Iowa Code § 148A.1 - Definitions — referral — authorization
This section defines “board” and “physical therapy,” allows physical therapists to refer patients for diagnostic imaging, requires reporting imaging results to the patient’s primary care provider within seven days in some cases, and allows physical therapy services with or without a referral, subject to a hospital’s internal authorization rule.
1. As used in this chapter: a. “Board” means the board of physical and occupational therapy created under chapter 147. b. “Physical therapy” means the branch of science that deals with the evaluation and treatment of human capabilities and impairments. Physical therapy uses the effective properties of physical agents including but not limited to mechanical devices, heat, cold, air, light, water, electricity, and sound, and therapeutic exercises, and rehabilitative procedures to prevent, correct, minimize, or alleviate a physical impairment. (1) Physical therapy includes the interpretation of performances, tests, and measurements, the establishment and modification of physical therapy programs, treatment planning, consultative services, instructions to the patients, and the administration and supervision attendant to physical therapy facilities. (2) Physical therapy permits the referral of a patient by a physical therapist for diagnostic imaging, including plain radiographs and magnetic resonance imaging, provided the diagnostic imaging is performed and the results are interpreted by an appropriately licensed and qualified health care professional. The physical therapist who ordered the diagnostic imaging shall report the results of the diagnostic imaging to the patient’s designated primary care provider within seven days following receipt of the results to ensure patient coordination of care, unless the patient does not have a designated primary care provider or the health care professional who performed and interpreted the diagnostic imaging previously provided the results to the primary care provider. 2. Physical therapy evaluation and treatment may be rendered by a physical therapist with or without a referral from a physician, podiatric physician, dentist, or chiropractor, except that a hospital may require that physical therapy evaluation and treatment provided in the hospital shall be done only upon prior review by and authorization of a member of the hospital’s medical staff. [C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §148A.1] 84 Acts, ch 1268, §1; 86 Acts, ch 1238, §7; 87 Acts, ch 65, §3; 88 Acts, ch 1002, §1; 95 Acts, ch 108, §8; 2007 Acts, ch 10, §99; 2023 Acts, ch 122, §1 Referred to in §148A.3