Ariz. Admin. Code § R4-24-303 - Patient Care Management

A. A physical therapist is responsible for the scope of patient management in the practice of physical therapy as defined by A.R.S. § 32-2001. For each patient, the physical therapist shall:

1. Perform and document an initial evaluation;

2. Perform and document periodic reevaluation;

3. Document a discharge summary and the patient's response to the course of treatment at discharge;

4. Ensure that the patient's physical therapy record is complete and accurate; and

5. Ensure that services reported for billing, whether billed directly to the patient or through a third party, are accurate and consistent with information in the patient's physical therapy record.

B. On each date of service, a physical therapist shall:

1. Perform and document each therapeutic intervention that requires the expertise of a physical therapist; and

2. Determine, based on a patient's acuity and treatment plan, whether it is appropriate to use assistive personnel to perform a selected treatment intervention or physical therapy task for the patient.

C. A physical therapist shall not supervise more than three assistive personnel at any time. If a physical therapist supervises three assistive personnel, the physical therapist shall ensure that:

1. At least one of the assistive personnel is a physical therapist assistant,

2. No more than two of the assistive personnel are physical therapist assistants performing selected treatment interventions under general supervision, and

3. Assistive personnel other than a physical therapist assistant perform a physical therapy task only under the onsite supervision of a physical therapist.

D. Before delegating performance of a selected treatment intervention to a physical therapist assistant working under general supervision, the supervising physical therapist shall ensure that the physical therapist assistant:

1. Is certified under this Chapter, and

2. Has completed at least 2,000 hours of experience as a physical therapist assistant working with patients under onsite supervision.

E. Before delegating performance of a selected physical therapy intervention or physical therapy task to assistive personnel working under general or onsite supervision, the supervising physical therapist shall ensure that the assistive personnel is qualified by education or training to perform the selected physical therapy intervention or physical therapy task in a safe, effective, and efficient manner.

F. A physical therapist who provides general supervision for a physical therapist assistant shall:

1. Be licensed under this Chapter;

2. Respond to a communication from the physical therapist assistant within 15 minutes;

3. Go to the location at which and on the same day that the physical therapist assistant provides a selected treatment intervention if the physical therapist, after consultation with the physical therapist assistant, determines that going to the location is in the best interest of the patient; and

4. Perform a reevaluation and provide each therapeutic intervention for the patient that is done on the day of the reevaluation every fourth treatment visit or every 30 days, whichever occurs first.

G. A physical therapist assistant who provides a selected treatment intervention under general supervision shall document in the patient record:

1. The name and license number of the supervising physical therapist;

2. The name of the patient to whom the selected treatment intervention is provided;

3. The date on which the selected treatment intervention is provided;

4. The selected treatment intervention provided; and

5. Whether the physical therapist assistant consulted with the supervising physical therapist during the course of the selected treatment intervention and if so, the subject of the consultation and any decision made.

Notes

Ariz. Admin. Code § R4-24-303

Adopted effective June 3, 1982 (Supp. 82-3). Repealed effective April 10, 1986 (Supp. 86-2). New Section R-24-303 adopted by final rulemaking at 6 A.A.R. 2399, effective June 9, 2000 (Supp. 00-2). Amended by final rulemaking at 13 A.A.R. 1640, effective June 30, 2007 (Supp. 07-2).