Physical therapists: direct access to services: professional corporations.

Existing law, the Physical Therapy Practice Act, creates the Physical Therapy Board of California and makes it responsible for the licensure and regulation of physical therapists. The act makes it a crime to violate any of its provisions. The act authorizes the board to suspend, revoke, or impose probationary conditions on a license, certificate, or approval issued under the act for unprofessional conduct, as specified. This bill would specify that patients may access physical therapy treatment directly and would, in those circumstances, require a physical therapist to refer his or her patient to another specified healing arts practitioner if the physical therapist has reason to believe the patient has a condition requiring treatment or services beyond that scope of practice or if the patient is not progressing, to disclose to the patient any financial interest he or she has in treating the patient, and, with the patient's written authorization, to notify the patient's physician and surgeon, if any, that the physical therapist is treating the patient. The bill would prohibit a physical therapist from treating a patient who initiated services directly for the lesser of more than 45 calendar days or 12 visits, except as specified, and would prohibit a physical therapist from performing services on that patient before obtaining the patient's signature on a specified notice regarding these limitations on treatment. The bill would provide that failure to comply with these provisions constitutes unprofessional conduct subject to disciplinary action by the board. Because the bill would specify additional requirements under the Physical Therapy Practice Act, the violation of which would be a crime, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The Moscone-Knox Professional Corporation Act provides for the organization of a corporation under certain existing law for the purposes of qualifying as a professional corporation under that act and rendering professional services. The act authorizes specified healing arts practitioners to be shareholders, officers, directors, or professional employees of a designated professional corporation, subject to certain limitations relating to ownership of shares. Existing law also defines a medical corporation or podiatry corporation that is authorized to render professional services as long as that corporation and its shareholders, officers, directors, and employees rendering professional services who are physicians, psychologists, registered nurses, optometrists, podiatrists or, in the case of a medical corporation only, physician assistants, are in compliance with the act. This bill would specify that those provisions do not limit employment by a professional corporation of only those specified licensed professionals. The bill would authorize any person duly licensed under the Business and Professions Code, the Chiropractic Act, or the Osteopathic Act to be employed to render professional services by a professional corporation. The bill would expressly add physical therapists and occupational therapists to the list of healing arts professionals who may be professional employees of a medical corporation or podiatry corporation, and would add licensed physical therapists to the list of healing arts practitioners who may be shareholders, officers, or directors of a medical corporation or a podiatric medical corporation. The bill would also provide that specified healing arts licensees may be shareholders, officers, directors, or professional employees of a physical therapy corporation. The bill would also require a practitioner, except as specified, who refers a patient to a physical therapist who is employed by a professional corporation to make a specified disclosure to the patient. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 2660 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by SB 198 that would become operative if this bill and SB 198 are enacted and this bill is chaptered last. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.