New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 16 - OCCUPATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LICENSING
Chapter 26 - HEARING, SPEECH AND AUDIOLOGY PRACTITIONERS
Part 9 - CODE OF ETHICS
Section 16.26.9.8 - CODE OF ETHICS
Universal Citation: 16 NM Admin Code 16.26.9.8
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A. The purpose of the Code of Ethics is to preserve high standards of integrity and ethical principles in the discharge of obligations to the public by the professions of speech-language pathologists, audiologists and hearing aid dispensers. Every individual who practices as a licensed speech-language pathologist, audiologist or hearing aid dispenser shall abide by the Code of Ethics. Any action that violates the Code of Ethics is to be considered unethical and subject to disciplinary action by the board. Failure of the code to specify any particular responsibility or practice is not to be construed as a denial of the existence of a responsibility or practice in that area. The rules of ethics are specific statements of minimally acceptable professional conduct or of prohibitions and are applicable to all licensed individuals. The fundamental rules of ethical conduct as they relate to responsibility to the public are described in three categories, principles of ethics, ethical proscriptions and matters of professional propriety.
(1) Principles of
ethics: Six principles serve as a basis for the ethical evaluation of
professional conduct and form the underlying moral basis for the Code of
Ethics. Licensed individuals subscribing to this code shall observe these
principles as affirmative obligations under all conditions of professional
activity.
(2) Ethical
proscriptions: Ethical proscriptions are formal statements of prohibitions that
are derived from the principles of ethics.
(3) Matters of professional propriety:
Matters of professional propriety represent guidelines of conduct designed to
promote the public interest and thereby better inform the public and
particularly the persons in need of service by the speech-language pathologist,
audiologist and hearing aid dispenser as to the availability and the rules
governing the delivery of these services.
B. Principles of ethics 1: Individuals shall honor their responsibility to hold paramount the welfare of the persons they serve professionally.
(1) Licensed
individuals shall use every resource including referral to other specialists as
needed, to ensure that high quality service is provided.
(2) Licensed individuals shall fully inform
the persons they serve of the nature and possible effects of the services
rendered and products dispensed.
(3) Licensed individuals shall fully inform
subjects participating in research or teaching activities of the nature and
possible effects of these activities.
(4) Licensed individuals shall evaluate the
effectiveness of services rendered and of products dispensed and shall provide
services or dispense products only when benefit can reasonably be
expected.
(5) Licensed individuals
shall maintain adequate records of professional services rendered and products
dispensed and shall provide access to those records when appropriately
authorized.
(6) Licensed
individuals shall use persons in research or as subjects of teaching
demonstrations only with their fully informed consent.
(7) Licensed individuals' fees shall be
commensurate with services rendered.
(8) Licensed individuals shall take all
reasonable precautions to avoid injury to persons in the delivery of
professional services.
(9) Licensed
individuals whose services are adversely affected by substance abuse or other
health-related conditions shall seek professional assistance and, where
appropriate, withdraw from the affected area of practice.
C. Ethical proscriptions:
(1) Licensed individuals shall not
discriminate in the delivery of professional services on the basis of race or
ethnicity, gender, age, religion, national orgin, sexual orientation, or
disability.
(2) Licensed
individuals shall not guarantee the results of any treatment, procedure, or
product, directly or by implication: however, they may make a reasonable
statement of prognosis. Caution must be exercised not to mislead any person
served professionally to expect results that cannot be predicted from sound
evidence.
(3) Licensed individuals
must not evaluate, treat, or dispense except in a professional
relationship.
(4) Licensed
individuals shall not evaluate, treat, or dispense solely by correspondence.
This does not preclude follow-up correspondence with persons previously served,
nor providing them with general information of an educational nature.
(5) Licensed individuals shall not reveal,
without proper authorization any professional or personal information about the
person served professionally, unless required to do so, or unless doing so is
necessary to protect the welfare of the person or of the community.
(6) Licensed individuals must not charge for
services not rendered.
(7) Licensed
individuals must not exploit any person in the delivery of professional
services, including accepting persons for treatment when benefit cannot
reasonably be expected or continuing treatment when it is no longer
necessary.
D. Principles of ethics II: Licensed individuals shall maintain high standards of professional competence.
(1) Licensed
individuals shall engage in those aspects of the professions that are within
the scope of their licensed professional competence.
(2) Licensed individuals shall identify
competent, dependable referral sources for persons served
professionally.
(3) Licensed
individuals shall insure that all equipment used in the provision of services
is in proper working order and is properly calibrated.
(4) Licensed individuals shall continue their
professional development.
(5)
Licensed individuals shall possess appropriate qualifications for services
provided.
E. Ethical proscriptions:
(1) Licensed individuals must
not provide services by prescriptions from anyone who is not licensed pursuant
to these regulations.
(2) Licensed
individuals shall prohibit any of their staff from providing services that they
are not licensed or qualified to perform.
(3) Licensed individuals must not require or
delegate any service requiring professional competence and licensure of/to
anyone who is not competent and licensed to engage in any practice that is a
violation of the Code of Ethics.
(4) Licensed individuals must not offer
clinical services by supportive personnel for whom they do not provide
appropriate supervision and assume full responsibility.
(5) Licensed individuals shall not provide
professional services without exercising independent professional judgement,
regardless of referral source or prescription.
F. Principles of ethics III:
(1) Licensed individuals shall honor their
responsibility to the public by providing accurate information in all
communications involving any aspect of professional service rendered.
(2) Licensed individuals' statements to the
public - advertising, announcing, and marketing their professional services and
products - shall adhere to prevailing and acceptable professional
standards.
(3) Licensed
individuals' statements to the public shall provide accurate information about
the nature and management of communication disorders, the products dispensed
thereof, about the professions and about professional services.
