Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 46 - PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS › Part XLVII - Nurses: Practical Nurses and Registered Nurses › Subpart 1 - Practical Nurses › Chapter 3 - Board of Practical Nurse Examiners › Section XLVII-307 - Disclosure of Financial Interests and Prohibition on Remuneration for Patient Referrals

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. As
				  used in this Chapter, the following terms shall have the meaning
				  specified.
Disclose to the Patient
- the practical
					 nurse makes known to the patient at the time a referral is made that the
					 practical nurse has a financial or ownership interest in the facility or entity
					 to which the patient is referred. The practical nurse shall also inform the
					 patient of the patient's freedom to choose an alternate provider.
Financial Interest
- any ownership or
					 investment interest established through debt, equity, or other means and held
					 by a practical nurse or a member of a practical nurse's immediate family, or
					 any form of direct or indirect remuneration for referral.
Health Care Provider
- a person,
					 partnership, corporation, or any other organization licensed by this state to
					 provide health care or professional services, including, but not limited to,
					 providers of clinical laboratory services, diagnostic services, medicinal
					 suppliers, therapeutic services, physicians, chiropractors, podiatrists,
					 optometrists, physical therapists, psychologists, licensed professional
					 counselors, registered or licensed practical nurses, pharmacists, and any
					 officer, employee, or agent thereof acting in the course and scope of his/her
					 employment.
Ownership Interest
- the possession of
					 equity in the capital, the stock, or the profits of an entity.
Payment
- money or anything of monetary
					 value, including gifts, gratuities, favors, entertainment or loans.
Person
- an individual, a corporation, a
					 company, an association, a firm, a partnership, or any other
					 organization.
Practical Nurse
- a licensed practical
					 nurse and/or a practical nursing student/graduate.
Referral
- the act of prescribing,
					 ordering, directing, re-directing, or recommending to a patient a specific
					 facility or entity which provides a health-related service, test,
					 pharmaceutical appliance or device, by means of prescription, recommended
					 course of treatment, or direction concerning diagnostic or therapeutic
					 treatment or service.
B. Disclosure of
				  Financial Interests
1. Use of Patient
				  Disclosure Forms
a. It is the practical
				  nurse's responsibility to disclose to the patient a financial or ownership
				  interest when making a referral to any health care provider outside the same
				  health care provider as that of the referring practical nurse. Meaningful
				  disclosure shall be given to each patient at the time a referral is made. The
				  disclosure must be made in writing. The board recommends that the disclosure be
				  dated and signed at the time of referral by the practical nurse and the
				  patient, and that the practical nurse maintain written evidence of the
				  disclosure. If the practical nurse delegates the disclosure to another person
				  in the practical nurse's office, the board recommends that the disclosure be
				  written, dated, and signed by the person making the disclosure and by the
				  patient.
b. The memorialization of
				  the disclosure shall be substantially in the following form:
I acknowledge that I have been advised by my practical
					 nurse that he/she has a financial or ownership interest in the facility or
					 entity to which he/she has referred me, and that my practical nurse has advised
					 me that I am free to choose another facility or entity to provide the service,
					 drug, device or equipment recommended.
c. Written evidence shall constitute
				  presumptive evidence that the practical nurse made the required disclosure in
				  an enforcement proceeding before the board. The disclosure to the patient is
				  not the act of the patient signing the form, but is the act of the practical
				  nurse disclosing to the patient the nurse's financial or ownership interest and
				  advising the patient of the patient's freedom of choice.