.03 Unprofessional Conduct.

A. It is unprofessional conduct to:

(1) Fail to cooperate with a lawful investigation of the Board by failing to:

(a) Furnish information requested;

(b) Comply with a subpoena;

(c) Respond to complaints at the request of the Board; and

(d) Provide meaningful and timely access to relevant patient records;

(2) Misrepresent professional credentials, qualifications, education, or affiliations;

(3) Fail to attempt to correct others who misrepresent the electrologist's credentials, qualifications, education, or affiliations;

(4) Engage in or condone conduct in the practice of electrology, which:

(a) Is fraudulent;

(b) Is dishonest;

(c) Is deceitful; or

(d) Involves moral turpitude;

(5) Engage in commercial activities which conflict with the electrologist's duties as an electrologist;

(6) Perform electrolysis on a patient if there is a contraindication against electrolysis treatment; and

(7) Discriminate against a patient or health care provider based on:

(a) Race;

(b) Religion;

(c) Age;

(d) Gender;

(e) Sexual orientation;

(f) National origin; or

(g) Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) status.

B. An electrologist may not:

(1) Accept a patient for treatment, or continue treatment, if the patient cannot reasonably be expected to benefit from the treatment;

(2) Receive remuneration from or split a fee for either making or accepting referrals of the patient to another health care practitioner;

(3) Unless supported by scientific principles accepted by the profession, make guarantees or promises concerning the efficacy of:

(a) A particular treatment in general;

(b) The electrologist's practice in particular; or

(c) A prognosis;

(4) Continue treatment unnecessarily; or

(5) Charge for services:

(a) Not provided; or

(b) Different from those actually provided.

C. Professional Boundaries.

(1) The electrologist has the ethical and professional obligation to maintain professional boundaries, even if the patient initiates crossing the boundaries of the professional relationship. The electrologist shall respect and maintain professional boundaries.

(2) The electrologist may not use a relationship with a patient for the electrologist's advantage, including but not limited to personal, sexual, romantic, and financial relationships.

(3) An electrologist may not engage in sexual or other inappropriate acts with a patient. Sexual misconduct includes, but is not limited to, sexual behavior with a patient in the context of a professional evaluation, treatment, procedure, or other service to the patient, regardless of the setting where the professional service is provided.

(4) If an electrologist and a patient mutually desire a personal relationship, the electrologist shall:

(a) Immediately terminate the professional relationship;

(b) Make an appropriate referral to another health care practitioner; and

(c) Wait an appropriate period of time before engaging in the relationship so that it is reasonably certain that the former professional relationship does not influence the personal relationship.

D. Electronic devices including, but not limited to telephones, may not be used to take pictures or videos of clients without written client authorization.

E. An electrologist:

(1) May not make use of electronic devices and social media to transmit or place any client information online; and

(2) Shall adhere to the following principles for the use of electronic devices and social media:

(a) Every electrologist has an obligation to understand the nature, benefits, and consequences of using electronic devices and participating in social media networking;

(b) An electrologist is bound to observe ethically prescribed client-electrologist boundaries when using electronic devices and social media as in any other setting;

(c) Client information shall be maintained in separate encrypted and secured files on personal computers and online; and

(d) The standards of professionalism are the same when using electronic devices and social media as in any other circumstance.

F. An electrologist may not engage in behavior that dishonors the profession whether or not acting in the capacity of a licensed electrologist, including, but not limited to:

(1) Reporting for employment under the influence of alcohol or a controlled dangerous substance or submitting a pre-employment sample that is positive for alcohol or a controlled dangerous substance without having provided evidence of valid prescriptions for all controlled dangerous substances in the sample;

(2) Reporting for employment under the influence of an illicit drug or submitting a pre-employment sample that is positive for an illicit drug; or

(3) Committing an act of moral turpitude, dishonesty, or corruption when the act directly or indirectly affects the health, welfare, or safety of the citizens of this State, and, if the act constitutes a crime, conviction thereof in a criminal proceeding is not a condition precedent to disciplinary action.