty minutes of continuing education activity;

(4) “Department” means the Department of Public Health;

(5) “Licensee” means any person who receives a license from the department pursuant to § 20-13; and

(6) “Registration period” means the one-year period for which a license has been renewed in accordance with § 19a-88 and is current and valid.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (d), (e) and (f) of this section, a licensee applying for license renewal shall earn a minimum of fifty contact hours of continuing medical education within the preceding twenty-four-month period. Such continuing medical education shall (1) be in an area of the physician’s practice; (2) reflect the professional needs of the licensee in order to meet the health care needs of the public; and (3) during the first renewal period in which continuing medical education is required and not less than once every six years thereafter, include at least one contact hour of training or education in each of the following topics: (A) Infectious diseases, including, but not limited to, acquired immune deficiency syndrome and human immunodeficiency virus, (B) risk management, including, but not limited to, prescribing controlled substances and pain management, and screening for inflammatory breast cancer and gastrointestinal cancers, including colon, gastric, pancreatic and neuroendocrine cancers and other rare gastrointestinal tumors, and, for registration periods beginning on or after October 1, 2022, such risk management continuing medical education may also include screening for endometriosis, (C) sexual assault, (D) domestic violence, (E) cultural competency, including, but not limited to, the effects of systemic racism, explicit and implicit bias, racial disparities, and the experiences of transgender and gender diverse persons on patient diagnosis, care and treatment, and (F) behavioral health, provided further that such behavioral health continuing medical education may include, but not be limited to, at least two contact hours of training or education during the first renewal period in which continuing education is required and not less than once every six years thereafter, on (i) suicide prevention, or (ii) diagnosing and treating (I) cognitive conditions, including, but not limited to, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, delirium, related cognitive impairments and geriatric depression, or (II) mental health conditions, including, but not limited to, mental health conditions common to veterans and family members of veterans. Training for mental health conditions common to veterans and family members of veterans shall include best practices for determining whether a patient is a veteran or family member of a veteran, screening for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, risk of suicide, depression and grief, and suicide prevention training. For purposes of this section, qualifying continuing medical education activities include, but are not limited to, courses offered or approved by the American Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association, Connecticut Hospital Association, Connecticut State Medical Society, Connecticut Osteopathic Medical Society, county medical societies or equivalent organizations in another jurisdiction, educational offerings sponsored by a hospital or other health care institution or courses offered by a regionally accredited academic institution or a state or local health department. The commissioner, or the commissioner’s designee, may grant a waiver for not more than ten contact hours of continuing medical education for a physician who engages in activities related to the physician’s service as a member of the Connecticut Medical Examining Board, established pursuant to § 20-8a, engages in activities related to the physician’s service as a member of a medical hearing panel, pursuant to § 20-8a, or assists the department with its duties to boards and commissions as described in § 19a-14.

(c) Each licensee applying for license renewal pursuant to § 19a-88 shall sign a statement attesting that the licensee has satisfied the continuing education requirements of subsection (b) of this section on a form prescribed by the department. Each licensee shall retain records of attendance or certificates of completion that demonstrate compliance with the continuing education requirements of subsection (b) of this section for a minimum of six years following the year in which the continuing education activities were completed and shall submit such records or certificates to the department for inspection not later than forty-five days after a request by the department for such records or certificates.

(d) A licensee applying for the first time for license renewal pursuant to § 19a-88 is exempt from the continuing medical education requirements of this section.

(e) (1) A licensee who is not engaged in active professional practice in any form during a registration period shall be exempt from the continuing medical education requirements of this section, provided the licensee submits to the department, prior to the expiration of the registration period, a notarized application for exemption on a form prescribed by the department and such other documentation as may be required by the department. The application for exemption pursuant to this subdivision shall contain a statement that the licensee may not engage in professional practice until the licensee has met the requirements set forth in subdivision (2) or (3) of this subsection, as appropriate.

(2) Any licensee who is exempt from the provisions of subsection (b) of this section for less than two years shall be required to complete twenty-five contact hours of continuing medical education that meets the criteria set forth in said subsection (b) within the twelve-month period immediately preceding the licensee’s return to active professional practice.

(3) Any licensee who is exempt from the requirements of subsection (b) of this section for two or more years shall be required to successfully complete the Special Purpose Examination of the Federation of State Medical Boards prior to returning to active professional practice.

(f) In individual cases involving medical disability or illness, the commissioner may, in the commissioner’s discretion, grant a waiver of the continuing education requirements or an extension of time within which to fulfill the continuing education requirements of this section to any licensee, provided the licensee submits to the department an application for waiver or extension of time on a form prescribed by the department, along with a certification by a licensed physician of the disability or illness and such other documentation as may be required by the commissioner. The commissioner may grant a waiver or extension for a period not to exceed one registration period, except that the commissioner may grant additional waivers or extensions if the medical disability or illness upon which a waiver or extension is granted continues beyond the period of the waiver or extension and the licensee applies for an additional waiver or extension.

(g) Any licensee whose license has become void pursuant to § 19a-88 and who applies to the department for reinstatement of such license pursuant to § 19a-14 shall submit evidence documenting successful completion of twenty-five contact hours of continuing education within the one-year period immediately preceding application for reinstatement.