(1) The board shall establish minimum standards of practice for the performance of dry needling by physical therapists, including, at a minimum, all of the following:

(a) Completion of 2 years of licensed practice as a physical therapist.

Terms Used In Florida Statutes 486.117

  • Board: means the Board of Physical Therapy Practice. See Florida Statutes 486.021
  • Department: means the Department of Health. See Florida Statutes 486.021
  • Dry needling: means a skilled intervention, based on Western medicine, that uses filiform needles and other apparatus or equipment to stimulate a myofascial trigger point for the evaluation and management of neuromusculoskeletal conditions, pain, movement impairments, and disabilities. See Florida Statutes 486.021
  • License: means the document of authorization granted by the board and issued by the department for a person to engage in the practice of physical therapy. See Florida Statutes 486.021
  • Physical therapist: means a person who is licensed and who practices physical therapy in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. See Florida Statutes 486.021
  • Practice of physical therapy: means the performance of physical therapy assessments and the treatment of any disability, injury, disease, or other health condition of human beings, or the prevention of such disability, injury, disease, or other health condition, and the rehabilitation of such disability, injury, disease, or other health condition by alleviating impairments, functional movement limitations, and disabilities by designing, implementing, and modifying treatment interventions through therapeutic exercise; functional movement training in self-management and in-home, community, or work integration or reintegration; manual therapy; massage; airway clearance techniques; maintaining and restoring the integumentary system and wound care; physical agent or modality; mechanical or electrotherapeutic modality; patient-related instruction; the use of apparatus and equipment in the application of such treatment, prevention, or rehabilitation; the performance of tests of neuromuscular functions as an aid to the diagnosis or treatment of any human condition; or the performance of electromyography as an aid to the diagnosis of any human condition only upon compliance with the criteria set forth by the Board of Medicine. See Florida Statutes 486.021
(b) Completion of 50 hours of face-to-face continuing education from an entity accredited in accordance with s. 486.109 on the topic of dry needling which must include a determination by the physical therapist instructor that the physical therapist demonstrates the requisite psychomotor skills to safely perform dry needling. The continuing education must include instruction in all of the following areas:

1. Theory of dry needling.
2. Selection and safe handling of needles and other apparatus or equipment used in dry needling, including instruction on the proper handling of biohazardous waste.
3. Indications and contraindications for dry needling.
4. Psychomotor skills needed to perform dry needling.
5. Postintervention care, including adverse responses, adverse event recordkeeping, and any reporting obligations.
(c)1. Completion of at least 25 patient sessions of dry needling performed under the supervision of a physical therapist who holds an active license to practice physical therapy in any state or the District of Columbia, who has actively performed dry needling for at least 1 year, and who documents that he or she has met the supervision and competency requirements and needs no additional supervised sessions to perform dry needling; or
2. Completion of 25 patient sessions of dry needling performed as a physical therapist licensed in any state or in the United States Armed Forces.
(d) A requirement that dry needling may not be performed without patient consent and must be a part of a patient’s documented plan of care.
(e) A requirement that dry needling may not be delegated to any person other than a physical therapist who is authorized to engage in dry needling under this chapter.
(2) The board shall establish additional supervision and training requirements before the performance of dry needling of the head and neck or torso by a physical therapist if the board deems it necessary for patient safety.
(3) The department shall, within existing resources, submit a report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives on or before December 31, 2022, detailing the number of physical therapists in the state, the number of physical therapists in the state performing dry needling, any increases or decreases in the number of physical therapists in the state by geographic area, and any adverse medical incidents as defined by the board involving physical therapists in the state performing dry needling.
(4) The performance of dry needling in the practice of physical therapy may not be construed to limit the scope of practice of other licensed health care practitioners not governed by this chapter.
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