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Arizona Physical Therapy Compliance Guides
Arizona Physical Therapy Legal Definitions

Arizona Physical Therapy Legal Definitions

These definitions have been edited for clarity.

Accredited	Accredited by a nationally recognized accreditation organization.
Accredited Educational Program	A physical therapist or physical therapist assistant educational program that is accredited by: The Commission on Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education, or An agency recognized as qualified to accredit physical therapist or physical therapist assistant programs by either the U.S. Department of Education or the Council on Higher Education Accreditation at the time of the applicant’s graduation.
Adequate Patient Records	Legible records that comply with board rules and that contain at a minimum an evaluation of objective findings, a diagnosis, the plan of care, the treatment record, a discharge summary and sufficient information to identify the patient.
Administratively Suspend	A non-disciplinary action in which the Board places a license issued under A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 19 and this Chapter on suspended status because the license was not renewed timely.
Applicant	An individual or business entity seeking an initial or renewal license, initial or renewal registration, interim permit, or reinstatement from the Board.
Applicant Packet	The forms and additional information the Board requires to be submitted by an applicant or on the applicant’s behalf.
Assistive Personnel	Includes: Physical therapist assistants. Physical therapy aides. Other assistive personnel who are trained or educated health care providers and who are not physical therapist assistants or physical therapy aides but who perform specific designated tasks related to physical therapy under the supervision of a PT. At the discretion of the supervising PT, and if properly credentialed and not prohibited by any other law, other assistive personnel may be identified by the title specific to their training or education. Does not include either: Personnel assisting other health care professionals licensed pursuant to this title in performing delegable treatment responsibilities within their scope of practice. Student PTs and student PTAs.
Board	The Arizona Board of Physical Therapy.
Business Entity	A business organization that has an ownership that includes any persons who are not licensed or certified to provide physical therapy services in Arizona, that offers to the public professional services regulated by the board and that is established pursuant to the laws of any state or foreign country.
Campus	A facility and immediately adjacent buildings.
Clinical Performance Instrument	A tool used to assess an individual’s knowledge, skills, and attitudes for readiness to work as a PT or PTA, as applicable, that is accepted by the Board and listed on its website.
College Board	An association composed of schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations across the United States that is responsible for the development of assessment tests that are used to provide college credit or for college placement.
College Level Examination Program	Services offered by the College Board for an individual to demonstrate college-level achievement by taking an examination approved by the College Board.
Compliance Period	The two (2) year license renewal cycle that ends August 31 of even-numbered years.
Continuing Competence	Maintaining the professional skill, knowledge, and ability of a PT or PTA by successfully completing scholarly and professional activities related to physical therapy.
Course	An organized subject matter in which instruction is offered within a specified period of time.
Course Evaluation Tool	The Coursework Evaluation Tool for Foreign Educated Physical Therapists who Graduated after June 30, 2009, Fifth Edition, 2004 (effective July 1, 2009), published by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy, 124 West Street, South Alexandria, VA, 22314, incorporated by reference and on file with the Board. This incorporation by reference contains no future editions or amendments.
Credential Evaluation	A written assessment of a foreign-educated applicant’s general and professional educational course work.
Credential Evaluation Agency	An organization that evaluates a foreign-educated applicant’s education and provides recommendations to the Board about whether the applicant’s education is substantially equivalent to physical therapy education provided in an accredited educational program.
Days	Calendar days.
Dry Needling	A skilled intervention performed by a PT that uses a thin filiform needle to penetrate the skin and stimulate underlying neural, muscular and connective tissues to evaluate and manage neuromusculoskeletal conditions, pain and movement impairments.
Endorsement	A procedure for granting an Arizona license to an applicant already licensed as a PT or PTA in another jurisdiction of the United States.
ETS	Educational Testing Service, an organization that provides educational learning and assessment services, including the Test of English as a Foreign Language Program.
Facility	A building where: A PT is engaged in the practice of physical therapy; An applicant or licensee is engaged in a supervised clinical practice; or A PTA performs physical therapy-related tasks delegated by an onsite supervisor.
Foreign-Educated Applicant	An individual who graduated from a physical therapist educational program outside the United States, Puerto Rico, District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory.
Functional Limitation	Restriction of the ability to perform a physical action, activity, or task in an efficient, typically expected, or competent manner.
General Supervision	The supervising PT is on call and is readily available via telecommunications when the PTA is providing treatment interventions. Includes supervision provided through telehealth.
Hour	Sixty (60) minutes.
iBT	Internet-based TOEFL.