G. Ethical proscriptions:
(1) Licensed individuals shall not
misrepresent their credentials, competence, education, training, title, or
experience.
(2) Licensed
individuals shall not misrepresent diagnostic information, services rendered,
or products dispensed, or artifice to defraud in connection with obtaining
payment or reimbursement for such services or products.
(3) Licensed individuals must not make public
statements regarding professional services and products that contain
representations or claims that are false, deceptive or misleading.
(4) Licensed individuals must not use
professional or commercial affiliations in any way that would mislead or limit
services to persons served professionally.
H. Matters of professional propriety: Licensed individuals should announce services in a manner consistent with highest professional standards in the community.
I. Principles of ethics IV:
(1) Licensed individuals shall maintain
objectivity in all matters concerning the welfare of persons served
professionally. Licensees who dispense products to the public shall observe the
following standards.
(a) Products associated
with professional practice must be dispensed as a part of a program of
comprehensive habilitative care.
(b) Fees established for professional
services must be independent of whether a product is dispensed.
(c) Persons served shall be provided freedom
of choice for the source of services and products.
(d) Price information about professional
services rendered and products dispensed must be disclosed by providing or
posting a complete schedule of fees and charges in advance of rendering
services, which differentiates between fees for professional services and
charges for products dispensed.
(e)
Products dispensed to the person served must be evaluated to determine
effectiveness.
(2) Any
person who practices the sale or fitting of hearing aids shall deliver to any
person supplied with a hearing aid, a receipt that shall contain:
(a) the licensee's signature, address of the
regular place of business and license number; it shall also show the make and
model of the hearing aid furnished along with the full terms of the sale
clearly stated; if the hearing aid is not new, the receipt must clearly show
whether the hearing aid is used or reconditioned, whichever is applicable in
terms of any guarantee; the receipt shall also show that the purchaser was
advised that the licensee was not a licensed physician and that the examination
and recommendation was made as a hearing aid dispenser or fitter and not as a
medical diagnosis or prescription; the receipt shall also include language
stating that each prospective purchaser was informed at the time of the initial
examination for possible sale and fitting of a hearing aid about hearing aid
options that can provide a direct connection between the hearing aid and
assistive listening systems in accordance with the latest standards for
accessible design adopted by the United States department of justice in
accordance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as
amended. Each licensee and purchaser must initial acknowledging that counseling
for the above-mentioned options took place and that the purchaser was informed
concerning these options, and whether the hearing aid(s) contain(s) a tele-coil
or t-switch;
(b) the information
regarding the trial period which shall be a minimum of 45 consecutive days; if
the 45th day falls on a holiday, weekend, or a day the business is not open,
the effective date shall be the first day the business reopens; full disclosure
of the conditions of any offer of a trial period with a money back guarantee or
partial refund; a trial period shall not include any time that the hearing aid
is in the possession of the dispenser or the manufacturer; any extension of the
45-day refund period must be in writing and submitted to the client;
(c) shall also include the name, address, and
telephone number of the speech language pathology, audiology and hearing aid
dispensing practices board in the event a complaint needs to be
filed.
(3) Any purchaser
of a hearing instrument shall be entitled to a refund of the purchase price
advanced by purchaser for the hearing instrument, less the agreed-upon amount
associated with the trial period, upon return of the instrument to the licensee
in good working order within the trial period. Should the order be canceled by
purchaser prior to the delivery of the instrument, the licensee may retain the
agreed-upon charges and fees as specified in the written contract. The
purchaser shall receive the refund due no later than the 30th day after the
date on which the purchaser cancels the order or returns the hearing instrument
to the licensee.
J. Ethical proscriptions:
(1) Licensed
individuals must not participate in activities that constitute a conflict of
interest.
(2) Licensed individuals
must not directly or indirectly give or offer to give money or anything of
value to any person who advises another person in a professional capacity as an
inducement to influence them or have them influence others to purchase or
contract to purchase products sold or offered for sale by the licensee, or to
refrain from dealing in the products of competitors.
K. Matters of professional propriety:
(1) Licensed individuals should not accept
compensation for supervision or sponsorship from a supervised or sponsored
individual.
(2) Individuals should
present products they have developed to their colleagues in a manner consonant
with highest professional standards.
L. Principles of ethics V: Licensed individuals shall honor their responsibilities to the professions and their relationships with members of allied professions.
M. Matters of professional propriety:
(1) Licensed individuals should seek to
provide and expand services to persons with speech, language and hearing
handicaps as well as assist in establishing high professional standards for
such programs.
(2) Licensed
individuals should educate the public about speech, language and hearing
processes and handicaps, and matters related to professional
competence.
(3) Licensed
individuals should strive to increase knowledge within the professions and
share research with colleagues.
(4)
Licensed individuals should establish harmonious relations with colleagues and
members of other professions and endeavor to inform members of the related
professions of services provided by speech-language pathologists, audiologists
and hearing aid dispensers.
(5)
Licensed individuals should assign credit to those who have contributed to a
publication in proportion to their contribution.
N. Principles of ethics VI:
(1) Licensed individuals shall uphold the
dignity of the professions and freely accept the professional self imposed
standards.
(2) Licensed individuals
who have reason to believe that the Code of Ethics has been violated shall
inform the board.
(3) Licensed
individuals shall cooperate fully with the board in any investigation and
adjudication of matters of professional conduct related to this Code of
Ethics.
O. Principles of Ethics VII: Licensed audiologists and hearing aid dispensers shall, at the time of the initial examination for possible sale and fitting of a hearing aid if a hearing loss is determined, inform each prospective purchaser about hearing aid options that can provide a direct connection between the hearing aid and assistive listening systems in accordance with the latest standards for accessible design adopted by the United States department of justice in accordance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New Mexico may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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