Texas Administrative Code › Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION › Part 4 - TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATION › Chapter 130 - PODIATRIC MEDICINE PROGRAM › Subchapter E - PRACTITIONER RESPONSIBILITIES AND CODE OF ETHICS › Section 130.55 - Practitioner Code of Ethics

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) The
				  health and safety of patients shall be the first consideration of the
				  practitioner. The principal objective to the practitioner is to render service
				  to humanity. A practitioner shall continually strive to improve his medical
				  knowledge and skill for the benefit of his patients and colleagues. The
				  practitioner shall administer to patients in a professional manner and to the
				  best of his ability. Secrets and personal information entrusted to him shall be
				  held inviolate unless disclosure is necessary to protect the welfare of the
				  individual or the community. A practitioner shall be temperate in all things in
				  recognition that his knowledge and skill are essential to public health,
				  welfare, and human life.
(b) A
				  practitioner shall conduct his practice on the highest plane of honesty,
				  integrity, and fair dealing and shall not mislead his patients as to the
				  gravity of such patient's podiatric medical needs. A practitioner shall not
				  abandon a patient he has undertaken to treat. The practitioner may discontinue
				  treatment after reasonable notice has been given to the patient by the
				  practitioner of the practitioner's intention to discontinue treatment and the
				  patient has had a reasonable time to secure the services of another
				  practitioner or all podiatric medical services actually begun have been
				  completed and there is no contract or agreement to provide further
				  treatment.
(c) A practitioner shall
				  not aid an unethical practitioner or engage in any subterfuge with any person,
				  business, or organization. The practitioner shall expose any illegal,
				  unethical, or dishonest conduct of other practitioners and cooperate with those
				  invested with the responsibility of enforcement of the law and these rules of
				  conduct.
(d) A person under a
				  practitioner's care or treatment on whom podiatric medical surgery is to be
				  performed in connection with such care or treatment should be informed by the
				  practitioner of the identity of the surgeon before the surgery is
				  performed.
(e) The practitioner has
				  special knowledge which his patient does not have; therefore, to avoid
				  misunderstanding he should advise his patient in advance of beginning treatment
				  of the nature and extent of the treatment needed; the approximate time required
				  to perform the recommended treatment and services; and any further or
				  additional services or return by the patient for treatment, adjustments, or
				  consultation and the time in which this shall occur. A practitioner should
				  inform his patients as to the fees to be charged for services before the
				  services are performed, regardless of whether the fees are charged on a case
				  basis, on the basis of a separate charge for each service, or a combination of
				  these two methods, or some other basis. If an exact fee for a particular
				  service, as in extended care cases, cannot be quoted to a patient, a fair and
				  reasonable estimate of what the fee will be and the basis on which it will be
				  determined should be given the patient.
(f) A practitioner shall not tender or
				  receive a commission for a referral.