Chapter 609-4 PRINCIPLES AND STANDARDS OF CONDUCT
Applicability. For the purpose of the chapter,"licensees" shall
mean those persons who hold a license to practice speech-language pathology and
audiology and speech-language pathologists and audiologists who hold a
provisional license for the purpose of completing a paid clinical experience or
required professional experience under Section
43-44-8
of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.
| (1) |
Licensees shall provide services and
supervision of services only for which they have been properly prepared and
shall permit their staff to provide services only for which they are properly
prepared. |
| (2) |
Licensees shall
maintain accurate and complete records of professional services rendered,
including but not limited to:
| (a) |
records of
tests and procedures used in the evaluation of speech, language and hearing
disorders, and for determination of the need for any products dispensed or
services delivered; |
| (b) |
records of
products dispensed, such as hearing aids, augmentative communication devices,
alaryngeal devices, etc., which describe the product including serial number
when applicable, document any applicable warranties or guarantees accompanying
the product, state whether the product is new or used and the price of the
product, if sold, and the name and address of both the licensee and the
intended user of the product; |
| (c) |
for the audiologist dispensing hearing aids, evidence of having met all
requirements promulgated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services applicable to the dispensing of hearing
aids. |
| (d) |
for audiometers used in
service provision, calibration reports containing as a minimum:
| 1. |
audiometer identification including make,
model, and serial number, |
| 2. |
calibrator's identification including company name and location and name of
individual performing the calibration, |
| 3. |
date of calibration, and |
| 4. |
post-calibration readings for all signal
outputs, signal leakage and attenuation linearity. |
|
|
| (3) |
Licensees shall identify and
use qualified referral sources for persons served professionally. |
| (4) |
Licensed speech-language pathologists and
audiologists, excluding those holding a provisional license, shall delegate
only those portions of their practice which do not require the professional
competence of a licensed speech-language pathologist or audiologist, and that
have been approved by the Board. |
| (5) |
Licensees shall provide supervision of
and assume full responsibility for clinical services offered by supportive
personnel. |
| (6) |
Licensees shall not
require anyone under their supervision to engage in any practice that is a
violation of the Rules of the Georgia Board of Examiners for Speech-Language
Pathology and Audiology. |
| (7) |
Licensees shall use calibrated equipment in the delivery of professional
services and shall maintain any calibration reports for at least 36 months.
Appropriate equipment shall be calibrated in accordance with manufacturer's
specifications, or for audiometers at least annually, and the post-calibration
readings shall meet or exceed applicable ANSI standards. |
| (8) |
Licensees shall inform the Board when
they have reason to believe that a licensee has violated the Rules of the Board
and shall cooperate fully with the Board concerning matters of professional
conduct. |
| (9) |
Licensees shall inform
he Board when they have reason to believe that individuals are holding
themselves out to the public to be Speech-Language Pathologists or Audiologists
(SLPs/Auds.) or to practice SLP/Aud. without a license, except as provided by
O.C.G.A.
43-44-7. |
| (1) |
Licensees shall hold paramount the
welfare of persons served professionally. |
| (2) |
Licensees shall fully inform persons
served of the nature and possible effects of the services. |
| (3) |
Licensees shall take all reasonable
precautions to avoid injuring persons in the delivery of professional
services. |
| (4) |
Licensees shall
charge only for services rendered and shall provide itemized statements for
charges for goods dispensed and services provided to the consumer. Nothing in
this Rule shall preclude requests to the consumer for prepayment of fees for
service as long as fees are refunded for services not rendered. This Rule shall
also not preclude requests for appointment deposit charges when the consumer
has received prior notification of this charge policy. |
| (5) |
Licensees shall fully inform subjects
participating in research or teaching activities of the nature and possible
effects of these activities. |
| (6) |
Licensees shall afford persons used in teaching or research free choice to
participate and shall protect their privacy. |
| (7) |
Licensees shall evaluate services
rendered and products dispensed to determine effectiveness based on recognized
standards of practice. |
| (8) |
Licensees shall accept persons for treatment for whom reasonable benefit can be
expected. |
| (9) |
Licensees shall
continue treatment to clients as long as reasonable benefit is
demonstrated. |
| (10) |
Licensees shall
provide reasonable statements of prognosis to clients without guaranteeing the
results of any therapeutic procedures, directly or by implication. |
| (11) |
Licensees shall evaluate or treat
speech, language or hearing disorders exclusively within the confines of a
professional relationship. |
| (12) |
Licensees shall avoid evaluating or treating speech, language or hearing
disorders solely by correspondence. This does not preclude follow-up
correspondence with persons previously seen, nor providing them with general
information of an educational nature. |
| (13) |
Licensees shall not discriminate in the
delivery of professional services on any basis that is unjustifiable or
irrelevant to the need for the potential benefit from such services, such as
