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Colorado health care providers should begin preparing for new practitioner-identification requirements under Senate Bill 25-152, the Know Your Health-Care Practitioner Act (the “Act”). The Act was signed by Governor Jared Polis on May 5, 2025, and its substantive requirements apply to conduct occurring on or after June 1, 2026.
The Act amends Colorado’s Medical Transparency Act to address certain issues raised by modern team-based care, including patient confusion regarding the education, training, licensure, certification, registration, and professional role of individuals providing health care services.
How This Affects Your Practice
Beginning June 1, 2026, advertisements for health care services that identify a practitioner by name must also identify the type of Colorado-issued license, certificate, or registration held by that practitioner. Advertisements also may not include deceptive or misleading information about a practitioner’s profession, occupation, skills, training, expertise, education, board certification, or credentials.
The Act defines “advertisement” broadly to include printed, electronic, or verbal communications used in the course of business which names a health care practitioner, including business cards, letterhead, patient brochures, signage, email, internet advertising, audio, video, and similar communications.
The Act also imposes point-of-service disclosure obligations. When establishing a practitioner-patient relationship, and unless emergent circumstances make it impracticable, a practitioner must verbally communicate the practitioner’s state-issued license, certificate, or registration during the first patient encounter, or identify themselves using a title or abbreviation authorized by statute.
In certain facilities, practitioners must also wear a visible identification name tag or similar display during patient encounters. This requirement applies to practitioners providing services in a Colorado general hospital, urgent care center, ambulatory surgical center, or freestanding emergency department. Facilities that follow Joint Commission standards, or standards of an alternative accrediting organization with substantially similar requirements, are deemed to satisfy the Act’s name-tag requirement.
Exceptions
The Act contains several important limitations and exceptions. It does not apply to practitioners working in non-patient-care settings or those without direct patient-care interactions. It also does not apply when compliance is not clinically feasible. In addition, a practitioner’s name may be concealed or omitted when the practitioner has safety concerns, when wearing identification would jeopardize the practitioner’s safety, or when providing direct care to a patient exhibiting signs of irrationality or violence.
Practitioners may continue to use supplemental descriptors or titles, provided they clearly identify the applicable state-issued license, certificate, or registration in the same advertisement or encounter and the descriptor accurately reflects the practitioner’s scope of practice, specialization, or nationally recognized professional terminology.
Violations do not create a private right of action. However, the Director may impose administrative fines, capped at $500 per violation, and is encouraged to consider corrective action before imposing the maximum fine.
Practical Application
Colorado health care organizations can undertake a comprehensive review of advertising materials, provider directories, signage, email signatures, name badges, patient forms, and other intake materials before June 1, 2026, to confirm that practitioner qualifications and licenses are accurately and consistently disclosed.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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