Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 12, March 23, 2024
(a) A Board-regulated practitioner who
engages in unprofessional or immoral conduct is subject to disciplinary action
under section 41 of the act (63 P. S. §
422.41). Unprofessional conduct includes, but
is not limited to, the following:
(1)
Revealing personally identifiable facts, obtained as the result of a
practitioner-patient relationship, without the prior consent of the patient,
except as authorized or required by statute.
(2) Violating a statute, or a regulation
adopted thereunder, which imposes a standard for the practice of the healing
arts as regulated by the Board in this Commonwealth. The Board, in reaching a
decision on whether there has been a violation of a statute, rule or
regulation, will be guided by adjudications of the agency or court which
administers or enforces the standard.
(3) Performing a medical act or treatment
regimen incompetently or performing a medical act or treatment regimen which
the Board-regulated practitioner knows or has reason to know that the
practitioner is not competent to perform.
(4) Unconditionally guaranteeing that a cure
will result from the performance of medical services or treatment
regimen.
(5) Advertising of a
medical business which is intended to or has a tendency to deceive the
public.
(6) Practicing the healing
arts fraudulently, or with reckless indifference to the interests of a patient
on a particular occasion, or with negligence on repeated occasions.
(7) Practicing the healing arts while the
ability to practice is impaired by alcohol, drugs or physical or mental
disability.
(8) Knowingly
permitting, aiding or abetting a person who is not licensed or certified, or
exempt from license or certification requirements, to perform activities
requiring a license or certification in a health care practice.
(9) Continuing to practice while the
Board-regulated practitioner's license or certificate has expired, is not
registered or is suspended or revoked.
(10) Impersonating another health-care
practitioner.
(11) Possessing,
using, prescribing for use or distributing a controlled substance or a legend
drug in a way other than for an acceptable medical purpose. An acceptable
experimental purpose is considered an acceptable medical purpose.
(12) Offering, undertaking or agreeing to
cure or treat a disease by a secret method, procedure, treatment or medicine,
or the treating, operating or prescribing for a human condition by a method,
means or procedure which the licensee refuses to divulge to the Board upon
demand of the Board.
(13) Charging
a patient or a third-party payor for a medical service or treatment regimen not
performed. This paragraph does not apply to charging for an unkept office
visit.
(14) Delegating a medical
responsibility to a person when the physician knows or has reason to know that
the person is not qualified by training, experience, license or certification
to perform the delegated task.
(15)
Failing to exercise appropriate supervision over a person who is authorized to
practice only under the supervision of the physician.
(16) Willfully harassing, abusing or
intimidating a patient.
(17)
Abandoning a patient. Abandonment occurs when a physician withdraws his
services after a physician-patient relationship has been established, by
failing to give notice to the patient of the physician's intention to withdraw
in sufficient time to allow the patient to obtain necessary medical care.
Abandonment also occurs when a physician leaves the employment of a group
practice, hospital, clinic or other health-care facility, without the physician
giving reasonable notice and under circumstances which seriously impair the
delivery of medical care to patients.
(18) Failing to make available to the patient
or to another designated health care practitioner, upon a patient's written
request, the medical record or a copy of the medical record relating to the
patient which is in the possession or under the control of the Board-regulated
practitioner; or failing to complete those forms or reports, or components of
forms or reports, which are required to be completed by the Board-regulated
practitioner as a precondition to the reimbursement or direct payment by a
third party of the expenses of a patient that result from the practice of the
healing arts. Reasonable fees may be charged for making available copies, forms
or reports. Prior payment for professional services to which the records
relate-this does not apply to fees charged for reports-may not be required as a
condition for making the records available. A Board-regulated practioner may
withhold information from a patient if, in the reasonable exercise of his
professional judgment, he believes release of the information would adversely
affect the patient's health.
(19)
Violating a provision of this chapter, Chapter 17 or Chapter 18 (relating to
State Board of Medicine-medical doctors; or State Board of
Medicine-practitioners other than medical doctors) fixing a standard of
professional conduct.
(b)
Immoral conduct includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) Misrepresentation or concealment of a
material fact in obtaining a license or a certificate issued by the Board or a
reinstatement thereof.
(2) The
commission of an act involving moral turpitude, dishonesty or corruption when
the act directly or indirectly affects the health, welfare or safety of
citizens of this Commonwealth. If the act constitutes a crime, conviction
thereof in a criminal proceeding is not a condition precedent to disciplinary
action.
The provisions of this §
16.61 amended under section
51.1(d) of the
Medicial Practice Act of 1985 (63 P. S. §
422.51a(d)).
This section cited in 28 Pa. Code §
26.4 (relating to procedures); 49
Pa. Code §
18.510 (relating to refusal,
suspension or revocation of license); 49 Pa. Code §
18.527 (relating to disciplinary
action for licensed behavior specialist); 49 Pa. Code §
18.708 (relating to disciplinary
action for applicants and genetic counselors); 49 Pa. Code §
18.811 (relating to graduate
permit); 49 Pa. Code §
18.813 (relating to provisional
prosthetist license); 49 Pa. Code §
18.814 (relating to prosthetist
license); 49 Pa. Code §
18.821 (relating to graduate
permit); 49 Pa. Code §
18.823 (relating to provisional
orthotist license); 49 Pa. Code §
18.824 (relating to orthotist
license); 49 Pa. Code §
18.831 (relating to temporary
practice permit); 49 Pa. Code §
18.833 (relating to pedorthist
license); 49 Pa. Code §
18.841 (relating to temporary
practice permit); 49 Pa. Code §
18.843 (relating to orthotic
fitter license); and 49 Pa. Code §
18.853 (relating to unprofessional
and immoral conduct).