Bill Text: DE HB447 | 2023-2024 | 152nd General Assembly | Draft
Bill Title: An Act To Amend Title 24 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Health-care Professional Title Transparency And Advertisment.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-06-13 - Introduced and Assigned to Sunset Committee (Policy Analysis & Government Accountability) Committee in House [HB447 Detail]
Download: Delaware-2023-HB447-Draft.html
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SPONSOR: |
Rep. Minor-Brown & Sen. Poore |
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
152nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 447
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONAL TITLE TRANSPARENCY AND ADVERTISMENT.
WHEREAS, a strength of the State’s health-care workforce is the growing number of health-care providers with
doctoral preparation; and
WHEREAS, more than a dozen health professional disciplines including advanced practice registered nurses,
physical therapists, and psychologists are educated at the doctoral level; and
WHEREAS, the use of the title "doctor" in conjunction with licensure title for doctorally prepared health-care
practitioners is critical to ensuring patients retain their right to know the academic preparation of their choice of practitioner regardless of discipline.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1. Amend Title 24 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
Chapter 62. Health-Care Professional Titles.
As used in this chapter:
(1) “Advertisement” means any communication or statement that is directly controlled or
administered by a health-care professional or a health-care professional’s office personnel, whether printed, electronic, or oral, that names the health-care professional in relation to the practice, profession, or institution in which the individual is employed, volunteers, or otherwise provides health-care services. This includes all of the following:
a. Business cards.
b. Letterhead.
c. Patient brochures.
d. Email.
e. Internet.
f. Audio.
g. Video.
h. Office building placards.
i. Exterior building signage.
j. Any other communication or statement used in the course of business or where the health-care
professional is utilizing a professional degree or license to influence opinion or infer expertise in a health-care topic.
(2) "Doctorally prepared health-care practicioner” means an individual who has an earned a doctoral educational degree conferred from an accredited academic institution of higher education indicating completion of an advanced clinical program of study.
(3) "Educational degree" means the degree awarded to a practitioner by a college or university relating to the profession or specialty designation which may be referenced in the professional setting or an advertisement by name or acronym.
(4) "Health-care practitioner" means any person licensed to deliver clinical health-care services in the State by the following professional licensing boards created under this title:
a. The Board of Podiatry created under Chapter 5.
b. The Board of Chiropractic created under Chapter 7.
c. The Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline created under Chapter 17.
d. The Board of Dentistry and Dental Hygiene created under Chapter 11.
e. The Board of Nursing created under Chapter 19.
f. The Board of Occupational Therapy created under Chapter 20.
g. The Board of Optometry created under Chapter 21.
h. The Board of Pharmacy created under Chapter 25.
i. The Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals created under Chapter 30.
j. The Board of Examiners of Psychologists created under Chapter 35.
k. The Board of Dietetics/Nutritionists created under Chapter 38.
l . The Board of Social Work Examiners created under Chapter 39.
m. The Examining Board of Physical Therapists and Athletic Trainers created under Chapter 26.
§ 6202. Identification and Advertising Transparency Requirements.
(a) A doctorally prepared health-care practitioner using the designation "Doctor" or "Dr." in connection with that person's name or calls themself "Doctor" must specify the educational degree and type of license or other permissible title authorized by the practitioner's professional practice act or regulation.
(b) A health-care practitioner licensed under the professional boards defined in this chapter must wear an identification name tag during all patient encounters which must include the practitioner's name and the type of license or other permissible title authorized by the practitioner's professional practice act or regulation. It must be of sufficient size and be worn in a conspicuous manner so as to be visible and apparent. The health-care practitioner is not subject to the name tag requirement if any of the following apply:
(1) The health-care practitioner is working in a nonpatient care setting and does not have any direct patient care interaction.
(2) The wearing of identification would jeopardize the health-care practitioner's safety.
(3) The health-care practitioner is in a setting in which the license type and names of all health-care practitioners working in that setting are displayed.
(4) The office is an office of a solo health-care practitioner, or of a single type of health-care practitioner.
(c) An advertisement for health-care services that names a health-care practitioner must identify the type of license held or other permissible title authorized by the practitioner’s professional practice act or regulation. The advertisement may not contain deceptive or misleading information.
§ 6203. Violations, complaints, discipline.
(a) A health-care practitioner who violates this chapter is deemed to have engaged in unprofessional conduct,
which may be grounds for disciplinary action under the licensure provisions governing the health-care practitioner.
(b) The Division of Professional Regulation will only accept or assign a complaint number or investigate a
complaint filed by a patient or agent of the patient as designated in a power of attorney or advance health-care directive for violations of this chapter.
SYNOPSIS
This Act creates Chapter 62 of Title 24 to regulate health-care advertisements, defined as any communication or statement that is directly controlled or administered by a health-care professional or a health-care professional’s office personnel. It requires the following
1) Doctorally prepared health-care practitioners using the designation "Doctor" or "Dr." in connection with that person's name or calls themself "Doctor" must specify the educational degree and type of license or other permissible title authorized by that person's professional practice act or regulation.
2) Any health-care practitioner licensed under the professional boards defined in this chapter must wear an identification name tag during all patient encounters which must include the practitioner's name and the type of license or other permissible title authorized by that person's professional practice act or regulation. There are certain exceptions to this requirement:
(1) The health-care practitioner is working in a nonpatient care setting and does not have any direct patient care interaction.
(2) The wearing of identification would jeopardize the health-care practitioner's safety.
(3) The health-care practitioner is in a setting in which the license type and names of all health-care practitioners working in that setting are displayed.
(4) The office is an office of a solo health-care practitioner, or of a single type of health-care practitioner.
The Boards defined in this chapter are the following:
Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals
Board of Podiatry
Board of Chiropractic
Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline
Board of Dentistry and Dental Hygiene
Board of Nursing
Board of Occupational Therapy
Board of Optometry
Board of Pharmacy
Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals
Board of Examiners of Psychologists
Board of Dietetics/Nutritionists
Board of Social Work Examiners
Examining Board of Physical Therapists and Athletic Trainers
3) An advertisement for health-care services which names any health-care practitioner must identify the type of license held pursuant to the requirements of this statute or other permissible title. Further, the advertisement may not contain deceptive or misleading information.
4) Provides that a health-care practitioner who violates this chapter is deemed to have engaged in unprofessional conduct, which may be grounds for disciplinary action under the licensure provisions governing the respective health-care practitioner; however, The Division of Professional Regulation will only accept or assign a complaint number or investigate a complaint filed by a patient or agent of the patient as designated in a power of attorney or advance health-care directive.
