Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a) Unprofessional conduct shall also
include, in the professions of: acupuncture, athletic training, audiology,
certified behavior analyst assistant, registered dental assisting,
chiropractic, creative arts therapy, dental hygiene, dentistry,
dietetics/nutrition, licensed behavior analyst, licensed pathologists'
assistants, licensed perfusionist, licensed practical nursing, marriage and
family therapy, massage therapy, medicine, mental health counseling, midwifery,
occupational therapy, occupational therapy assistant, ophthalmic dispensing,
optometry, pharmacy, physical therapist assistant, physical therapy, physician
assistant, podiatry, psychoanalysis, psychology, registered pharmacy
technicians, registered professional nursing, respiratory therapy, respiratory
therapy technician, social work, specialist assistant, speech-language
pathology (except for cases involving those professions licensed, certified or
registered pursuant to the pro- visions of article 131 or 131-B of the
Education Law in which a statement of charges of professional misconduct was
not served on or before July 26, 1991, the effective date of chapter 606 of the
Laws of 1991):
(1) abandoning or neglecting a
patient or client under and in need of immediate professional care, without
making reasonable arrangements for the continuation of such care, or abandoning
a professional employment by a group practice, hospital, clinic or other health
care facility, without reasonable notice and under circumstances which
seriously impair the delivery of professional care to patients or
clients;
(2) willfully harassing,
abusing or intimidating a patient either physically or verbally;
(3) failing to maintain a record for each
patient which accurately reflects the evaluation and treatment of the patient.
Unless otherwise provided by law, all patient records must be retained for at
least six years. Obstetrical records and records of minor patients must be
retained for at least six years, and until one year after the minor patient
reaches the age of 21 years;
(4)
using the word "Doctor" in offering to perform professional services without
also indicating the profession in which the licensee holds a
doctorate;
(5) failing to exercise
appropriate supervision over persons who are authorized to practice only under
the supervision of the licensed professional;
(6) guaranteeing that satisfaction or a cure will result from the
performance of professional services;
(7) ordering of excessive tests, treatment, or use of treatment
facilities not warranted by the condition of the patient;
(8) claiming or using any secret or special
method of treatment which the licensee refuses to divulge to the State Board
for the profession;
(9) failing to
wear an identifying badge, which shall be conspicuously displayed and legible,
indicating the practitioner's name and professional title authorized pursuant
to the Education Law, while practicing as an employee or operator of a
hospital, clinic, group practice or multiprofessional facility, registered
pharmacy, or at a commercial establishment offering health services to the
public;
(10) entering into an
arrangement or agreement with a pharmacy for the compounding and/ or dispensing
of coded or specially marked prescriptions;
(11) with respect to all professional practices conducted under an
assumed name, other than facilities licensed pursuant to article 28 of the
Public Health Law or article 13 of the Mental Hygiene Law, failing to post
conspicuously at the site of such practice the names and the licensure field of
all of the principal professional licensees engaged in practice at that site
(i.e., principal partners, officers or principal shareholders);
(12) issuing prescriptions for drugs and
devices which do not contain the following information: the date written, the
prescriber's name, address, telephone number, profession and registration
number, the patient's name, address and age, the name, strength and quantity of
the prescribed drug or device, as well as the directions for use by the
patient. In addition, all prescriptions for controlled substances shall meet
the requirements of article 33 of the Public Health Law;
(13) failing to use scientifically accepted
infection prevention techniques appropriate to each profession for the cleaning
and sterilization or disinfection of instruments, devices, materials and work
surfaces, utilization of protective garb, use of covers for contamination-
prone equipment and the handling of sharp instruments. Such techniques shall
include but not be limited to:
(i) wearing
of appropriate protective gloves at all times when touching blood, saliva,
other body fluids or secretions, mucous membranes, nonintact skin, blood-soiled
items or bodily fluid-soiled items, contaminated surfaces, and sterile body
areas, and during instrument cleaning and decontamination procedures;
(ii) discarding gloves used following
treatment of a patient and changing to new gloves if torn or damaged during
treatment of a patient; washing hands and donning new gloves prior to
performing services for another patient; and washing hands and other skin
surfaces immediately if contaminated with blood or other body fluids;
(iii) wearing of appropriate masks, gowns or
aprons, and protective eyewear or chin- length plastic face shields whenever
splashing or spattering of blood or other body fluids is likely to
occur;
(iv) sterilizing equipment
and devices that enter the patient's vascular system or other normally sterile
areas of the body;
(v) sterilizing
equipment and devices that touch intact mucous membranes but do not penetrate
the patient's body or using high-level disinfection for equipment and devices
which cannot be sterilized prior to use for a patient;
(vi) using appropriate agents, including but
not limited to detergents for cleaning all equipment and devices prior a
sterilization or disinfection;
(vii) cleaning, by the use of appropriate agents, including but
not limited to detergents, equipment and devices which do not touch the patient
or that only touch the intact skin of the patient;
(viii) maintaining equipment and devices
used for sterilization according to the manufacturer's instructions;
(ix) adequately monitoring the performance
of all personnel, licensed or unlicensed, for whom the licensee is responsible
regarding infection control techniques;
(x) placing disposable used syringes, needles, scalpel blades, and
other sharp instruments in appropriate puncture-resistant containers for
disposal; and placing reusable needles, scalpel blades, and other sharp
instruments in appropriate puncture-resistant containers until appropriately
cleaned and sterilized;
(xi)
maintaining appropriate ventilation devices to minimize the need for emergency
mouth-to-mouth resuscitation;
(xii)
refraining from all direct patient care and handling of patient care equipment
when the health care professional has exudative lesions or weeping dermatitis
and the condition has not been medically evaluated and determined to be safe or
capable of being safely protected against in providing direct patient care or
in handling patient care equipment; and
(xiii) placing all specimens of blood and body fluids in
well-constructed containers with secure lids to prevent leaking; and cleaning
any spill of blood or other body fluid with an appropriate detergent and
appropriate chemical germicide; and
(14) failing to adhere to applicable practice guidelines, as
determined by the commissioner, for the compounding of sterile drugs and
products.
(b)
Unprofessional conduct shall also include, in those professions specified in
section
18 of the
Public Health Law and in the professions of acupuncture, certified behavior
analyst assistant, creative arts therapy, marriage and family therapy, massage
therapy, mental health counseling, and psychoanalysis, failing to provide
access by qualified persons to patient information in accordance with the
standards set forth in section
18 of the
Public Health Law. In the professions of acupuncture, certified behavior
analyst assistant, creative arts therapy, licensed behavior analyst, marriage
and family therapy, massage therapy, mental health counseling, and
psychoanalysis, qualified persons may appeal the denial of access to patient
information in the manner set forth in section
18 of the
Public Health Law to a record access committee appointed by the executive
secretary of the appropriate State Board. Such record access review committees
shall consist of not less than three, nor more than five members of the
appropriate State Board.
