Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 3, September 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
KRS
319A.160,
319A.190
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
319A.070(3)(a) authorizes
the board to promulgate administrative regulations and administer the
provisions of KRS Chapter 319A. KRS Chapter 319A provides for the denial,
refusal to renew, suspension, revocation, or imposition of probationary
conditions upon a license for various violations of the Act and violation of
the administrative regulations promulgated pursuant thereto. This
administrative regulation sets forth a description of the code of ethics and
unprofessional conduct.
Section 1. The
following code of ethics consists of general guidelines for occupational
therapy practice. The code of ethics shall be as established in this section.
(1) An OT/L or an OTA/L shall be responsible
for providing services without regard to race, creed, national origin, sex,
age, handicap, disease, social status, financial status, or religious
affiliation.
(2) An OT/L or an
OTA/L shall be acquainted with applicable local, state, federal, and
institutional rules and shall function accordingly.
(3) An OT/L or an OTA/L shall be responsible
for informing employers, employees, and colleagues about those laws and
policies that apply to the profession of occupational therapy.
(4) An OT/L or an OTA/L shall not use or
participate in the use of any form of communication that contains a false,
fraudulent, deceptive, or unfair statement or claim.
(5) An OT/L or an OTA/L shall report any
illegal, incompetent, or unethical practice to the appropriate
authority.
(6) An OT/L or an OTA/L
shall hold the appropriate credentials for providing service.
(7) An OT/L or an OTA/L shall actively
maintain high standards of professional competence.
(8) An OT/L or an OTA/L shall function within
the parameters of his or her competence and the standards of the
profession.
(9) An OT/L or an OTA/L
shall accurately represent his or her competence and training to the
public.
(10) An OT/L or an OTA/L
shall refer clients to other service providers or consult with other service
providers when additional knowledge and expertise is required.
(11) An OT/L or an OTA/L shall protect the
confidential nature of information gained from educational, practice, and
investigational activities unless sharing the information is necessary to
protect the well-being of a third party.
(12) An OT/L or an OTA/L shall not disclose
privileged information when participating in reviews of peers, programs, or
systems.
(13) An OT/L or an OTA/L
shall include those people served in the intervention planning
process.
(14) An OT/L or an OTA/L
shall maintain goal-directed and objective relationships with all people
served.
(15) An OT/L or an OTA/L
shall accurately record and report client information.
(16) An OT/L or an OTA/L shall inform those
people served of the nature and potential outcomes of therapy and shall respect
the right of potential recipients of service to refuse therapy.
(17) An OT/L or an OTA/L shall inform
subjects involved in education or research activities of the potential outcome
of those activities.
(18) An OT/L
or an OTA/L shall take all reasonable precautions to avoid harm to the
recipient of services or detriment to the recipient's property.
(19) An OT/L or an OTA/L shall establish
fees, based on cost analysis, that are commensurate with services
rendered.
(20) An OT/L or an OTA/L
shall require those whom they supervise to adhere to ethical standards of
conduct.
(21) An OT/L or an OTA/L
who employs or supervises colleagues shall provide appropriate supervision as
required by
201
KAR 28:130.
(22) An OT/L or an OTA/L shall recognize the
contributions of colleagues when disseminating professional
information.
Section 2.
Failure to comply with any of the provisions in this section shall constitute
unprofessional conduct in the practice of occupational therapy.
(1) An OT/L or an OTA/L shall report to the
board any violation of KRS Chapter 319A or 201 KAR Chapter 28.
(2) An OT/L or an OTA/L shall report a change
of name or address to the board within thirty (30) days after a change of name
or address occurs.
(3) An OT/L or
an OTA/L shall notify the board within thirty (30) days after being adjudged
guilty of malpractice by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(4) An OT/L or an OTA/L shall comply with any
subpoena issued by the board.
(5)
An OT/L or an OTA/L shall not permit another person to use his or her license
for any purpose.
(6) An OT/L or an
OTA/L shall not delegate to an unlicensed employee or person a service which
requires the skill, knowledge, or judgment of an OT/L or an OTA/L.
