OAR 811-035-0005: Duties and Obligations of Chiropractic Physicians to Their Patients

(1) The health and welfare of the patient shall always be the first priority of chiropractic physicians and expectation of remuneration shall not affect the quality of service to the patient. (2)(a) The patient has the right to informed consent regarding examination, therapy and treatment procedures, alternatives and risks, and answers to questions (PARQ) in terms that they can reasonably understand. (A) P – Procedures: examination, diagnosis, therapy, and treatment procedures (B) A – Alternatives: alternative options to examination or chiropractic treatment (C) R – Risks: risks and benefits associated with examination and/or chiropractic treatment (D) Q – Questions: answer any questions patients have regarding the examination or treatment (b) Chiropractic physicians shall perform and document a PARQ conference in order to obtain informed consent from the patient prior to treatment. The PARQ conference and informed consent shall be noted within the patient record. (3) Chiropractic physicians have the right to select their cases and patients. Once the chiropractic physician has agreed to treat the patient, the patient has the right to continuity of care. (a) Patient abandonment is considered a breach of duty and is defined by unilateral termination of the doctor-patient relationship by the doctor. The doctor-patient relationship must have been established for abandonment to occur. (b) It is not considered patient abandonment if the patient’s insurance coverage reaches its limit, and the patient does not have private insurance or cannot afford to pay for further services. It is the patient’s choice and responsibility to discontinue care if other financial arrangements provided by the physician’s office are not feasible. (c) The chiropractic physician may terminate the doctor-patient relationship for any non-discriminatory reason. Patients must be provided written notice and the names of at least three other physicians who may be able to provide care.