New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 8 - EDUCATION DEPARTMENT › Chapter I - Rules of the Board Of Regents › Part 29 - Unprofessional Conduct › Section 29.2 - General provisions for health professions

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) Unprofessional conduct shall also
				include, in the professions of: acupuncture, athletic training, audiology,
				certified behavior analyst assistant, registered dental assisting,
				chiropractic, creative arts therapy, dental hygiene, dentistry,
				dietetics/nutrition, licensed behavior analyst, licensed pathologists'
				assistants, licensed perfusionist, licensed practical nursing, marriage and
				family therapy, massage therapy, medicine, mental health counseling, midwifery,
				occupational therapy, occupational therapy assistant, ophthalmic dispensing,
				optometry, pharmacy, physical therapist assistant, physical therapy, physician
				assistant, podiatry, psychoanalysis, psychology, registered pharmacy
				technicians, registered professional nursing, respiratory therapy, respiratory
				therapy technician, social work, specialist assistant, speech-language
				pathology (except for cases involving those professions licensed, certified or
				registered pursuant to the pro- visions of article 131 or 131-B of the
				Education Law in which a statement of charges of professional misconduct was
				not served on or before July 26, 1991, the effective date of chapter 606 of the
				Laws of 1991):
(1) abandoning or neglecting a
				patient or client under and in need of immediate professional care, without
				making reasonable arrangements for the continuation of such care, or abandoning
				a professional employment by a group practice, hospital, clinic or other health
				care facility, without reasonable notice and under circumstances which
				seriously impair the delivery of professional care to patients or
				clients;
(2) willfully harassing,
				abusing or intimidating a patient either physically or verbally;
(3) failing to maintain a record for each
				patient which accurately reflects the evaluation and treatment of the patient.
				Unless otherwise provided by law, all patient records must be retained for at
				least six years. Obstetrical records and records of minor patients must be
				retained for at least six years, and until one year after the minor patient
				reaches the age of 21 years;
(4)
				using the word "Doctor" in offering to perform professional services without
				also indicating the profession in which the licensee holds a
				doctorate;
(5) failing to exercise
				appropriate supervision over persons who are authorized to practice only under
				the supervision of the licensed professional;
(6) guaranteeing that satisfaction or a cure will result from the
				performance of professional services;
(7) ordering of excessive tests, treatment, or use of treatment
				facilities not warranted by the condition of the patient;
(8) claiming or using any secret or special
				method of treatment which the licensee refuses to divulge to the State Board
				for the profession;
(9) failing to
				wear an identifying badge, which shall be conspicuously displayed and legible,
				indicating the practitioner's name and professional title authorized pursuant
				to the Education Law, while practicing as an employee or operator of a
				hospital, clinic, group practice or multiprofessional facility, registered
				pharmacy, or at a commercial establishment offering health services to the
				public;
(10) entering into an
				arrangement or agreement with a pharmacy for the compounding and/ or dispensing
				of coded or specially marked prescriptions;
(11) with respect to all professional practices conducted under an
				assumed name, other than facilities licensed pursuant to article 28 of the
				Public Health Law or article 13 of the Mental Hygiene Law, failing to post
				conspicuously at the site of such practice the names and the licensure field of
				all of the principal professional licensees engaged in practice at that site
				(i.e., principal partners, officers or principal shareholders);
(12) issuing prescriptions for drugs and
				devices which do not contain the following information: the date written, the
				prescriber's name, address, telephone number, profession and registration
				number, the patient's name, address and age, the name, strength and quantity of
				the prescribed drug or device, as well as the directions for use by the
				patient. In addition, all prescriptions for controlled substances shall meet
				the requirements of article 33 of the Public Health Law;
(13) failing to use scientifically accepted
				infection prevention techniques appropriate to each profession for the cleaning
				and sterilization or disinfection of instruments, devices, materials and work
				surfaces, utilization of protective garb, use of covers for contamination-
				prone equipment and the handling of sharp instruments. Such techniques shall
				include but not be limited to:
(i) wearing
				of appropriate protective gloves at all times when touching blood, saliva,
				other body fluids or secretions, mucous membranes, nonintact skin, blood-soiled
				items or bodily fluid-soiled items, contaminated surfaces, and sterile body
				areas, and during instrument cleaning and decontamination procedures;
(ii) discarding gloves used following
				treatment of a patient and changing to new gloves if torn or damaged during
				treatment of a patient; washing hands and donning new gloves prior to
				performing services for another patient; and washing hands and other skin
				surfaces immediately if contaminated with blood or other body fluids;
(iii) wearing of appropriate masks, gowns or
				aprons, and protective eyewear or chin- length plastic face shields whenever
				splashing or spattering of blood or other body fluids is likely to
				occur;
(iv) sterilizing equipment
				and devices that enter the patient's vascular system or other normally sterile
				areas of the body;
(v) sterilizing
				equipment and devices that touch intact mucous membranes but do not penetrate
				the patient's body or using high-level disinfection for equipment and devices
				which cannot be sterilized prior to use for a patient;
(vi) using appropriate agents, including but
				not limited to detergents for cleaning all equipment and devices prior a
				sterilization or disinfection;
(vii) cleaning, by the use of appropriate agents, including but
				not limited to detergents, equipment and devices which do not touch the patient
				or that only touch the intact skin of the patient;
(viii) maintaining equipment and devices
				used for sterilization according to the manufacturer's instructions;
(ix) adequately monitoring the performance
				of all personnel, licensed or unlicensed, for whom the licensee is responsible
				regarding infection control techniques;
(x) placing disposable used syringes, needles, scalpel blades, and
				other sharp instruments in appropriate puncture-resistant containers for
				disposal; and placing reusable needles, scalpel blades, and other sharp
				instruments in appropriate puncture-resistant containers until appropriately
				cleaned and sterilized;
(xi)
				maintaining appropriate ventilation devices to minimize the need for emergency
				mouth-to-mouth resuscitation;
(xii)
				refraining from all direct patient care and handling of patient care equipment
				when the health care professional has exudative lesions or weeping dermatitis
				and the condition has not been medically evaluated and determined to be safe or
				capable of being safely protected against in providing direct patient care or
				in handling patient care equipment; and
(xiii) placing all specimens of blood and body fluids in
				well-constructed containers with secure lids to prevent leaking; and cleaning
				any spill of blood or other body fluid with an appropriate detergent and
				appropriate chemical germicide; and
(14) failing to adhere to applicable practice guidelines, as
				determined by the commissioner, for the compounding of sterile drugs and
				products.