ANN | Association nationale des naturopathes
REGULATIONS ON PROFESSIONAL ETHICS OF MEMBERS
DEFINITIONS AND GENERAL PROVISIONS
NAN’s Professional Ethics Regulations determine the duties and obligations that every member of the Association must fulfill. They reflect high standards of professional ethics so that the profession is well supervised.
NAN : National Association of Naturopaths
Association : National Association of Naturopaths
Certificate of membership : Certificate issued by the National Association of Naturopaths attesting to the member's status in
good standing.
Client : Person benefiting from the professional services of a member of NAN
Regulations : Regulations on professional ethics for members in good standing of the National Association of Naturopaths or Code of Ethics of NAN, without distinction.
Service : Action or service which consists of making technical or intellectual capacity available to a third party or a group of people.
Member : Defines any member in good standing who performs a set of therapeutic acts in accordance with the standards established in naturopathy having the skills required by the National Association of Naturopaths.
- The Member is subject to the obligations and duties contained in the Regulations and cannot evade them.
- The Member must exercise his profession with competence, integrity and loyalty.
- The Member must exercise his professional obligations within the limits of his professional skills, knowledge and the means at his disposal. He must, where appropriate, follow training, consult or refer his client to another professional.
- The Member must exercise his profession with respect for the life, dignity and freedom of the human person.
- The Member respects the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms (chapter C-12).
- The Member has a duty to promote the well-being and health of individuals both collectively and individually.
- The Member must promote educational and information measures in the field in which he practices.
- The Member must ensure compliance with the Regulations by the persons he employs or who work for or with him.
- The Member must not allow any other person, whether in his/her employment or not, to provide a Service on his/her behalf.
- The Member must comply with the measures of the Ministries of Health of his jurisdiction. They must follow the requested directives when required by law. For example for the Coronavirus (COVID-19) with regard to safety, hygiene, distancing, the ban on opening his office, wearing a mask, wearing a visor, etc.
DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS TOWARDS THE CUSTOMER
- The Member must have irreproachable conduct towards any person with whom he comes into contact in the exercise of his profession, both physically, mentally and emotionally.
- The Member must seek to establish and maintain a relationship of trust with his client.
- The Member must not abuse the professional relationship established with his client. He must not attempt to take advantage of the state of dependence or vulnerability of a person to whom he offers or provides services. More specifically, the Member must not, during the duration of the professional relationship, have sexual relations with the Client, nor make gestures or comments of a sexual nature (see section “Sexual Misconduct”).
- The Member must not intervene in the personal affairs of his client on matters which do not fall within his domain.
- The Member must ensure that the Client will have access to therapeutic monitoring during a move, a work stoppage or the abandonment of his practice.
16. The Member must respect the Client's right to consult another Member, another professional or another competent person. He may not make any agreement that has the effect of infringing these rights.
17. Before any consultation or service, the Member must obtain the Client's free and informed consent in writing using the documents that the NAN makes available to him when he joins or renews annually. Consent must be paid to the
client's file.
18. The Member must ensure that the Client understands the nature of a Service and its consequences. Where appropriate, the Member must facilitate the Client’s decision-making at all times and respect it.
19. The Member may not refuse to provide a service to a Client on the grounds of race, color, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, marital status, age, religion, political beliefs, language, ethnic or national origin, social condition or disability.
20. The Member may not, except for a just and reasonable reason, terminate the services provided to a Client.
21. The following constitute, among others and without limitation, fair and reasonable grounds:
• loss of the Client's trust;
• lack of participation on the part of the Client;
• incompatibility of character between the Member and the Client, which could jeopardize the success of a Service;
• conflict of interest;
• incitement on the part of the Client to perform acts that he knows to be illegal, unfair or fraudulent;
• abusive behavior of the Client, expressed for example by threats or aggressive acts;
• health reasons of the Member, important family obligations;
• retirement.
22. The Member who terminates the services provided to a Client must inform the Client by giving him notice within a reasonable time, if possible, and refer him to another professional.
23. The Member must preserve the secrecy of all information obtained in the exercise of his profession.
24. The Member must, among other things and in any way whatsoever, avoid revealing that a person has used his services. He must not have indiscreet conversations, including virtual exchanges.
25. The Member may only be released from professional secrecy with the authorization of his Client or when the law so orders.
26. The Member must take reasonable measures with regard to his employees and the staff who work for or with him to ensure that the secrecy of confidential information is preserved.
