On November 27, a letter from the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians was delivered to members of the Ohio House Health Committee stating its concerns with Substitute House Bill (Sub. HB) 131, a proposal that substantially expands the scope of physical therapists (PT) in Ohio. The House Health Committee may vote on the bill as soon as Wednesday, November 29.
The letter states, in part:
“Specific to the changes made in the substitute version of the bill, our concerns relate to
patient safety as the imaging education and training of a PT, even in a doctorate program, are
not sufficient. Additionally, the continuing education option created by the PT licensing board
and approved by the PT association, is unspecific as to scope and content. Therefore, there are
no guarantees that the education programs would be robust enough to provide the
appropriate level of training to order X-rays.
“We also feel strongly that any PT statute should retain language that clearly states that PT does not include a medical diagnosis.
If the major premise behind the bill is truly providing PTs with better opportunities to bill
health insurers for PT services, we are willing to work on that issue. We remain opposed,
however, to substantially expanding the scope of PTs as the means for addressing billing
issues.”
The letter concludes with a request that House Health Committee members oppose the current version of Sub. HB 131 if a vote is taken on Wednesday, November 29.