HB 220 Summary

• Restructures the definition of "physical therapy" to include evaluation to determine diagnosis, prognosis, and plan of therapeutic intervention, and treatment using physical measures such as massage, heat, cold, electricity, sound, and manual therapy techniques.

• Expands physical therapy scope to include use of therapeutic exercises and rehabilitative procedures with or without assistive devices.

• Adds new authorized activities when performed by adequately trained persons: design and fabrication of assistive devices, administration of prescribed topical drugs, establishment of treatment programs and patient education, physiotherapy, and ordering of diagnostic imaging and other tests performed by other licensed health care professionals.

• Removes the prohibition against physical therapists performing medical diagnosis of a patient's disability.

• Maintains existing prohibitions against physical therapists using Roentgen rays, radium, or electricity for surgical purposes.