Rule 24.126.2301 - UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT(1) It is unprofessional conduct for a licensee or applicant to violate any statute, rule, or standard of care governing the practice of chiropractic.(2) In addition to the provisions of 37-1-316, MCA, the following is unprofessional conduct: (a) committing any act of sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, or sexual exploitation regardless of whether the act is related to the licensee's practice;(b) soliciting, engaging, or attempting to engage in any form of sexual relationship or sexual contact with a patient or a former patient, unless the chiropractor-patient relationship is terminated in writing and more than 90 days have passed since the termination;(c) performing chiropractic services that exceed or do not support the clinical needs of the patient;(d) failing to make reports and records available to the board upon request, failure to cooperate with a board investigation or knowingly giving false information to the board;(e) performing an examination, chiropractic manipulation, or adjustment intra-vaginally;(f) performing a sacrum/coccyx adjustment intrarectally unless the following conditions are met: (i) a written consent form is signed by the patient for each adjustment. The consent form must clearly offer external adjustment options;(ii) the adjustment is performed with the use of a disposable finger cot or rubber glove; and(iii) a chaperone is present when the patient is examined and treated intrarectally.(g) falsifying, altering, or making incorrect essential entries or failing to make essential entries of patient records;(h) failing to obtain an appropriate consultation or make an appropriate referral when the problem of the patient is beyond the licensee's training, experience, or competence;(i) failing to render adequate supervision, management, training, or control of auxiliary staff, interns, or licensees practicing under the licensee's supervision or control according to generally accepted standards of practice; or(j) failing to keep adequate patient records that are legible and contain at a minimum: (iii) relevant symptomology;(v) results of diagnostic tests;(vi) clinical assessment;(vii) treatment procedures; and(3) It is unprofessional conduct for a licensee to engage in the following billing misconduct: (a) giving or receiving money for referring patients to a company or another professional, also known as "fee splitting";(b) charging or collecting from a private insurance company or government-funded insurance program the costs of treatment and waiving a patient's deductible or co-payment in the absence of a documented financial hardship;(c) charging different fees to insurance companies and patients. A discounted fee to a patient must result in billing the same to the third-party payor; and(d) charging a patient a clearly excessive fee or charging for services not rendered or not fully rendered.Mont. Admin. r. 24.126.2301
Eff. 12/31/72; TRANS, from Dept. of Prof. & Occup. Lic., Ch. 274, L. 1981, Eff. 7/1/81; AMD, 1988 MAR p. 475, Eff. 3/11/88; AMD, 1990 MAR p. 995, Eff. 6/1/90; AMD, 1994 MAR p. 1578, Eff. 6/10/94; AMD, 1998 MAR p. 1494, Eff. 6/12/98; AMD, 2000 MAR p. 1307, Eff. 5/26/00; TRANS, from Commerce, 2003 MAR p. 2761; AMD, 2004 MAR p. 729, Eff. 4/9/04; AMD, 2008 MAR p. 1978, Eff. 9/12/08; AMD, 2009 MAR p. 2152, Eff. 11/13/09; AMD, 2016 MAR p. 733, Eff. 4/23/2016; AMD, 2024 MAR p. 1462, Eff. 6/22/2024AUTH: 37-1-131, 37-1-319, 37-12-201, MCA; IMP: 37-1-131, 37-1-141, 37-1-316, 37-1-319, 37-12-301, 37-12-322, MCA