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PTA Legislative Issues

PTA Legislative Issues

On July 8, 2008, Governor Patterson signed into law a bill that will require mandatory education for Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistants licensed/certified in New York State.

The key elements of the law as described by Jim Dunleavy, President of the New York Physical Therapy Association are the following:

  • 36 hours of continuing education over each registration period (3years)
  • The law will become effective on September 1, 2009
    UPDATE: For those that have renewal dates soon after September 1, 2009, there will be a proration schedule equal to either 1/2 or 1 credit hour per month. CEUs taken before September 1, 2009 cannot be used to meet the requirement. At the time of license renewal, on-line completion of a question and answer review of PT practice regulations will be required.
  • Individuals who are not engaged in practice but are licensed/certified may file with the state to be exempt from the requirement until such time as their status changes. When a person returns to practice they must notify the State Board and the continuing education requirement will commence
  • The State Education Department may give conditional licenses to those who do not meet the requirement at their renewal date and may also give exemptions for health or other personal reasons determined appropriate by the state
  • New graduate physical therapists and physical therapist assistants will not have to meet this requirement during their first 3 year license/certification timeframe
  • Providers of Continuing Education that meet State Board for PT requirements will have to be registered and approved by the State Education Department. The State Board has not decided if it would allow other organizations (e.g. NYPTA) to approve continuing education providers in addition to the State Board.
  • Each PT/PTA is expected to maintain their continuing education record which may be required by the State Education upon license/certification renewal
  • A fee of $45 will be charged by the State Education Department

The State Board will be involved with the writing of regulations that will further define the law.

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On July 7, 2006, Governor Pataki signed extender legislation that allows physical therapist assistants (with certain stipulations) to continue to provide home care without the continuous on-site supervision of a PT. This law is valid through June 30, 2010, when once again it will terminate unless officially extended through the State Legislature.

It is interesting to note that the law affecting PTAs working in a school setting will "sunset" or terminate on June 30, 2010 as well. In the past, the termination dates happened to fall on different years.

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Legislative and Practice Links (NYS Education Department)

(The links below will open in a new window.)

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Limited Permit Rules Regarding Graduating PTAs

Effective February 9, 2003, limited permits may be issued to physical therapist assistants; the fee is $50. Limited permits for physical therapist assistants are valid for 6 months. An application for a limited permit (Form 5) must be filed with or after submitting an Application for Licensure (Form 1 and $95 fee). A limited permit cannot be issued until all required documents are received, including Form 2 from the college acknowledging that the student has completed all academic and clinical components of the program and is a student in good standing. Only upon documented approval of the limited permit (issuance of limited permit number by New York State), is the graduating PTA able to begin employment as a PTA. The limited permit issued is good for 6 months only. A PTA graduate may apply for and receive confirmation of a second limited permit which is also for 6 months only, but this second limited permit is only approved if the graduate has already taken and failed the National Physical Therapy Examination for PTAs or has already applied to take the NPTE. Therefore a graduating PTA student may only work for up to a total of one year on limited permits.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Only Physical Therapist graduates have a 90 day exemption immediately following graduation, assuming they have abided by several rules. This exemption does NOT apply to physical therapist assistant graduates.

The Department may issue limited permits to an applicant for licensure which authorize the practice of physical therapy under the on-site supervision of a New York State licensed and currently registered physical therapist. On-site supervision means that the supervising physical therapist is in the same facility and readily available to the permittee.

An applicant receiving a limited permit is restricted to employment in a public hospital, an incorporated hospital or clinic, a licensed proprietary hospital, a licensed nursing home, a public health agency, a recognized public or non-public school setting, the office of a licensed physical therapist, or in the civil service of New York State or a political subdivision in New York State.

PTA graduates must obtain a new permit if they change employment after a limited permit is issued. In other words, with each prospective employer, a new Form 5 needs to be submitted to the Office of the Professions. A new Form 5 would also need to be submitted if the graduate continues to work in the same facility but have a different supervisor. A new fee is not required for another permit issued as a result of a change in employment or change of supervisor in the same facility.

It is important for all PTA graduates working under a limited permit to remember that until they obtain their official certification, they must sign documents/charts with their signature followed by ", PTA-limited permittee".

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Information from Office of the Professions

Identification Badges

Identifying Badges for Licensed Health Care Professionals The Board of Regents has published a proposed amendment to Part 29.2 of the Regents Rules that define unprofessional conduct in the health professions licensed under Title VIII of the Education Law (except for physicians, physician assistants and specialist assistants, whose conduct is overseen by the Department of Health). If adopted by the Board of Regents in March 2008, the regulations would require a licensee to wear and conspicuously display an identifying badge which indicates the professional’s first and last name and professional title. A licensee who practices his or her profession in any setting without wearing an identifying badge could be charged with unprofessional conduct.

Currently, Regents Rules only define as unprofessional conduct the failure to wear a badge when a licensee is “an employee or operator of a hospital, clinic, group practice or multi-professional facility, registered pharmacy or at a commercial establishment offering health care services to the public.” Expanding the identification badge requirement to all settings is intended to improve public protection by allowing consumers to verify the name and professional title of a licensee providing professional services in any setting.

The proposed amendment was published in the State Register on December 26, 2007 for a 45-day period of public comment. The Board of Regents discussed the amendment at their meeting of January 14-15, 2008 viewing 97 responses. They were scheduled to vote on the regulations at their March 17-18, 2008 meeting but this was tabled until their June meeting. In June discussions continued within the Office of the Professions and with professional organizations to determine whether the proposed amendment can be revised to address concerns that have been raised. The proposed rule remains under consideration with no action taken at this time. For more information, contact Associate Commissioner Frank Muñoz at OPOPR@mail.nysed.gov or to view the concerns expressed to the Professional Practice Committee, go to the following link: http://www.regents.nysed.gov/2008Meetings/June2008/0608ppcd1.doc

National Physical Therapy Licensing Exam Violations/Punishment

Board of Regents annul four physical therapists’ registrations The Board of Regents annulled the registrations of four physical therapists licensed in New York when the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) invalidated the individuals’ test scores on the licensing examination. These individuals may not practice as licensed physical therapists until they meet all requirements for licensure. The FSBPT invalidated the candidates’ examination scores after a lengthy investigation into the apparent trafficking of recalled examination questions by Philippine exam preparation centers late last year. FSBPT received copies of test preparation materials provided to student customers of the centers, which confirmed the use of live test questions from past National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE). Possession of examination questions could be a violation of federal copyright laws and provide an unfair advantage to certain individuals attempting the examination.

In an effort to assess the potential effects of using recalled test items, FSBPT retained Caveon to conduct a comprehensive forensic analysis of all NPTE test results occurring from March 1, 2005 through June 5, 2007. This analysis examined the performances of all candidates on 23,512 test administrations to determine whether or not candidates with prior access to recalled test items received an undue advantage on the licensing examination. Caveon’s forensic analysis established that at least 20 individuals did, in fact, benefit unfairly from advance access to recalled test items so that the FSBPT Board of Directors invalidated these candidates test scores. Affected candidates will be afforded the opportunity to re-take the NPTE, at no cost to them, one time over the course of the next 12 months. These candidates are able at any time during or after the expiration of this 12-month period to re-take the NPTE at their own expense, subject to FSBPT’s existing exam policies and procedures.

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