§ 5-29-16 - Unprofessional conduct.
SECTION 5-29-16
§ 5-29-16 Unprofessional conduct. –The term "unprofessional conduct" as used in this chapter includes, but is notlimited to, the following items or any combination of them and may be furtherdefined by regulations established by the board with the approval of thedirector:
(1) Fraudulent or deceptive procuring or use of a license oflimited registration;
(2) All advertising of podiatry business, which is intendedor has a tendency to deceive the public;
(3) Conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude;conviction of a felony; conviction of a crime arising out of the practice ofpodiatry;
(4) Abandonment of patient;
(5) Dependence upon a controlled substance, habitualdrunkenness or rendering professional services to a patient while thepodiatrist or limited registrant is intoxicated or incapacitated by the use ofdrugs;
(6) Promotion by a podiatrist, or limited registrant of thesale of drugs, devices, appliances, or goods or services provided for a patientin a manner that exploits the patient for the financial gain of the podiatristor limited registrant;
(7) Immoral conduct of a podiatrist, or limited registrant inthe practice of podiatry;
(8) Willfully making and filing false reports or records inthe practice of podiatry;
(9) Willful omission to file or record, or willfully impedingor obstructing a filing or recording, or inducing another person to omit tofile or record podiatry/medical or other reports as required by law;
(10) Failure to furnish details of a patient's medical recordto a succeeding podiatrist or medical facility upon proper request pursuant tothis chapter;
(11) Solicitation of professional patronage by agents orpersons or profiting from acts of those representing themselves to be agents ofthe licensed podiatrist or limited registrant;
(12) Division of fees or agreeing to split or divide the feesreceived for professional services for any person for bringing to or referringa patient;
(13) Agreeing with clinical or bio-analytical laboratories toaccept payments from those laboratories for individual tests or test series forpatients, or agreeing with podiatry laboratories to accept payment from thoselaboratories for work referred;
(14) Willful misrepresentation in treatment;
(15) Practice podiatry with an unlicensed podiatrist exceptin accordance with the rules and regulations of the board of aiding or abettingthose unlicensed persons in the practice of podiatry;
(16) Gross and willful overcharging for professionalservices; including filing of false statements for collection of fees for whichservices are not rendered or willfully making or assisting in making a falseclaim or deceptive claim or misrepresenting a material fact for use indetermining rights to podiatric care or other benefits;
(17) Offering, undertaking or agreeing to cure or treatdisease by a secret method, procedure, treatment, or medicine;
(18) Professional or mental incompetence;
(19) Incompetent, negligent, or willful misconduct in thepractice of podiatry which includes the rendering of unnecessary podiatryservices and any departure from or the failure to conform to the minimalstandards of acceptable and prevailing podiatry practice in his or her area ofexpertise as is determined by the board. The board does not need to establishactual injury to the patient in order to adjudge a podiatrist or limitedregistrant to be guilty of unprofessional conduct;
(20) Revocation, suspension, surrender, or limitation ofprivilege based on quality of care provided or any other disciplinary actionagainst a license to practice podiatry in another state or jurisdiction, orrevocation, suspension, surrender or other disciplinary action as to membershipon any podiatry staff or in any podiatry or professional association or societyfor conduct similar to acts or conduct which would constitute grounds foraction as set forth in this chapter;
(21) Any adverse judgment, settlement or award arising from amedical liability claim related to acts or conduct similar to acts or conductwhich would constitute grounds for action as defined in this chapter orregulations adopted pursuant to this chapter;
(22) Failure to furnish the board, its director,investigator, or representative, information legally requested by the board;
(23) Violation of any provisions of this chapter or the rulesand regulations of the board or any rules and regulations promulgated by thedirector or of an action, stipulation, or agreement of the board;
(24) Cheating on or attempting to subvert the licensingexamination;
(25) Violating any state or federal law or regulationrelating to controlled substances;
(26) Failure to maintain standards established by peer reviewboards, including but not limited to standards related to proper utilization ofservices, and use of non-accepted procedure and/or quality of care; or
(27) A podiatrist providing services to a person who ismaking a claim as a result of a personal injury, who charges or collects fromthe person any amount in excess of the reimbursement to the podiatrist by theinsurer as a condition of providing or continuing to provide services ortreatment.