Rule 4734-9-08 | Professional ethics.
(A) A doctor-patient relationship is any relationship between a chiropractic physician and a patient wherein the chiropractic physician provides professional services to the patient. The doctor-patient relationship requires the chiropractic physician to exercise the utmost care that he or she will do nothing to exploit the trust and dependency of the patient. A chiropractic physician shall make every effort to avoid other types of relationships that impair his or her professional judgement or risk the possibility of exploiting the confidence placed in him or her by a patient. Clinical judgment and practices should be objective and exercised solely for the patient's benefit.
(B) Chiropractic physicians who are employees of unlicensed individuals, or who work in a multidisciplinary healthcare setting, must exercise independent professional judgment and act in the patient's best interest at all times.
(C) Every chiropractic physician shall:
(1) Maintain proper standards of safety, sanitation and cleanliness in their place of practice, to include properly utilizing and maintaining all equipment used in practice;
(2) Remain free of conflicts of interest and shall maintain the integrity of the chiropractic profession while fulfilling his or her duties and responsibilities as a chiropractic physician. If a conflict of interest does develop, the chiropractic physician shall promptly disclose such conflict of interest to the affected parties. Chiropractic physicians shall avoid any conflicts of interest with a patient which might impair professional judgment;
(3) Maintain professional boundaries when interacting with patients via the internet, electronic messaging, text messaging, or any other type of social networking;
(4) Maintain confidentiality and protection of privacy, security, and integrity of patient information;
(5) Cooperate with other health care providers who concurrently treat, or who subsequently treat their patients;
(6) Present their professional credentials in an accurate and dignified manner;
(7) Promote or endorse themselves in a manner that is true and not in a false, fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading manner;
(8) Consult with other health care professionals when such consultation would benefit the patient, or when the patient requests such consultation;
(9) Protect the public by bringing to the attention of the board any action of another chiropractic physician that appears to violate Chapter 4734. of the Revised Code and agency 4734 of the Administrative Code;
(10) Not offer financial incentives such as cash, gift cards, gift certificates or cash equivalents to patients or potential patients;
(11) Not receive a fee, rebate, rental payment, or any other form of remuneration for the referral of a patient to a clinic, laboratory or other health service entity;
(12) Not misrepresent their professional credentials, or present credentials in a misleading manner. Misleading credentials and/or misrepresentation of credentials includes advertising educational degrees not recognized by a national accrediting agency recognized by the secretary of the United States department of education or the equivalent for education earned outside the United States; and/or advertising specialty certifications or diplomates not issued by a duly recognized organization;
(13) Not guarantee a cure to any patient;
(14) Not take physical, emotional, or financial advantage of any patient;
(15) Not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, political belief, veteran status, or mental or physical challenge;
(16) Not communicate with an individual in a way that invades privacy of the individual, or interferes with an existing doctor-patient relationship;
(17) Not make claims of professional superiority over his or her fellow practitioners or other health care practitioners in an inaccurate or unidentified manner which cannot be properly substantiated;
(18) Not identify themselves as practicing in a certain specialty or as a specialist, unless they possess the recognized credentials issued by the proper authority.
Supplemental Information