race, sex, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or handicapping
condition. |
| (14) |
Licensees shall
avoid participation in activities that constitute a conflict of professional
interest. |
| (15) |
Licensees shall
reveal professional or personal information obtained from the person served
professionally only a) if authorized by the person served, b) if required by
law or, c) to protect the welfare of the person or the community. |
| (16) |
Licensees shall provide to clients
information relating to products dispensed, including but not limited to any
applicable warranties or guarantees, whether the product is new or used, and,
if the product is sold or leased, a receipt indicating the price of the product
and the amount paid or terms and conditions of payment. |
| (1) |
Licensees shall accurately represent
their training or competence in both written and verbal statements made to
persons served professionally and to the public. |
| (2) |
Licensees shall accurately represent the
professional services and products they offer and shall not present claims that
are false, deceptive or misleading. |
| (3) |
Licensees shall disclose accurate and
complete price information about professional services rendered and products
dispensed. |
| (4) |
Licensees shall not
engage in misleading or deceptive advertising. |
| (5) |
Licensees shall assign credit to those
who have contributed to a publication. |
| (1) |
Licensees shall make every effort to select and use assessment instruments,
techniques or procedures that are valid, reliable and appropriate for the
individual client. |
| (2) |
Licensees
shall provide the client with an orientation to the purpose of assessment or to
the proposed use of assessment results prior to administration of assessment
instruments, techniques or procedures. |
| (3) |
Licensees shall administer assessment
instruments, including technology based assessment instruments, which are
within the licensee's competence for scoring and interpretation.
| (a) |
Speech-Language Pathologist.
| 1. |
A Speech-Language Pathologist who is not
licensed in Audiology may perform nondiagnostic hearing screenings for the
purposes of either performing a speech and language evaluation or for the
initial identification of individuals with other communication disorders. A
non-diagnostic hearing screening shall be defined as a pure tone air conduction
procedure which is conducted in a manner such that the results can only be
reported on a pass/fail basis. A report of the screening results may include
ear specific information regarding frequencies tested and intensity criteria
(screening levels). |
| 2. |
Other
audiological screenings may be performed only when monitored by a licensed
Audiologist. These audiological screenings must be conducted in a manner such
that the results can only be reported on a pass/fail basis. The licensed
audiologist is ultimately liable for the quality of such services and any
complaints against the speech-language pathologist regarding these services
shall be viewed by the Board as a complaint against the licensed
audiologist. |
|
| (b) |
Audiologist.
| 1. |
An audiologist who is not
licensed as a speech-language pathologist may perform a non-diagnostic speech
and language screening for the purposes of performing either an audiological
evaluation or for the initial identification of individuals with other
communicative disorders. A non-diagnostic speech and language screening is a
procedure conducted in a manner such that the results can only be reported on a
pass/fail basis. |
| 2. |
Other speech
and language screenings may be performed only when monitored by a licensed
speech-language pathologist. These speech and language screenings must be
conducted in a manner such that the results can only be reported on a pass/fail
basis. The licensed speech-language pathologist is ultimately liable for the
quality of such services and any complaints against the audiologist regarding
these services shall be viewed by the Board as a complaint against the licensed
speech-language pathologist. |
| 3. |
Licensees shall perform a visual inspection of the ear and ear canal prior to
any audiological testing. |
|
|
| (4) |
Licensees shall record results accurately
and in language which is clear and understandable. |
| (5) |
Licensees shall make available to the
client, upon request, copies of any assessment results in the possession of the
licensee which have been prepared for and paid for by the client. |
| (6) |
Licensees shall use only reliable
assessment data to select or recommend specific products to be dispensed or
services to be rendered.
| (a) |
Test data used
for the selection of a hearing aid shall not be more than six months old. This
shall not apply for the replacement of a hearing aid with a hearing aid of the
same make and model unless new testing is required by the consumer's age,
history or condition. |
| (b) |
Audiometric testing must be performed
using a wide range audiometer which meets the specifications of the American
National Standards Institute (s3.6-1996 or current American National Standard
Institute standard) for diagnostic audiometers. |
|
| (7) |
A hearing aid is defined as a wearable
sound-amplifying device that is intended to compensate for impaired hearing As
such, any device marketed, labeled or otherwise stated or claims to improve
impaired hearing is by definition a hearing aid, whether the claim was overt or
implied. Further, any wearable device which claims to have characteristics or
features that would only be necessary to improve impaired hearing (i.e. noise
reduction, multiple bands or channels, noise cancellation, feedback reduction,
etc.) would be considered a hearing aid. This definition of hearing aid shall
not apply to cochlear implants, active middle ear implants, auditory brainstem
implants and osseointegrated implants. |