Interim Permit	A permit issued by the board that allows a person to practice as a PT in Arizona or to work as a PTA for a specific period of time and under conditions prescribed by the board before that person is issued a license.
Manual Therapy Techniques	A broad group of passive interventions in which PTs use their hands to administer skilled movements designed to modulate pain, increase joint range of motion, reduce or eliminate soft tissue swelling, inflammation or restriction, induce relaxation, improve contractile and noncontractile tissue extensibility, and improve pulmonary function. These interventions involve a variety of techniques, such as the application of graded forces.
National Disciplinary Database	The disciplinary database of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Integrity and Protection Data Base, which contains previous or current disciplinary actions taken against a PT or PTA by state licensing agencies.
National Examination	An examination produced by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy or an examination produced by the American Physical Therapy Association.
On Call	A supervising PT is able to go to the location at which and on the same day that a PTA provides a selected treatment intervention if the physical therapist, after consultation with the PTA, determines that going to the location is in the best interest of the patient.
Onsite Supervisor	A PT who provides onsite supervision.
On-Site Supervision	The supervising PT is on-site and is present in the facility or on the campus where assistive personnel, a holder of an interim permit, a S/PT or a S/PTA is performing services, is immediately available to assist the person being supervised in the services being performed and maintains continued involvement in appropriate aspects of each treatment session in which a component of treatment is delegated.
Physical Therapist	A person who is licensed to practice physical therapy in Arizona.
Physical Therapist Assistant	A person who meets the requirements for licensure and who performs physical therapy procedures according to the physical therapy plan of care of the supervising PT.
Physical Therapy	The care and services provided by or under the direction and supervision of a licensed PT.
Physical Therapy Aide	A person who is trained under the direction of a PT and who performs designated and supervised routine physical therapy tasks.
Physical Therapy Services	Any of the actions stated in the definition of practice of physical therapy.
Practice of Physical Therapy	Examining, evaluating and testing persons who have mechanical, physiological and developmental impairments, functional limitations and disabilities or other health and movement related conditions in order to determine a diagnosis, a prognosis and a plan of therapeutic intervention and to assess the ongoing effects of intervention, including ordering imaging.
Qualified Translator	An individual, other than an applicant, who is: An officer or employee of an official translation bureau or government agency, A professor or instructor who teaches a translated language in an accredited college or university in the United States, An American consul in the country where the translated document is issued or another individual designated by the American consul in the country where the translated document is issued, or A consul general or diplomatic representative of the United States or individual designated by the consul general or diplomatic representative.
Readily Available	A supervising PT is able to respond within fifteen (15) minutes to a communication from a PTA providing a selected treatment intervention under general supervision.
Recognized Standards of Ethics	The Code of Ethics for the Physical Therapist (amended August 12, 2020) and the accompanying Guide for Professional Conduct (amended March 2019) and the Standards of Ethical Conduct for the PTA (amended August 2020) of the American Physical Therapy Association, 3030 Potomac Avenue, Suite 100, Alexandria, VA 22305-3085, which are incorporated by reference and on file with the Board. This incorporation includes no later editions or amendments.
Restricted License	A license on which the board places restrictions or conditions, or both, as to the scope of practice, place of practice, supervision of practice, duration of licensed status or type or condition of a patient to whom the licensee may provide services.
Student Physical Therapist (S/PT)	A person who is enrolled in a doctor of physical therapy program that is accredited by or has candidate status by the commission on accreditation in physical therapy education.
Student Physical Therapist Assistant (S/PTA)	A person who is enrolled in an academic physical therapist assistant program that is accredited by or has candidate status by the commission on accreditation in physical therapy education.
Supervised Clinical Practice	A PT is engaged in the practice of physical therapy or a PTA is engaged in work as a PTA after being issued an interim permit by the Board.
Supervising Physical Therapist	A licensed PT who provides onsite or general supervision to licensed PTAs or onsite supervision to other assistive personnel, interim permit holders, S/PTs, and S/PTAs.
Suspend	A disciplinary action in which the Board places a license or registration in a status that restricts the holder of the license or registration from practicing as a PT, working as a PTA, or offering physical therapy services.
TOEFL	Test of English as a foreign language.
Week	The period beginning on Sunday at 12:00 a.m. and ending the following Saturday at 11:59 p.m.

Reference

A.R.S. § 32-2001

A.R.S. § 32-2044

4 A.A.C. 24-101

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About Me

Zachary Edgar JD, LLM is Therapy Comply's managing partner. Zachary is a healthcare attorney who specializes in federal and state healthcare regulatory issues particularly for physical, occupational, and speech therapy practices.

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