Michigan Gov Jennifer M. Granholm has signed SB 151 into law, requiring physical therapist assistants (PTAs) to obtain state licensure.
Michigan is the 42nd jurisdiction to license PTAs. Some 39 other states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico license PTAs; eight other states regulate PTAs through certification or registration, says the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), Alexandria, Va.
PTAs provide physical therapy services under the direction and supervision of a PT, and their licensure helps to assure that they will have the needed education and training, says APTA.
The Physical Therapy Board of Licensure and the Michigan Department of Community Health will move forward with the process of promulgating administrative rules, creating a limited license, and distributing the limited license to qualified PTAs by December 31.
The new law also adds term protection for "physiotherapy" and "DPT," and establishes a continuing education requirement as a condition for PT and PTA licensure renewal, according to APTA.
[Source: APTA]
