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October 2005 • Vol. 1, No. 4
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Advancing Orthotic and Prosthetic
Care Through Knowledge
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Many of us recall the uproar last March over the Academy’s neutral stance on The Medicare Patient Access to Physical Therapy Act (HR1333, S647) that is pending in Congress. The Academy made that decision following discussions with the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), with the understanding that we would continue due-diligence to determine the potential impact that this legislation would have on the O&P profession. These efforts culminated with representatives from the Academy Executive Committee along with the Academy’s liaison to the APTA meeting via conference call with the APTA president, executive director, director of regulatory affairs and other APTA leadership late in August. The Academy representatives voiced concern with the term “qualified physical therapist” within the legislation and its statutory linkage to state practice act language.
The Academy stands firm that only professionals educated following
CAAHEP Educational Standards for O&P and accredited accordingly are
qualified to provide the full scope of orthotic and prosthetic care.
It has long been the position of the Academy that we have much to gain from a cordial and collaborative relationship with physical therapists and other medical professionals.
We maintain our belief in the benefits of a relationship between our professional organizations, but in the absence of any substantial concession from the APTA on an issue so critical to the core of our profession, the Academy will no longer remain neutral on the issue of PT Direct Access and will therefore oppose the legislation.
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