Before adjourning for the year, the California Assembly considered but did not pass a bill that would have removed the state’s requirement that physical therapists offer animal rehabilitation only on veterinary premises, states a news story from the American Veterinary Medical Association.
The bill would have required the California Veterinary Medical Board to establish a certificate in animal physical rehabilitation for physical therapists, require facilities that offer animal physical rehabilitation to register with the board, and allow a veterinarian to determine the appropriate level of supervision for a certified physical therapist performing animal rehabilitation.
“The bill allowed for a veterinarian to refer a patient to a physical therapist who owned an independent animal rehabilitation practice with no veterinarian present and without re-establishing the veterinarian-client-patient relationship,” says Valerie Fenstermaker, executive director of the California VMA, in the news story.
The board and CVMA opposed the bill, and the California Association of Animal Physical Therapists supported the bill.
The AVMA and the American Association of Rehabilitation Veterinarians have supported veterinary supervision of animal rehabilitation but have not specified whether supervision should be direct or indirect. California currently requires direct supervision, with a veterinarian on the premises, the news story continues.
In comments to the California Assembly, the California VMA wrote, “There are many successful veterinary practices with veterinarians, certified registered veterinary technicians and physical therapists providing animal rehabilitation under the current supervision model. The CVMA believes this is best for the animal patient and the client.”
The California Veterinary Medical Board wrote that direct supervision allows for collaboration on the total medical picture with the veterinarian who has established the veterinarian-client-patient relationship and has the ultimate responsibility for the patient, the news story concludes.
[Source: JAVMAnews]