(7) An OT/L or an OTA/L shall inform the
referring source when any requested occupational therapy service is
contraindicated, in the professional judgment of the licensee, and may refuse
to carry out that request.
(8) An
OT/L shall competently provide the following minimum services:
(a) Proper interpretation of all
referrals;
(b) Proper client
evaluations;
(c) The identification
and documentation of the client's problems and goals;
(d) The identification and documentation of
an intervention plan;
(e) The
appropriate occupational therapy services called for by the plan of
care;
(f) A determination of the
appropriate portions of the therapy program to be delegated to assistive
personnel;
(g) A determination of
the assistive personnel's qualifications by training, experience, license, or
certification to perform tasks before delegating those tasks;
(h) The appropriate supervision of
individuals as required by
201
KAR 28:130;
(i) Timely client reevaluations;
and
(j) Maintain timely and
adequate client records of all occupational therapy activity and client
response.
(9) An OTA/L
shall competently provide the following minimum services as appropriate:
(a) Seek appropriate supervision as required
by
201
KAR 28:130;
(b) The appropriate therapy called for by the
intervention plan;
(c) A
determination of the appropriate portions of the therapy program to be
delegated to assistive personnel;
(d) A determination of the assistive
personnel's qualifications by training, experience, license, or certification
to perform tasks before delegating those tasks;
(e) The appropriate supervision of
individuals as required by
201
KAR 28:130; and
(f) Maintain timely and adequate client
records of all occupational therapy activity and client response.
(10)
(a) An OT/L or an OTA/L shall not provide
occupational therapy services in an incompetent manner.
(b) Incompetent practice includes:
1. A lack of the knowledge, judgment, or
skill necessary to perform those modalities, methods, and techniques that come
within the practice of occupational therapy;
2. A deviation below the standard of practice
ordinarily possessed and applied by other OT/Ls and OTA/Ls in the Commonwealth
of Kentucky acting in the same or similar circumstances; or
3. A willful or repeated departure from or
the failure to conform to the minimal standard of acceptable and prevailing
practice of occupational therapy in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
(11) An OT/L or an
OTA/L shall address goals identified in the evaluation and intervention
plan.
(12) An OT/L or an OTA/L
shall not continue occupational therapy services beyond the point of possible
benefit to the client or provide therapy to the client more frequently than
necessary to obtain the maximum therapeutic effect.
(13) An OT/L or an OTA/L shall not engage in
false or misleading advertising, betrayal of a professional confidence, or
falsification of a client's records.
(14)
(a) An
OT/L or an OTA/L shall not seek to obtain payment of a professional fee or
compensation of any form through fraudulent means.
(b) Seeking payment or compensation through
fraudulent means includes:
1. Reporting
incorrect service dates for the purpose of obtaining payment;
2. Reporting charges for services not
actually rendered other than unkept appointments;
3. Incorrectly reporting services rendered
for the purpose of obtaining payment which is greater than that to which the
licensee or the licensee's employer is entitled;
4. Aiding a recipient of services in
fraudulently obtaining payment from a third party; or
5. Otherwise falsifying a record for the
purpose of obtaining a payment.
(15) An OT/L or an OTA/L shall not directly
or indirectly request, receive, or participate in the dividing, transferring,
assigning, rebating, or refunding of an unearned fee or profit by means of a
credit or other valuable consideration as an unearned commission, discount, or
gratuity in connection with the furnishing of occupational therapy
services.
(16) An OT/L or an OTA/L
shall not abuse alcohol or any controlled substance which affects the
licensee's ability to engage in the practice of occupational therapy in a safe
and competent manner.
(17) An OT/L
or an OTA/L shall not verbally or physically abuse a client.
(18)
(a) An
OT/L or an OTA/L shall not engage in acts of sexual misconduct with recipients
of their services or in their presence.
(b) Sexual misconduct includes:
1. Engaging in or soliciting a sexual
relationship, whether consensual or nonconsensual; or
2. Making sexual advances, requesting sexual
favors, or engaging in other verbal conduct, physical contact, or acts of a
sexual nature.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
KRS 319A.070(1),
(3),
319A.190