Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A.
A physical therapist assistant may work only under the direction and
supervision of a New Mexico physical therapist who is licensed pursuant to
Subsections A and B of Section 61-12-10 NMSA 1978 of the Physical Therapy Act.
The referring physical therapist shall assume full responsibility for the
professional activities of the assistant, which are undertaken pursuant to
his/her direction or supervision.
B. A physical therapist may not be
responsible for the direction and supervision of more than three full-time
physical therapist assistants working three FTE's (full-time equivalency,
totaling 120 work hours per week) requiring supervision, including temporary
physical therapists, temporary physical therapist assistants, or full-licensed
physical therapist assistants.
C. A
physical therapist may supervise more than three physical therapist assistants
provided combined FTE's do not exceed 120 hours per week.
D. The direction and supervision of the
physical therapist assistant shall require the following:
(1) the referring physical therapist is
responsible for the patient's care;
(2) when physical therapy services are being
provided, a licensed physical therapist must be on call and readily available
for consultation by phone, electronic mail or cellular phone when the referring
physical therapist leaves the area or facility, for any length of time, or the
referring physical therapist must appoint a stand in physical therapist as a
supervising therapist until such time the referring physical therapist returns
to the facility;
(3) the referring
physical therapist will formulate a current written plan of care for each
patient; the referring physical therapist will review the plan of care at least
every 30 days;
(4) the physical
therapist should only delegate interventions to physical therapist assistant's
that are competent and trained in these interventions; the physical therapist
assistant shall not:
(a) interpret
referrals;
(b) specify or perform
definitive (initial, progress/re-evaluation, discharge) evaluative and
assessment procedures;
(c) alter
goals or a plan of care; or
(d)
determine when to utilize the physical therapist assistant to perform selected
interventions of physical therapy care.
(5) the physical therapist assistant may sign
daily notes without the physical therapist's co-signing; each daily treatment
note in a patient's permanent record completed by a physical therapist
assistant must include the name of the referring physical therapist;
and
(6) the physical therapist
assistant shall respond to acute changes in the patient's physiological state;
the physical therapist assistant shall notify the referring physical therapist
of those changes prior to the next treatment session.
