Re: PT Practice Act--cause for concern

Re: PT Practice Act--cause for concern

Joseph F. Carideo Jr.

3/3/2000

This is what I've been talking about folks! We have got to investigate
further what the rules and regulations are in our individual states and act
accordingly. I brought up Gary's article some time ago and got many
disparaging comments from practitioners around the country. When the
physical therapists are licensed to provide orthotic & prosthetic services,
those unregulated states will not have a say in what type device is
provided nor how the device be fabricated. Remember this, they will be the
ones recognized by the state, NOT YOU!!! And if desired, they can have the
state come in and close you down for operating without a license, which you
are unable to get!!! Get ready for a vicious circle!

Obviously, the time has come, to come out from under the banner of
protecting the general public. Although this may be true, we need to
educate our state legislators, and those powers that be, that there are
talented professionals out there, educated specifically in orthotics &
prosthetics. We are not simply looking for an extension of our scope of
practice (we don't even have a scope of practice in most states!) We are
looking to regulate and license what IS our practice - orthotics &
prosthetics.

Joseph F. Carideo Jr., CP
Newport News, VA, 23606
(757) 873-1984
(757) 873- 9755 FAX

-----Original Message-----
From: <Email Address Redacted> [SMTP: <Email Address Redacted> ]
Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2000 9:49 PM
To: <Email Address Redacted>
Subject: Re: PT Practice Act--cause for concern

NATIONAL MODEL PRACTICE ACT FOR PHYSICAL THERAPISTS:
CAUSE FOR CONCERN TO O&P

There is a movement afoot reportedly in all 50 states to enact legislation
to
clarify the practice of physical therapy. The intent of such a model
practice act is to create uniformity from one state to the next, rather
than
have a patchwork of diverse scopes of practice as defined by each separate
state legislature.

A review of the physical therapy model practice act, however, appears to be
an encroachment into the scope of practice of prosthetists and orthotists
across the country. The proposed act states in Article 1D (2): The
'Practice of Physical Therapy' means: ...Alleviating impairments and
functional limitations by designing, implementing and modifying therapeutic
interventions that include, but are not limited to...assistive and adaptive
or
thotic, prosthetic, protective and supportive devices and equipment.
[italics mine] The ambiguity in that language is enough to cause
consternation to all of us in our field.

In all likelihood, there are some states in which the physical therapy
model
practice act has already been enacted into law. States like Washington
which
retain lobbyists may already be aware of these developments and may have
been
alerted to the status of the local physical therapy efforts in this regard.
Further, in those states where O&P licensure is already in place, the O&P
community has greater clout for insisting on providing input regarding any
reference to prosthetics and orthotics in a new state bill that revises the
physical therapy scope of practice.

If you practice P&O in a state which lacks O&P regulation in the form of
licensure and your state association does not retain a lobbyist, you may be
in for a rude surprise. The fact is that a legislative bill codifying that
physical therapists are licensed to design, implement and modify
...orthotic
and prosthetic devices may already have become state statute in you locale
or is about to be. In that scenario, it is not hyperbole to state that
physical therapists will be licensed to perform prosthetics-orthotics in
your
state while you are not!

Any legislation pertaining to the implementation of the national physical
therapy
model practice act in your state may be readily found through a search of
your state's legislative web site.

David Varnau, LPO, CPO