INDIANA SPEECH-LANGUAGE-HEARING ASSOCIATION
April 8, 1992 (as amended October 2006)

PREAMBLE

The preservation of the highest standards of integrity and ethical principles is vital to the responsible discharge of obligations in the profession of speech-language pathology and audiology. This Code of Ethics sets forth the fundamental principles and rules considered essential to this purpose. Any action, specified or unspecified, that violates the spirit and purpose of this Code will be considered unethical.

Every individual who is a member of the Indiana Speech- Language-Hearing Association shall abide by this Code of Ethics. Associate and student members shall abide by this Code of Ethics to the extent that the provisions are pertinent to their status as employees or students.

The fundamentals of ethical conduct are described by Principals and Ethics and by Rules of Ethics as they relate to responsibility to persons served, to the public, and to the professions of speech-language pathology and audiology.

Principles of Ethics, aspirational and inspirational in nature, form the underlying moral basis for the Code of Ethics. Members shall observe these principles as affirmative obligations under all conditions of professional activity.

Rules of Ethics are specific statements of minimally acceptable professional conduct or of prohibitions and are applicable to all members.

PRINCIPLE OF ETHICS I: Members shall honor their responsibility to hold paramount the welfare of persons they serve professionally.

Rules of Ethics

1. Members shall provide all services competently.
2. Members shall use every resource, including referral when appropriate to other specialists and service agencies as needed, to ensure that high-quality service is provided.
3. Members shall not discriminate in the delivery of professional services on the basis of race, sex, age, religion, national origin, disability or sexual orientation.
4. Members shall fully inform the persons they serve of the nature and possible effects of service rendered and products dispensed.
5. Members shall evaluate the effectiveness of services rendered and of products dispensed and shall provide services or dispense products only when benefit can reasonably be expected.
6. Members shall not guarantee the results of any treatment or procedure, directly or by implication; however, they may make a reasonable statement or prognosis.
7. Members shall not evaluate or treat speech, language, or hearing disorders solely by correspondence.
8. Members shall maintain adequate records of professional services rendered or products dispensed. They shall not reveal, without authorization, any professional or personal information about the person served professionally, unless required by law to do so, or unless doing so is necessary to protect the welfare of the person or of the community.
9. Members shall charge fees consistent with services provided. Fees shall be commensurate with prevailing responsible and customary charges. Members shall not charge for services not rendered, nor shall they misrepresent, in any fashion, services rendered or products dispensed*.
10. Members who dispense products shall:
1. Allow freedom of choice for the procurement of products,
2. Make clear differentiation between fees for professional service and prices for products dispensed,
3. Provide full disclosure of fees in advance,
4. Establish fees for services independent of whether a product is dispensed,
5. Evaluate effectiveness of products dispensed.
11. Members shall use persons in research or as subjects of teaching demonstrations only with their informed consent.
12. Members shall withdraw from professional practice when substance abuse or an emotional or mental disability adversely affects the quality of services they render.

PRINCIPLE OF ETHICS II: Members shall honor their responsibility to achieve and maintain a high level of professional competence.

Rules of Ethics

1. Members shall engage in the provision of clinical services only when they hold the qualifications by law or engaging in such practice or when they are supervised by an individual who holds the appropriate qualifications.
2. Members shall engage in only those aspects of the professions that are within the scope of their competence, considering their level of education, training and experience.
3. Members shall continue their professional development throughout their careers.
4. Members shall delegate the provision of clinical services only to appropriately supervised persons who are qualified/licensed or in the educational process.
5. Members shall prohibit any of their professional staff or anyone under their supervision from providing services that exceed the individual's competence.
6. Members shall ensure that all equipment used in the provision of services is in proper working order and is properly calibrated.

PRINCIPLE OF ETHICS III: Members shall honor their responsibility to the public by promoting public understanding of the professions, by supporting the development of services designed to fulfill the unmet needs of the public, and by providing accurate information in all communications involving any aspect of the profession.

Rules of Ethics

1. Members shall accurately represent their credentials, competence, education, training, and experience.
2. Members shall not participate in professional activities that constitute a conflict of interest.
3. Members shall not misrepresent diagnostic information, services rendered, or products dispensed or engage in any scheme or artifice to defraud in connection with obtaining payment or reimbursement for such services or products.
4. Member's statements to the public shall provide accurate information about the nature and management of communication disorders, about the professions and about professional services.
5. Member's statements to the public - advertising, announcing and marketing their professional services, reporting research results, and promoting products - shall adhere to prevailing professional standards and shall not contain misrepresentations.

PRINCIPLE OF ETHICS IV: Members shall honor their responsibilities to the professions and their relationships with colleagues, students and members of allied professions. They shall uphold the dignity and autonomy of the professions, maintain harmonious interprofessional and intraprofessional relationships, and accept the profession's self-imposed standards.

Rules of Ethics

1. Members shall prohibit anyone under their supervision from engaging in any practice that violates the Code of Ethics.
2. Members shall not engage in dishonesty, fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, or any form of conduct that adversely reflects on the professions or on the individual's fitness to serve persons professionally.
3. Members shall assign credit only to those who contributed to a publication, presentation, or product. Credit shall be assigned in proportion to the contribution and only with the contributor's consent.
4. Member's statements to colleagues about professional services, research results, and products shall adhere to prevailing professional standard and shall contain no misrepresentations.
5. Members shall not provide professional services without exercising professional judgement, regardless of referral source or prescription.

Copyright © 2000 ISHA. All rights reserved.