SECTION 79.1. Inappropriate Sexual Conduct

(a) A licensee, or a chiropractic college student or recent graduate employed by or under the supervision of a licensee, may not:

(1) engage in a consensual sexual relationship with a patient;

(2) inappropriately touch an individual's genitals, anus, or breasts;

(3) make any statements, gestures, or expressions, using any means, towards an individual which may reasonably be interpreted as sexual in nature;

(4) request unnecessary details of an individual's sexual history or sexual preferences;

(5) request to initiate an intimate relationship with a patient;

(6) discuss the licensee's sexual desires, problems, preferences, or fantasies;

(7) request sexual acts or favors in exchange for services;

(8) inappropriately expose genitalia or other customarily covered body parts to an individual; or

(9) masturbate in the presence of an individual.

(b) It is a defense to disciplinary action under subsection (a)(1) of this section if the consensual sexual relationship began more than three months after the doctor-patient relationship ended, or existed before the doctor-patient-relationship began.

(c) It is not a defense to subsection (a)(2) to (9) of this section if the acts occurred:

(1) with the individual's consent; or

(2) outside the place of business used for the practice of chiropractic.

(d) A licensee, student, or recent graduate is subject to disciplinary action for violating this section.

Source Note: The provisions of this §79.1 adopted to be effective September 13, 2020, 45 TexReg 6232