Practice and Research Committee
The Practice and Research Committee assist the membership in understanding, complying with, and utilizing the PA Physical Therapy Practice Act and serves as a resource for research activities, processes, and education for the membership. Also, the committee serves as a resource to the board of directors and the membership in providing assistance to support best clinical practices within the state of Pennsylvania. We are made up of committee members chosen by the board of directors, with a chair appointed with representation from members across the APTA Pennsylvania chapter.
If you have a clinical practice-related question, please contact the Practice and Research Committee Chair, Mary Ann Wharton, and your question will be forwarded to the appropriate resource person by the committee. The practice Committee may, at times, post questions and responses on the website or in the newsletter when a topic seems particularly relevant or has been asked multiple times. The questioner's identity would not be revealed in such a format.
News
APTA PA Research Award Grant Applications Now Open
The APTA PA Practice & Research Committee is now accepting applications for the 2023 APTA Pennsylvania Research Grant. APTA Pennsylvania has allocated up to $1,500 for this award. Interested investigators should review the Guidelines for Grant Applications to review the award criteria and determine eligibility.
Eligible investigators are invited to complete and submit the electronic Application for Grant Award by the application deadline on May 1, 2023 at 11:59 p.m.
For questions, please contact Mary Ann Wharton, Practice & Research Chair.
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New Practice Updates Include:
Find the live links and read more about all of these new practice updates on the Practice Updates page!
Telehealth Updates:
PA Telehealth Waiver Status
The Pennsylvania Waiver “Licensed Health Care Practitioners providing Telemedicine Services” officially expired on October. 31, 2022.
The PA Department of State published “Frequently Asked Questions to provide guidance on telehealth as a method of practice. The following are important excerpts from that link:
- Reaffirms that “…there is no statute in Pennsylvania that explicitly authorizes the use or disallowance of telemedicine in Pennsylvania….”
- States that when the telemedicine waiver does expire, “it will not affect licensees’ continued use of telemedicine from a professional standpoint.”
- States that “practitioners must practice within the acceptable and prevailing standard of care. Because the practice acts and regulations do not currently address the provision of health-related services by telehealth/telemedicine, there could be no violation for simply using telehealth/telemedicine after October 31, 2022, and in general, there is nothing that would prohibit licensees from using telehealth/telemedicine so long as doing so complies with the standards of acceptable and prevailing medical practice….”
Please access the Department of State Telemedicine FAQs (pa.gov) for more specific information. Also, please see the information below, which addresses the Professional Scope of Practice as defined by APTA.
Telehealth as a Method of Practice
Act 30 of 2022, signed into law on June 30, 2022, provided for an extension of the Pennsylvania telehealth waiver allowing physical therapists and physical therapist assistants to use telehealth as a method of practice through Oct. 31, 2022. At that time the Department of State also issued Frequently Asked Questions reaffirming that:
“There is no statute in Pennsylvania that explicitly authorizes the use or disallowance of telemedicine in Pennsylvania…”
and
“In general there is nothing that would prohibit licensees from using telehealth… so long as doing so complies with the standards of acceptable and prevailing …practice…”
Pennsylvania therapists can find evidence to support the use of telehealth as an acceptable method of physical therapy practice delivery from the Professional Scope of Practice, which APTA defines as “grounded in basic, behavioral, and clinical sciences…supported by education, based on a body of evidence, and linked to existing and emerging practice frameworks. The professional scope of practice evolves in response to innovation, research, collaboration, and changes in societal needs.”
There is a significant amount of information on APTA's Telehealth in Practice website indicating that telehealth is included in the professional scope as a method of practice delivery. There are numerous articles discussing the use of telehealth, and there is also a certificate course for therapists.
Be advised that there may be conditions imposed on the use of telehealth by payers, including Medicare. APTA PA encourages member therapists who elect to continue using telehealth, to monitor the Payment Specialist’s Telehealth/E-Visit Quick Reference Guide for updates on which insurers are providing reimbursement for telehealth services.
We will continue to monitor Pennsylvania.gov websites and will inform you of any new information as it becomes known.
Medicare and Telehealth Reimbursement
The 1.4 trillion spending package passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2022, includes a provision allowing PTs to continue receiving payment for telehealth under Medicare for an additional five months past the end of the public health emergency - a 151-day extension. As per APTA, the current renewal of the PHE until May 11, 2023, keeps this provision in effect and allows Medicare reimbursement for telehealth to continue for an additional 151 days beyond the expiration of the newly confirmed PHE extension. Note that this legislation also relaxes Medicare requirements about where patients and providers must be located for telehealth services to include in-home services across all geographic regions.
Reimbursement by commercial insurers: refer to Payment Specialist updates for current status.
The Practice & Research Committee will continue to monitor Pennsylvania.gov and pertinent websites and will inform you of any new information as it becomes known.
The APTA Pennsylvania Practice & Research Committee "Practice Spotlights," are published as a member benefit. These brief handouts and videos address various clinical topics of interest for PTs, PTAs, and students and will be released periodically. The spotlights will be featured in the weekly APTA Pennsylvania event emails on Tuesday afternoons and available to view on the Practice Spotlight page (please note: member login required).
The Practice & Research Committee is transitioning to reporting practice-related information to keep PTs, PTAs, and students informed of important information pertaining to physical therapy practice. Information related to COVID that needs to be communicated will be reported here. The updates will be announced in the APTA PA Weekly, with more detailed information linked as a member service on the Practice Updates page.
Review the Practice Update Archive for older articles/resources.
Review all COVID-19 updates on the APTA Pennsylvania COVID-19 FAQ & Resource page.
Related Links
External Resources
Scope of Practice Resources
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