(A) A physical therapist is professionally and legally responsible for patient care given by a physical therapist assistant, physical therapy aide, physical therapist student, or physical therapist assistant student under the physical therapist’s supervision. A physical therapist may delegate to and supervise selected acts, tasks, or procedures which fall within the practice of physical therapy but do not exceed the education or training of a physical therapist assistant, physical therapy aide, physical therapist student, or physical therapist assistant student.

(B) A physical therapist assistant shall function under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist. A person licensed under this chapter as a physical therapist assistant shall perform duties only after the initial evaluation of the patient is conducted by a licensed physical therapist. A patient plan of care may not be altered without the prior written, dated, and signed approval of a licensed physical therapist. A patient must be reevaluated and the plan of care must be reapproved by a physical therapist licensed in this State every eighth treatment day or every sixty calendar days, whichever comes first. The board may establish in regulation the number of physical therapist assistants a physical therapist may concurrently supervise except in hospitals licensed by the Department of Health and Environmental Control which may determine their own staffing ratios.

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 40-45-300

  • Board: means the State Board of Physical Therapy Examiners. See South Carolina Code 40-45-20
  • Department: means the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation;

    (5) "Director" means the Director of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation or the director's official designee;

    (6) "Licensee" means a person granted an authorization to practice pursuant to this article and refers to a person holding a license, permit, certification, or registration granted pursuant to this article;

    (7) "Licensing act" means the individual statute or regulations, or both, of each regulated profession or occupation which include, but are not limited to, board governance, the qualifications and requirements for authorization to practice, prohibitions, and disciplinary procedures;

    (8) "Person" means an individual, partnership, or corporation;

    (9) "Profession" or "occupation" means a profession or occupation regulated or administered, or both, by the department pursuant to this article. See South Carolina Code 40-1-20
  • On-site supervision: means supervision provided by a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant who must be:

    (a) continuously on site and present in the department or facility where the supervisee is performing services;

    (b) immediately available to assist the supervisee in the services being performed;

    (c) maintain continued involvement in appropriate aspects of each treatment session in which a component of treatment is delegated to the supervisee. See South Carolina Code 40-45-20
  • Person: means an individual. See South Carolina Code 40-45-20
  • Physical therapist: means a person who has met all the conditions of this chapter and is licensed in this State to practice physical therapy. See South Carolina Code 40-45-20
  • Physical therapist assistant: means a person who is licensed by the board to assist a physical therapist in the practice of physical therapy and whose activities are supervised and directed by a physical therapist whose license is in good standing. See South Carolina Code 40-45-20
  • physical therapy: as used in this chapter , and nothing in this chapter shall be construed to authorize a physical therapist to prescribe medications or order laboratory or other medical tests. See South Carolina Code 40-45-20
  • Physical therapy aide: means a nonlicensed person who helps the physical therapist or physical therapist assistant but whose duties do not require an understanding of physical therapy nor formal training in anatomical, biological, or physical sciences. See South Carolina Code 40-45-20
  • practice of physical therapy: means the evaluation and treatment of human beings to detect, assess, prevent, correct, alleviate, and limit physical disability, bodily malfunction, and pain from injury, disease, and any other bodily or mental condition and includes the administration, interpretation, documentation, and evaluation of physical therapy tests and measurements of bodily functions and structures; the establishment, administration, evaluation, and modification of a physical therapy treatment plan which includes the use of physical, chemical, or mechanical agents, activities, instruction, and devices for prevention and therapeutic purposes; and the provision of consultation and educational and other advisory services for the purpose of preventing or reducing the incidence and severity of physical disability, bodily malfunction, and pain. See South Carolina Code 40-45-20

(C) A physical therapist student shall function under the on-site supervision of a licensed physical therapist.

(D) A physical therapist assistant student and a physical therapy aide shall function under the on-site supervision of a licensed physical therapist or licensed physical therapist assistant. The physical therapist is ultimately responsible for the licensed physical therapist assistant, the student physical therapist assistant, and the physical therapy aide.

(E) A supervisor must be a licensed physical therapist or physical therapist assistant who has been approved by the board to supervise provisional licensees, students, and aides based on the supervisor’s training and work experience, which must be relevant to the work of those under the supervision and must be sufficiently extensive to enable the supervisor to direct and evaluate the work of a supervisee.

  Previous section
Next section  
 Article 1 Contents