SECTION 108.1. Professional Responsibility

A licensed dentist shall conduct his practice on the highest plane of honesty, integrity, and fair dealing. In order to safeguard the dental health and welfare of the public and the dentist-patient relationship and fix professional responsibility for dental services, no dentist or any other licensee or certificate holder of the Board shall:

(1) circumvent or attempt to circumvent any provision of the Texas Dental Practice Act or any rule, regulation, or order of the Board;

(2) participate, directly or indirectly in any plan, scheme, or arrangement attempting or having as its purpose or result the evasion of any provision of the Texas Dental Practice Act or any rule, regulation, or order of the Board;

(3) fail to exercise reasonable diligence to prevent partners, associates, and employees from engaging in conduct which would violate any provisions of the Texas Dental Practice Act or any rule, regulation, or order of the Board;

(4) permit or allow himself, his practice of dentistry, his professional identification, or his services to be used or made use of, directly or indirectly, or in any manner whatsoever, so as to create or tend to create the opportunity for the unauthorized or unlawful practice of dentistry by any person, firm, or corporation or for the practice of dentistry in violation of any provision of the Texas Dental Practice Act or any rule, regulation, or order of the Board;

(5) associate with or permit or allow the use of a dentist's name, professional identification, office, or practice in any business, commercial, or mercantile venture, project, or enterprise which the dentist or licensee knows or by the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known is engaged in acts, practices, or omissions which violate any provision of the Texas Dental Practice Act or any rule, regulation, or order of the Board;

(6) divide, share, split, or allocate, either directly or indirectly, any fee for dental services, appliances, or materials with another dentist or with a physician, except upon a division of services or responsibility and with the prior knowledge and approval of the patient; provided, however, this section shall not be construed to prohibit partnerships for the practice of dentistry.

(7) provide prescriptions for any medications to patients of other dentists, who are part of an after hours call agreement with the license holder, without first taking steps to determine that the individual is in fact a patient of the other dentist. Such steps shall include determination of patient's basic medical history, including name, when last seen by patient's doctor, service performed and prescriptions written, if any.

Source Note: The provisions of this §108.1 adopted to be effective February 20, 2001, 26 TexReg 1494