Board of Physical Therapy

Description

The mandate of the Board of Physical Therapy is to protect the public's health and safety and to promote the welfare of the state by regulating the competency and quality of professional healthcare providers under its jurisdiction. The board accomplishes this through a variety of activities working with the Department of Health, Health Systems Quality Assurance division.

Board duties include:

• Establishing qualifications for minimal competency to grant or deny licensure of physical therapists and physical therapy assistants.
• Regulating the competency and quality of professional healthcare providers under its jurisdiction by establishing, monitoring and enforcing qualifications for licensure.
• Establishing and monitoring compliance with continuing education requirements.
• Ensuring consistent standards of practice.
• Developing continuing competency mechanisms.
• Assessing, investigating and making recommendations related to complaints against physical therapists and physical therapist assistants which may range from a Notice of Correction to a license revocation.
• Serving as reviewing members on disciplinary cases and serve on disciplinary hearing panels.
• Serving as members of standing committees, when appointed.
• Developing rules, policies and procedures that promote the delivery of quality healthcare to state residents.

Qualifications

The board is made up of four physical therapists, one physical therapist assistant and one public member appointed by the governor. The professional members must have not less than five years experience and shall be actively engaged in practice within two years of appointment. All members must be Washington residents.

Public member representatives may not:

• Be a member of any other healthcare licensing board or commission.
• Have a fiduciary obligation to a facility rendering healthcare services.
• Have a financial interest in the rendering of health services.

Board participation expectation guidelines

The following expectation guidelines are intended to serve as a reference for current members and for prospective appointees of the board:

• Attend regular board meetings, scheduled six days per year during business hours on the first Monday of February, April, June, August, October and December.
• There is also a Department of Health one-day Board, Commission, Committee conference.
• Participate in telephone conferences to close cases. These take about two hours and are usually done between board meetings.
• Participate in Settlement Conferences with respondent's attorney, staff attorney and/or board staff. Usually held at the convenience of the reviewing board member and can take several hours. The number held each year depends on the number of cases charged for that board member.
• Participate on hearing panels from one day to several days two to three times per year. Hearings may be held in the respondent's practice area to accommodate witnesses. A panel of three board members is generally utilized to hear disciplinary cases. All board members are not required to participate in every hearing.
• Prepare for all meetings by reading materials sent one to two weeks in advance of the scheduled meeting date. The packets take an average of two to four hours to read prior to each business meeting. In addition, between eight and 24 hours are spent reviewing complaint files prior to each meeting.
• Assist newly appointed board members as necessary.

Total annual time commitment

• Meetings/ Conferences: Six to seven days per year
• Meeting Preparation: Two to four hours per meeting (about one day per year)
• Complaint File Review: Four to six hours per complaint assigned (about four days per year)
• Hearing Panels: Three to five days per year

Performance guidelines for newly appointed board members

Attend an initial orientation about the board presented by Department of Health staff. This is about half a day in length. Initial orientation outlines the legal authority of the board, the roles and responsibilities of board members, ethics, confidentiality, the legal liability of board members and the Department of Health, the organizational structure of the Department of Health, roles and responsibilities of Department of Health staff, roles and responsibilities of staff attorneys and Assistant Attorneys General (AAGs), disciplinary processes, rule making and other issues.

• Attends committee meetings if necessary.
• Performs duties of current members.

Regular Board of Physical Therapy business meetings are scheduled about every six weeks.

Most meetings are held in Tumwater, Washington. One or two meetings per year are usually held in Eastern Washington, one of which is held in Spokane.

Become a board, commission, or committee member.

Name and term expiration date of members

All meetings are subject to change and start at 10 a.m. unless otherwise noted.

2022

• December 12 (PDF)
• October 3-4 (PDF)
• October 3 (PDF)
• August 1 (PDF)
• June 13 (PDF)
• April 4 (PDF)
• February 7 (PDF)

2021

• December 13 (PDF)
• October 4 (PDF)
• August 2 (PDF)
• June 14 (PDF)
• April 5 (PDF)
• February 8 (PDF)