Safe Haven Program
• Provide confidential services to OTPTAT Board practitioners who are seeking help with burnout, mental health, or substance use disorders.
• Be a safe space that is intended to be an early intervention before patient safety becomes a concern.
• Serve as a therapeutic alternative to Board involvement in a problematic situation while still meeting the Board's mandate of public protection. Participants of a safe haven program will, in most circumstances, be unknown to the Board as long as they remain in compliance with their treatment program.
Ohio Administrative Code 4755-2-01
Impaired practitioner rules and safe haven program for license holders and applicants
• This rule defines impaired practitioners and establishes a safe haven program for use by licensees of and applicants to the OTPTAT Board. The rule establishes the parameters of confidentiality in the safe haven program and details the kinds of assistance the program can provide. The rule also spells out the consequences for violating the participation agreement of the program. The program, which is run by an external organization, uses licensed professionals to evaluate and monitor the treatment of OTPTAT Board license holders who choose to participate. As long as license holders are compliant with the treatment plan, the Board will be unaware of their case. License holders are responsible for the cost of their own treatment.
Ohio Administrative Code 4755-27-05
Code of ethical conduct for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants
• Inclusion of reports of impairment issues to the safe haven program as fulfilling a practitioner's "duty to report" a fellow practitioner instead of making a report to the Board.
• Clarifies that the Board may take action against the license of an impaired practitioner unless they are a participant in the safe haven program.
• States that for the purposes of the code of ethics, the patient-therapist relationship may extend beyond the established plan of care.
Ohio Administrative Code 4755-27-06
Reporting requirements
• This rule sets for the circumstances that a license holder must self-report to the Board within 30 days. It includes an option to participate in the safe haven program in lieu of self-reporting impairment to the Board.
Ohio Administrative Code 4755-23-08 Continuing Education
Changes to this rule include:
1. A restatement of the statutory exemption from continuing education requirements for first time renewals. (ORC 4755.51 and 4755.511)
2. Continuing education requirements for a license reinstated for twelve months or less are reduced by half. Reinstatements must show full compliance with continuing education in order to make the license active again. Requiring an additional full continuing education requirement with less than a year left before renewal is burdensome. This change is intended to reduce that burden.
3. Restates the statutory allowance for ten hours of continuing education for a published article or book, per renewal period.
4. Allows for six hours of continuing education for Hand Therapy Certification Commission recertification in the year that it occurs.
Ohio Administrative Code 4755-27-09 Telehealth
This rule reiterates the conditions of standards for providing telehealth contained in House Bill 122, including:
• The licensee must verify the identity and physical location of the patient or client at the beginning of the telehealth visit. This requirement will protect the public by ensuring that the PT or PTA know where to call emergency services should they be needed during the telehealth session. It will also assist PT and PTA personnel with abiding by licensure requirements should treatment occur across state lines.
• Reiterates that if a patient or client is located in Ohio, the PT or PTA must have an Ohio license or privilege to practice in Ohio via the PT Compact.
4755-23-16/4755-24-01
• Establishes requirements to obtain Physical Therapy Compact privileges, including the passage of the Jurisprudence Assessment Module.
• Establishes a $50 state level fee for a PT Compact privilege.
4755-23-04 License by endorsement
• Removes reference to a general practice review tool, which is no longer in existence and replaces it with a plan as approved by the PT Section as a way to remediate being out of practice for more than five years.
4755-23-17 Military provisions related to licensure.
• Implements military licensure – temporary license for military and spouses for up to six years if they have a license in good standing in another state and comply with the BCI/FBI background check. (Senate Bill 7)
• Lists the programs of education within the military which would meet the education requirements for licensure. (ORC 5903.03)
• Extends the renewal time for a license holder rather than having to reinstate a license if military services resulted in the person’s absence from the state (ORC 5903.10)
• Extends continuing education deadlines for a person on active duty in the military (ORC 5903.12)
• Allows service in the armed forces to be considered for continuing education (ORC 5903.121)
• Allows a person to identify if they are in the armed services, a veteran, or a spouse in eLicense.
4755-27-08 Youth sports concussion and head injury assessment and clearance.
• Updates the rule with the most recent international protocol for concussion.
