Arizona Administrative Code › Title 4 - PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS › Chapter 12 - Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers › Article 3 - REGULATORY PROVISIONS › Section R4-12-301 - General Funeral Services Requirements

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 28, July 12, 2024
A. Any funeral director, embalmer, funeral
				establishment or other person licensed by the Board shall comply with the
				following general funeral service requirements:
1. Licensees shall deal with funeral services
				consumers in an honest and truthful manner, and shall be responsive and
				sensitive to particular requirements or needs concerning funeral arrangements.
				Licensees shall not engage in any conduct which causes or results in disrespect
				for the deceased person, disruption of the funeral services or any injury to
				the decedent's family, contrary to the prevailing standards and practices of
				the profession in this state.
2.
				Licensees shall perform their respective responsibilities concerning the care,
				handling, transportation and disposition of human remains and concerning all
				transactions with funeral services consumers in a careful and competent manner
				in accordance with the prevailing standards and practices of the profession in
				this state.
3. Licensees shall
				comply with all laws and regulations pertaining to their activities in the
				care, handling, transportation and disposition of human remains including,
				without limitation, the provisions of the Funeral Directors Act (A.R.S. §
										32-1301 et
				seq.), the Prearranged Funeral Plan Act (A.R.S. §
										44-1721 et
				seq.), and these rules. Licensees shall comply with all health laws and
				regulations which pertain to the embalming and preparation of human remains.
				The following health laws and rules should be reviewed and followed to the
				extent applicable:
Subject
Law or Rule
Vital statistics
A.R.S. §
															36-301 et
							 seq.
Health menaces
A.R.S. §
															36-601
							 et seq.
Disposition of bodies
A.R.S. § 36-801 et seq.
Communicable diseases (Arizona Department of Health
							 Services rules)
A.A.C. R9-6-110 et seq.
Vital statistics (Arizona Department of Health
							 Services rules)
A.A.C.
							 R9-19-301
							 et seq.
4.
				Licensees should also make reasonable efforts to cooperate with the customs of
				all religions and creeds according to the desires of the decedent or his
				family.
5. Licensees shall not make
				statements nor engage in activities which foreseeably could result in needless
				infliction of emotional distress on members of the decedent's family or result
				in exposing the remains to unnecessary indignity, including without limitation:
a. Making statements to members of the family
				designed to offend their sensibilities during grief, including unsolicited
				comments concerning graphic details of the embalming, or of the condition,
				decomposition or decay of the remains, except that statements which are
				necessary under the circumstances to adequately inform the family concerning
				the advisability of viewing the remains or having an open-casket funeral
				ceremony are not prohibited by this subsection.
b. Permitting the remains to be exposed or
				displayed to members of the family or the public in a manner not consistent
				with public health.
c. Permitting
				the remains to be exposed or displayed to members of the family or the public
				in a manner designed to offend their sensibilities during grief, including
				exposing or displaying the remains:
i. During
				the embalming or preparation process;
ii. Without clothing or suitable covering of
				the trunk and limbs of the remains;
iii. For any promotional or commercial
				purpose;
iv. For photographs,
				videotape or other reproductive process without clothing or suitable covering
				or during the embalming or preparation process.
This subsection does not apply where public officials in the
				  discharge of their duties view or examine the remains.
6. Licensees shall not
				disclose or divulge any privacy, secrecy, confidence or secret of the domestic
				or private life of any deceased or the family thereof or of any home or circle
				learned as a result of professional employment, unless such disclosure is
				required by law, or is necessary to conduct the legitimate business of the
				funeral establishment in accordance with law. Licensees shall not discuss facts
				concerning the cause of death, expenditures for the funeral, the source of
				funds, or other matters of a personal nature except with the members of the
				family or their authorized representatives. Such information may be released to
				the Board during an investigation or inspection if a release or other
				permission is obtained or received from a family member or if pursuant to a
				subpoena or other court or administrative directive.
7. Licensees shall not pay or cause to be
				paid to any person including without limitation a nurse, attendant, doctor,
				ambulance personnel, hospital personnel, health care facility personnel, clergy
				or law enforcement officers, money or other valuable consideration to secure
				business from or through such person.