 In our desire to keep licensees and the public informed of Board activities, we have highlighted issues being considered by the Board. Please contact Board staff at license@alaska.gov if you have questions regarding Board activities.
The Board will propose regulations which:
- Address supervision of non-licensed personnel by both physical and occupational therapists.
- Identifies standards for both Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy for a 150 hour internship when an applicant does not have 60 hours of work experience within 24 months of applying for licensure or renewal.
- Further defines terms related to Physical Therapy.
- A new definition section related to Occupational Therapy that defines terms related to Occupational Therapy.
- Alter the requirements for reinstatement of a lapsed license.
If you would like to receive notice of all proposed regulation changes, please send a written request adding your name and mailing address to the Board of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Interested Parties List to:
REGULATIONS SPECIALIST
Department of Commerce, Community, and
Economic Development
Division of Corporations, Business and
Professional Licensing
P.O. BOX 110806
Juneau, Alaska 99811-0806
You may also email your request to: license@alaska.gov and your request will be forwarded to the regulations specialist.
MODEL PRACTICE ACT: In September 2008, a workshop was held to discuss the model practice acts for both physical therapy and occupational therapy. Participants included Board members, representatives from the respective state physical therapy and occupational therapy associations and on a national level the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy and the American Occupational Therapy Association. A goal of the Board is to bring the statutes and regulations into alignment with the respective model practices acts.
CONTINUING EDUCATION: The Board had previously proposed regulation changes to limit the number of on-line courses being claimed for continuing education and require that a certain number of contact hours be earned through the in-person attendance at seminars/conferences. The public comment received indicated that
licensees were concerned about the potential cost of travel and being absent from their practice to attend conferences/seminars and also questioned whether the overall quality of continuing education would be better by attending a conference/seminar. This issue continues to be under review by the Board.
DIRECT ACCESS: The Board's statutes do not address direct access (which means that a referral by a doctor is not necessary for care by a physical therapist or occupational therapist). It is the Board's opinion that Alaska is a direct access state;
however, licensees and consumers should be aware that insurance companies may have their own directives regarding this topic.
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