What are the position statements of the Board and to whom do they apply?
The North Carolina Respiratory Care Board’s Position Statements are interpretive documents that are issued to explain the impact of laws or rules that govern the practice of Respiratory Care in North Carolina, on particular aspects of the Practice of Respiratory Care. The Board issues Position Statements to provide guidance to healthcare institutions and other healthcare providers about the Board’s interpretation of the Respiratory Care Practice Act (the “Act”) and the Board’s Rules. In some circumstances, they also can set forth criteria or guidelines used by the Board’s staff in the investigation, prosecution or settlement of cases.
When considering the Board’s Position Statements, the following points should be kept in mind.
The Board issues Position Statements to provide advance guidance, reduce misunderstanding and save interested parties from the delay and inconvenience that would result from having to prepare and present a specific request for guidance to the Board. A Position Statement should not be seen as the promulgation of a new standard as of the date of its issuance or amendment.
The Position Statements are not intended to be comprehensive or to set out exhaustively every standard that might apply in every circumstance. Therefore, the absence of a Position Statement on a particular subject, or a Position Statement’s silence on a particular issue, should not be construed as the lack of an enforceable standard.
The issuance of a Position Statement on a particular subject should not necessarily be taken as an indication of the Board’s enforcement priorities, and the Board will continue to decide each case before it on all the facts and circumstances presented in the hearing, whether or not the issues have been the subject of a Position Statement.
Each Position Statement will be posted on the Board’s website, but as it continues to exercise its statutory responsibilities, the Board may change or supplement each Position Statement based on future developments or situations that come to its attention.
