Rules & Regulations of the State of Tennessee
Title 0260 - Chiropractic Examiners
Chapter 0260-02 - General Rules Governing Chiropractic Examiners
Section 0260-02-.13 - PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Current through April 3, 2024
Immoral, unprofessional, unethical, or dishonorable conduct shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) Conduct designed to, or likely to, deceive, or harm the public.
(2) Being a party to or aiding and abetting the violation of these regulations or the laws of the State of Tennessee regulating the practice of chiropractic.
(3) The intentional or negligent use of any false, fraudulent or forged statement, writing or document, or the use of any fraudulent, deceitful, dishonest, or immoral practice in connection with any of the licensing requirements of T.C.A. §§ 63-4-101, et seq.
(4) Advertising or promoting, waiving, abrogating, or rebating the deductible and/or co-payment amounts of any insurance policy by forgiving any or all of any patient's obligations for payment, unless the insurer is notified in writing of the fact of such waiver. Advertising or promoting the same must include the notice to the insurer and the record must include proof of the actual notice. If the patient is unable, due to circumstances, to pay for their services and no advertising or promotion is given to the patient, the provider may excuse any portion of fees to insure that the patient may receive the necessary procedure.
(5) Grossly excessive use of examinations of a patient or a pattern of clearly excessive use of examinations of patients when patients are charged for this service or reimbursement of the examination(s) is requested from a third party. The conduct mentioned herein is presumed to have occurred when there is no documented, substantiated, finding(s) or condition(s) of the patient(s) which warrant(s) the use of examination(s) for a chiropractic diagnosis.
(6) Grossly excessive use of care and treatment of a patient or a pattern of clearly excessive use of care and treatment of patients when patients are charged for this service or reimbursement of payment for the care and treatment is requested from a third party. The conduct mentioned herein is presumed to have occurred when there is no documented, substantiated finding(s) or condition(s) of the patient(s) based on a chiropractic diagnosis which warrant(s) the treatment(s) and care performed.
(7) A chiropractic physician shall not overutilize or otherwise improperly use ionizing radiation. In order to avoid overutilization of ionizing radiation, a chiropractic physician shall observe the following guidelines:
(8) Sexual misconduct.
(9) Unlicensed assistants - Licensees shall not allow staff personnel to perform procedures or services in the clinic for which the personnel do not hold the license or certification required for such performance. This includes those services for which certification as a chiropractic therapy assistant or a chiropractic x-ray technologist is required. Violators will be subject to a civil penalty of up to one thousand dollars ($1000.00) per month for each employee found to be practicing without a license. Failure to pay any assessed civil penalty may result in additional disciplinary action.
Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-5-202, 4-5-204, 63-4-101, 63-4-106, 63-4-114, 63-4-119, 63-4-123, and 63-4-401.