Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 435 - State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision › Chapter 55 - Licensed Orthotists and Prosthetists and Registered Technicians and Assistants › Subchapter 7 - Regulation of Practice › Section 435:55-7-3 - Standards of ethics and professional conduct

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
(a) Purpose. The rules in this section on the
				profession of Orthotics and Prosthetics shall be to establish the standards of
				professional conduct and code of ethics required of a licensee.
(b) In the conduct of their professional
				activities the Orthotist and/or Prosthetist shall be bound by the following
				ethical and professional principles in conjunction with the canons of ethical
				conduct as published by the American Board for Certification and the Board for
				Orthotist Prosthetist Certification.
(1)
Responsibilities to the patient.
(A)
Services.
The Orthotist
				and/or Prosthetist shall provide orthotic and/or prosthetic devices in an
				effective, dignified and efficient manner in accordance with the direction of
				patient's physician.
(B)
Recognition of possible pathologies requiring orthotic and/or prosthetic
				intervention.
The Orthotist and/or Prosthetist shall assist lay people
				to recognize problems and the need for appropriate medical care only out of a
				desire to protect one who would not otherwise seek or obtain proper medical
				attention. Such assistance should recommend that the patient have a physician
				diagnose any orthopedic/vascular pathology.
(C)
Confidential information.
(i) The Orthotist and/or Prosthetist shall
				keep all information relating to a patient's background, condition, treatment,
				management plan or other areas relating to the orthotist and/or
				prosthetist-patient relationship confidential unless prior written consent of
				the patient or the patient's legal guardian is received.
(ii) The Orthotist and/or Prosthetist shall
				keep patient information that may be derived as a result of any Orthotist
				and/or Prosthetist's peer review process confidential by all participants
				unless written permission to release the information is obtain from the patient
				or the patient's legal guardian.
(iii) The Orthotist and/or Prosthetist shall
				keep all patient information that is derived in a workplace from a working
				relationship among orthotists and/or prosthetists relating to any patient
				confidential.
(iv) The Orthotist
				and/or Prosthetist shall strictly adhere to the confidentiality requirements
				set forth in the subsection unless the release is ordered by a court of law or
				release is necessary to protect the welfare of the patient and/or the community
				in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
(D)
Competency.
(i) The Orthotist and/or Prosthetist shall
				provide services that reflect the best practices in the profession and use best
				efforts to meet the patient's orthotic and/or prosthetic
				requirements.
(ii) Upon accepting
				an individual for orthotic and/or prosthetic services, the orthotist and/or
				prosthetist shall assume the responsibility for evaluating that individual;
				planning, implementing and supervising the patient's care; reevaluating and
				changing the orthotic and/or prosthetic program; and maintaining adequate
				records of the case, including progress reports.
(iii) The orthotist and/or prosthetist shall
				not fill a prescription that is beyond his/her degree of expertise.
(E)
Research.
The
				Orthotist and/or Prosthetist shall ensure that all research projects or studies
				are done in accordance with standards accepted by the Board.
(F)
Trust and honesty.
The
				orthotist and/or prosthetist shall always be truthful and honest in orthotic
				and/or prosthetic matters to the patient, physician, Board and the public in
				general.
(G)
Fees and
				compensation.
(i) The orthotist and/or
				prosthetist shall not provide services solely for personal financial
				gain.
(ii) The orthotist and/or
				prosthetist shall not engage in false, misleading or deceptive representations
				in relation to the cost of the services undertaken or furnished.
(iii) The orthotist and/or prosthetist shall
				not recommend or provide continued orthotic and/or prosthetic services to a
				patient when the orthotist and/or prosthetist is aware that the services are
				being recommended or provided more frequently than necessary, or that orthotic
				and/or prosthetic service has already progressed beyond the point at which
				further benefit to the patient is possible.
(iv) The orthotist and/or prosthetist shall
				not submit false or misleading information in requesting reimbursement from
				third-party payers, including Medicare and private insurers.
(H)
Practice
				arrangements.
(i) Except for fees
				earned for services performed for the patient, the orthotist and/or prosthetist
				shall not give or receive valuable consideration solely because of
				referrals.
(ii) Participation in
				the business, partnership, corporation or other entity does not exempt the
				orthotist and/or prosthetist, whether employer, partner or stockholder, either
				individually or collectively, from the obligation of complying with this Code
				of Ethics and the rules of the Board.
(iii) The orthotist and/or prosthetist shall
				advise the Board and/or the advisory council of any employer or employee
				practice that is in contradiction with this Code of Ethics.
(I)
Delay in
				services.
The orthotist and/or prosthetist shall not accept any
				prescription when the orthotist and/or prosthetist knows or believes the
				orthotic and/or prosthetic device cannot be furnished with in a reasonable
				period of time unless the orthotist and/or prosthetist has advised the patient
				in advance the approximate length of time it will take to fill the
				prescription. In such instances, the orthotist and/or prosthetist must discuss
				the situation with the patient and prescribing health care
				practitioner.
(J)
Compliance
				with laws and regulations.
The orthotist and/or prosthetist shall
				provide consultation, evaluation, treatment, business practices, and preventive
				care, in accordance with the laws and regulations of the State of
				Oklahoma.
(K)
Consumer
				protection.
The orthotist and/or prosthetist shall report to the Board
				any conduct that appears to be unethical, incompetent or illegal. Failure to
				report any such behavior that is known to the orthotist and/or prosthetist
				shall be unethical.
(L)
Maintenance of patient records.
The orthotist and/or prosthetist
				shall initiate and maintain appropriate records about his/her service with each
				patient. The orthotist and/or prosthetist has the duty to maintain patient
				files in a safe manner and ensure the confidentiality of the patient's
				records.
(M)
Delegation of
				responsibility.
The orthotist and/or prosthetist shall exercise adequate
				supervision over persons to whom the orthotist and/or prosthetist has delegated
				certain responsibilities requiring unique skills, knowledge or judgment. The
				orthotist and/or prosthetist is responsible for orthotic and/or prosthetic care
				performed by support personnel under his/her supervision. The orthotist and/or
				prosthetist is responsible for assuring that adequate supervision of support
				personnel (assistants, fitters, technicians) occurs to ensure the patient
				receives the necessary and appropriate care. Additionally, the orthotist and/or
				prosthetist is responsible in ensuring that said personnel receive annual
				continuing education in order to perform their responsibilities at the highest
				level of public protection.
(N)
Quality Assurance.
The Orthotist and/or Prosthetist will conduct
				and maintain a quality assurance program involving all treated
				patients.
(O)
Illegal
				discrimination.
The orthotist and/or prosthetist shall not decline to
				accept a patient on the basis of race, gender, color, religion or national
				origin or on any basis that would constitute illegal discrimination.
(P)
Discontinuing service.
The
				orthotist and/or prosthetist has a duty to inform the physician if the patient
				fails to follow the physician's plan for orthotic and/or prosthetic treatment
				or discontinues the physician's plan for orthotic and/or prosthetic treatment
				prematurely.