02-502-8 Me. Code R. § 2

Current through 2024-51, December 18, 2024
Section 502-8-2 - Code of Ethics

Licensees shall:

1. Respect the rights and dignity of each person treated;
2. Accept and treat those seeking services in a nondiscriminatory manner;
3. Keep the patient informed by explaining treatments and outcomes;
4. Render the highest quality of care and make timely referrals to other health care professionals as may be appropriate;
5. Clearly and fully explain alternative treatments available when appropriate, including potential referral to other health care professionals;
6. Refrain from making public statements on the efficacy of Oriental or naturopathic medicine that are not supported by the generally accepted experience of the professions;
7. Respect the integrity of other forms of health care and other medical traditions and seek to develop collaborative relationships to achieve the highest quality of care for individual patients;
8. Report to the board a licensed acupuncturist or naturopathic doctor whose judgment or competency while treating patients is impaired by chemical dependency or physical or mental incapacity;
9. A licensee who offers medicines, medical devices, supplements or pre-made herbal formulations to patients shall offer alternative sources for obtaining such items as long as those alternative sources do not compromise safety or clinical effectiveness;
10. Refrain from recommending medicines or treatments of a secret nature, and adequately disclose the contents of medicines or the nature and description of treatments recommended to a patient;
11. Provide or recommend only those services that are medically necessary or deemed to be beneficial to an individual patient;
12. Transfer a patient's records to another health care provider at the request of the patient, in accordance with appropriate and applicable legal guidelines, in a reasonable and timely fashion, and at reasonable cost;
13. Disclose to a patient any financial interests that may conflict with the provision of appropriate care by the licensee;
14. Disclose any compensation from or ownership interest in a company that sells specific products as to which the licensee has made written or oral public statements; and
15. Not accept gifts from any individual or entity that may be deemed to influence the licensee's professional clinical judgment.

02-502 C.M.R. ch. 8, § 2