OAR 335-005-0015: Welfare of Clients

(1) Individuals shall honor their responsibility to hold paramount the welfare of persons they serve professionally. (2) Individuals shall provide all services competently. (3) Individuals shall use all appropriate resources, including referral when appropriate. (4) Individuals shall not discriminate in the delivery of professional services on the basis of language, dialect, race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, disability, military, veteran status, or any other protected classification recognized by applicable law. (5) Individuals shall fully inform the persons they serve of the nature and possible effects of services rendered and products dispensed. (6) Individuals shall evaluate the effectiveness of services rendered and of products dispensed and shall provide services or dispense products only when benefit can reasonably be expected. (7) Individuals shall not guarantee the results of any treatment or procedure, directly or by implication; however, they may make a reasonable statement of prognosis. (8) Individuals shall not evaluate or treat speech, language, or hearing disorders solely by correspondence. (9) Individuals shall maintain adequate records of professional services and products dispensed and shall allow access to these records when appropriately authorized. (10) Individuals shall not reveal, without authorization, any professional or personal information about the person served professionally, unless required by law to do so, or unless doing so is necessary to protect the welfare of the person or of the community. (11) Individuals shall not charge for services not rendered, nor shall they misrepresent in any fashion, services rendered or products dispensed. (12) Individuals shall use persons in research or as subjects of teaching demonstrations only with their informed consent. (13) Individuals whose professional services are adversely affected by substance abuse or other health-related conditions shall seek professional assistance and, where appropriate, withdraw from the affected areas of practice. (14) Individuals who have reason to believe that the Professional and Ethical Standards have been violated shall inform the Board. (15) Individuals shall not exploit persons in the delivery of professional services. (16) Individuals shall maintain clinical records as required by the Board’s rules to ensure the provision of competent and appropriate care for persons served. (17) Except as provided in subsection (a) of this section, a licensee who is reimbursed with public funds shall work with a health care interpreter from the health care interpreter registry administered by the Oregon Health Authority under ORS 413.558 when communicating with a patient who prefers to communicate in a language other than English, unless the licensee is proficient in the patient's preferred language. (a) A licensee who is otherwise required to work with a health care interpreter from the health care interpreter registry may work with a health care interpreter who is not listed on the health care interpreter registry only if the provider: (A) Is employed by an education provider that provides education services to children from birth through age 21 and the interpreter is provided by the education provider in accordance with the education provider’s requirements; or (B) Verifies, in writing, that the licensee has taken the appropriate steps needed to obtain a health care interpreter from the health care interpreter registry in accordance with the rules adopted by the Oregon Health Authority under ORS 413.558; or (C) Has offered the patient the services of a health care interpreter from the health care interpreter registry and the patient declined the offer and chose a different interpreter. (b) A licensee shall give personal protective equipment, consistent with established national standards, to health care interpreters providing services on-site at no cost to the health care interpreter and may not suggest to the health care interpreter that the health care interpreter should procure the health care interpreter's own personal protective equipment as a condition of working with the licensee. (c) A licensee shall maintain records of each patient encounter in which the provider worked with a health care interpreter from the health care interpreter registry. The records must include: (A) The name of the licensee; (B) The health care interpreter's registry number; and (C) The language interpreted. (d) For the purposes of this rule, education provider is defined as: (A) A school district, as defined in ORS 332.002. (B) The Oregon School for the Deaf. (C) An educational program under the Youth Corrections Education Program. (D) A public charter school, as defined in ORS 338.005. (E) An education service district, as defined in ORS 334.003. (F) Any state-operated program that provides educational services to students. (G) A private school.