ARM 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; (j) failing to keep adequate patient records that are legible and contain at a minimum: (i) date of service; (ii) pertinent history; (iii) relevant symptomology; (iv) physical findings; (v) results of diagnostic tests; (vi) clinical assessment; (vii) treatment procedures; and (viii) patient progress. (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.