27. The Member must not use confidential information to the detriment of a Client.
28. The Member must not use confidential information to obtain an advantage for himself or for others.
29. The Member who issues receipts to his clients for reimbursement by insurance companies:
• must complete and sign each receipt honestly;
• is responsible at all times for the official numbered receipts given to him by the ANN, even in the event of theft or loss;
• must exclude from the amount shown on the receipts all suggestions or sales of natural products or supplements. These costs are the responsibility of the client and must not be part of the total fees to be declared to insurers;
• must never issue receipts for an immediate family member whether or not they live at the same address. (this includes parents, children, brothers or sisters);
• must never issue receipts for any group session, even if it is a meeting within the scope of his/her fields of expertise;
• must never issue receipts when payment for the consultation was settled by a gift certificate. The certificate is a gift and was paid for by a third party, so there is no need to issue an insurance receipt;
• must never sign a receipt for another;
• must never add fictitious meetings to the receipt so that the insured receives more than the costs incurred.
30. The Member must record the following information in each file:
• the date the file was opened;
• the client's name, address and telephone number;
• his or her date of birth;
• the health report provided to him or her by the NAN (or the member's version that includes all the information requested in the NAN's health report);
• a summary description of the reasons for the consultation and its date (all consultations must be recorded in the client file);
• a description of the Services provided (including the methods used) and their date;
• advice given to the Client;
• annotations, correspondence and other documents relating to the Services provided.
31. The Member must record in each Client file the time used by him and, where applicable, by his employees, all notes relevant to the consultation, as well as a copy of the fee and payment notes until the time he ceases to provide professional services to the person concerned by this file.
32. The Member must keep each file for at least 5 years from the date of the last Service provided.
33. The Member must keep his files, active and inactive, in a room or piece of furniture to which the public does not have free access and which can be locked, making the files inaccessible.
34. The Member may use IT to create and maintain its files provided that:
• their confidentiality is respected;
• any entry or report entered into a computerized file contains the name of its author;
• the IT environment is highly secure (server, password, locked session when the Member is not using his computer, etc.).
35. The Member must respect the right of his client to consult the documents concerning him in any file created about him and to obtain a copy of these
documents, within a reasonable time.
36. The Member may charge a fee for the reproduction, transcription or transmission of the requested documents. He must first inform the Client of the approximate amount that he will be required to pay.
37. When a Client removes a document belonging to him from the file concerning him, the Member must insert in his file a note signed by this Client indicating the nature of the document and the date of withdrawal.
38. The Member who is absent from his consulting room must take the necessary measures to ensure the security of the files.
39. The Member must set up his consulting room so that the identity and conversations of the people there cannot be perceived from outside the office.
40. The Member must set up or have access near his consulting room to a waiting room intended to receive the people to whom he provides Services, as well as access to a bathroom for the use of the Client.
41. The Member must refrain from practicing in conditions, states or places likely to compromise the quality of his services.
42. The Member must display his current NAN Membership Certificate in his waiting room or in his office.
43. The Member must place a copy of the Regulations on the professional ethics of naturopaths of the National Association of Naturopaths in force in the waiting room for the public to see.
44. The Member must display his/her Services and a fee schedule in the waiting room and in his/her office, in a place visible to the Client. The Member displaying his/her fees must clearly specify:
• the exact amount of the fees in question;
• the period during which these fees are in effect;
• the nature and extent of the Professional Services included;
• any additional Services that may be required and that are not included.
45. The Member must display the payment terms in a place visible to the Client.
46. The Member must respect the Client's private and romantic life.
47. The Member must not engage in any seduction maneuver, establish intimate or romantic ties with the Client during the duration of the professional relationship.
48. The Member must not engage in any sexual touching, of any nature whatsoever, with the Client.
49. The Member must not engage in any sexual activity, of any nature whatsoever, with the Client during the duration of the professional relationship, including full or partial sexual intercourse, masturbation or any genital, oral or anal contact.
50. The Member must in particular refrain from:
• sexually harassing or abusing the Client;
• asking for or offering sexual favors to the Client;
• making comments with sexual connotations, sexually degrading speech towards the Client or degrading comments;
• making comments on the Client's physical appearance, including their clothing and sexual orientation;
• proposing or guaranteeing a cure for a sexual problem or sexual dysfunction of the Client: following admissions by the Client of such a problem or dysfunction, the Member must refer them to a clinical sexologist therapist, member of a corporation, association or professional order;
• practicing or suggesting bodily or energetic maneuvers resembling gestures of a sexual nature or with sexual connotations.
DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS TOWARDS THE PROFESSION
51. Le Membre doit s’acquitter de ses devoirs et obligations professionnelles avec dignité et dans le respect des lois. Constitue notamment un acte dérogatoire répréhensible par l’Association :
• commit negligence in the exercise of his profession;
• perform an act that is not required or disproportionate to the needs of the Client or multiply Professional Services without sufficient reason;
• solicit someone urgently or repeatedly to use his Services;
• perform an act or perform an activity reserved for another profession;
• obtain his qualifications and skills illegitimately and practice on a fraudulent basis;
• use the power conferred by his status as a caregiver to take advantage of the vulnerability of a Client;
• practice his profession under the influence of psychotropic substances or any other substance, including alcohol, causing similar effects;
• guarantee, even in good faith, a cure or remission;
• lie or hide important information about his practice;
• claim fees for Services not performed, with the exception of gift certificates;
• not honoring a gift certificate that is still in force and duly paid;
• issuing a receipt for tax or insurance purposes with incorrect information, including the nature of the Service, the amount and the date it was given.
52. The Member must complete at least 15 hours of continuing education annually in a field related to the profession.
53. The Member must provide proof of his training to the Association upon renewal.
54. The Member must behave with dignity, courtesy, respect and integrity with the Association.
55. The Member must pay his annual fee, which is non-refundable.
56. The Member must respond fully and truthfully, as soon as possible, to any request from a person duly appointed and mandated by the Association.
57. The Member must respect any commitment he has entered into with the Association.
58. The Member must report to the Association any Member he believes to be unfit to practice, incompetent, dishonest or who he believes has committed an action in contravention of the provisions of the Regulations.
59. The Member must not exert undue pressure or offer money or any other advantage, with the aim of influencing the Association or any person acting on behalf of the Association.
60. The Member must cooperate with the Association during inspection visits that may be announced or not.
61. The Member acknowledges that he or she is solely responsible for his or her practice.
62. The Association reserves the right to permanently or temporarily remove a Member who does not comply with the Association's regulations at any time. A Member compromises or loses his or her membership title in particular in the following cases:
• a serious breach of the Regulations, including the continuing education component;
• professional negligence;
• a refusal of inspection, announced or not, by a representative of the ANN for invalid reasons;
• fraud;
• non-payment of dues;
• any other reason deemed unacceptable and detrimental to the profession.
63. The Association strongly recommends that the Member take out professional and civil liability insurance.
64. The Member must avoid any situation that would place him in an apparent, potential or real situation of conflict of interest.
65. The Member must disclose to the Association any conflict of interest that could influence the practice of his profession, whether apparent, potential or real. In this case, he must also propose a management plan that the Association reserves the right to accept or refuse.
66. The Member must refrain from:
• obtaining a financial advantage, in particular by prescribing devices or products;
• granting, in the exercise of his profession, any advantage, commission or discount to any person whatsoever;
• accepting, as a Member, any commission, discount or material advantage with the exception of customary thanks and gifts of modest value ($40 or less) and not in multiple numbers.
67. The Member must behave with dignity, courtesy, respect and integrity in his dealings with other Members and other professionals; in particular, he must:
• seek to establish and maintain harmonious relationships;
• refrain from denigrating another Member or another professional;
• refrain from harassing, intimidating or threatening another Member or another professional.
ADVERTISING AND USE OF THE ASSOCIATION’S BRAND IMAGE
68. Advertising made by the Member or on its behalf, relating to the exercise of the activities reserved for it, must clearly identify it as the sole person responsible for these activities.
69. The Member must not advertise containing false or misleading information.
70. The Member must refrain from using its status to make undue or excessive sales.
71. The Member must keep a complete copy of any advertising made by it or on its behalf, in its original form, for a period of 3 years following the date of its last publication or broadcast. Upon request, this copy must be provided to the Association without delay.
72. The Member is authorized to use a reproduction of the Association's current graphic symbol:
• in his correspondence;
• on his business card;
• on a poster advertising his firm and its Services recognized by the Association.
73. The Member who uses the Association's brand image must ensure that such reproduction must be consistent with the original held by the Association.