Terms Used In Florida Statutes 486.123

  • 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
The physical therapist-patient relationship is founded on mutual trust. Sexual misconduct in the practice of physical therapy means violation of the physical therapist-patient relationship through which the physical therapist uses that relationship to induce or attempt to induce the patient to engage, or to engage or attempt to engage the patient, in sexual activity outside the scope of practice or the scope of generally accepted examination or treatment of the patient. Sexual misconduct in the practice of physical therapy is prohibited.