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Tags Posts tagged with "Physical Therapy"

Physical Therapy

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The Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) recently posted a proposed regulation from the Pennsylvania Department of State on behalf of the State Board of Physical Therapy (PT) for consideration.

The State Board of Physical Therapy (Board) proposes to amend §§ 40.1, 40.14, 40.15, 40.61, 40.63, 40.67, 40.163, 40.164, and 40.192. The proposed rulemaking will allow physical therapist (PT) students and physical therapist assistant (PTA) students to sit for the requisite examinations up to 90 days prior to graduation from their respective programs, and it will allow PTs and PTAs to receive a limited amount of continuing education credit for providing clinical instruction to student PTs and student PTAs at clinical facilities affiliated with accredited programs. Additionally, the proposed rulemaking will allow applicants to directly register for the national examination with the examination provider, by removing the requirement that the applicant first seek the Board’s permission. Lastly, it will allow applicants to sit for a third or successive examination, after two failures, without first seeking the Board’s permission.

The amendments will be effective upon notice or publication of the final-form rulemaking in the Pennsylvania Bulletin scheduled for January 27, 2024. The proposed regulation will be open for public comment upon publication, and comments will be accepted through February 26, 2024. Written comments, recommendations, or objections regarding this proposed rulemaking should be sent to Thomas M. Davis, Board Counsel, at P.O. Box 69523, Harrisburg, PA 17106-9523 or by email within 30 days of publication of this proposed rulemaking in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Please reference “Regulation No. 16A-6522 (Early Exam, CE for Clinical Instruction, and AAP)” when submitting comments. IRRC comments on the proposed regulation will be due by March 27, 2024.

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Last week, H.R.8746 — Access to Inpatient Rehabilitation Therapy Act of 2022 was introduced to ensure Medicare beneficiaries in inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) are able to access all skilled, medically necessary rehabilitation therapies that are most appropriate for their condition. This bill, also known as the “three hour rule bill,” would expand the current three hour rule in which Medicare requires IRF patients to be able to participate in, and benefit from, three hours of rehabilitation therapy per day, five days a week (or 15 hours over a seven day period). The current regulation only allows physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT), speech therapy, and orthotics and prosthetics care to count towards the three hour requirement. As a result, many patients have difficulty accessing additional forms of therapy that may be more appropriate.

During the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), the three hour rule has been waived in its entirety. If the Access to Inpatient Rehabilitation Therapy Act is enacted, it would ensure that IRFs maintain flexibility after the expiration of the PHE. Most importantly, the legislation would allow certain therapies, including recreational therapy, cognitive therapy, and respiratory therapy, to count towards the three hour rule after the patient’s admission. These additional therapies and skilled modalities would be identified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). At the time of admission, the existing three hour rule would still apply, ensuring that IRF admissions do not increase (and thus add to underlying costs for the Medicare program) due to the new flexibility.

This legislative solution has been developed over several years with Members of Congress and a group of stakeholders, including the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association (AMRPA), the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (AAPM&R), the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA), and the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA).

For additional information, please refer to Congressman Courtney’s press release.

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Folders with the label Applications and Grants

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control’s (NCIPC) Division of Injury Prevention recently announced a new notice of funding opportunities, which include:

RFA-CE-22-006 Research Grants to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Physical Therapy-Based Exercises and Movements Used to Reduce Older Adults Falls

NCIPC intends support up to two (2) recipients for 3 years at up to $350,000 per award per year.

Application Due Date: March 1, 2022

NCIPC is soliciting investigator-initiated research proposals to support both a process evaluation and an outcome evaluation of the effectiveness of strategies commonly used to improve community-dwelling older adults’ balance, strength, and mobility and subsequently reduce their risk of future falls and fall injuries. These strategies may include different types of physical therapy-based exercises and movements such as heel-to-toe walk, sit-to-stand exercise, calf raises, and side leg raises. Of particular interest is research that focuses on populations experiencing high rates of older adult falls and fall injuries, and could include populations disadvantaged by reduced economic stability or limited educational attainment.

Questions should be sent to NCIPC_ERPO (CDC).

RFA-CE-22-007 Reduce Health Disparities and Improve Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Related Outcomes Through the Implementation of CDC’s Pediatric Mild TBI Guideline

NCIPC intends support up to one (1) recipient for 4 years at up to $550,000 per year.

Application Due Date: February 22, 2022

NCIPC is soliciting investigator-initiated research proposals for an implementation study to promote the adoption and integration of the “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guideline on the Diagnosis and Management of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Among Children” in a large health care system to: a) improve mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) outcomes in children and adolescents, and b) reduce disparities in TBI-related care and outcomes.

Applicants are expected to focus on the following research questions:

What type of disparities in mTBI-related processes and outcomes currently exist at baseline in a healthcare system(s) prior to initiation of an intervention to systematically implement CDC’s Pediatric mTBI Guideline?

Does an intervention aimed at systematically implementing CDC’s Pediatric mTBI Guideline in a healthcare system(s) result in a reduction of health disparities, relative to baseline, vis a vis improved process and health outcomes?

Applicants are encouraged to supplement the mTBI Guideline implementation with added outreach efforts to children experiencing disadvantage, and implementation strategies that address TBI-related care and health disparities identified within the health system.

For the purposes of this NOFO, mTBI-related processes and outcomes include those related to the identification and treatment of an mTBI such as discharge instructions, counseling regarding return to school and return to play, communication with the school about symptoms, recovery, accommodations, as well as health outcomes. An indicator of care might be length of time between injury and diagnosis and treatment of an mTBI or the recovery trajectory of an mTBI. Disparities (health outcomes seen to a greater or lesser extent between populations) may be related to various factors of the injured child or adolescent, their family or neighborhood, or community, such as race, gender, sexual identity, disability, socioeconomic conditions, or geographic location.

Questions should be sent to NCIPC_ERPO (CDC).

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an MLN Matters publication reiterating how beginning January 1, 2022, payments will be reduced for physical therapy and occupational therapy services when they are provided in whole or in part by a physical therapy assistant (PTA) or an occupational therapy assistant (OTA). Members are encouraged to review the article to learn more, including information on the changes to payments due to the Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA) of 2018. The article also provides additional information on the payment reduction and the modifiers that will be required on the claims.

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