# COMAR Title 10 — Maryland Department of Health

## Subtitle 26 — Board of Acupuncture

### Chapter 03 — Code of Ethics

#### Regulation .05 Professional Boundaries.

*COMAR 10.26.03.05*

A. The licensee shall:

  (1) Maintain professional boundaries, even when the patient initiates crossing the boundaries of the professional relationship;

  (2) Respect and maintain professional boundaries and respect the patient's reasonable expectation of professional conduct; and

  (3) If the licensee and the patient mutually desire a personal relationship, immediately terminate the professional relationship, make an appropriate referral to another health care practitioner, and wait before engaging in such a relationship for a time when it is reasonably certain that the professional relationship has no influence on the personal relationship.

B. The licensee may not:

  (1) Exploit a relationship with a patient for the licensee's personal advantage, including, but not limited to, a personal, sexual, romantic, or financial relationship;

  (2) Engage in a sexually intimate act with a patient; or

  (3) Engage in sexual misconduct which includes behavior in which a licensee has engaged in sexual behavior with a patient in the context of a professional evaluation, treatment, procedure, or other service to the patient, regardless of the setting in which the professional service is provided.