Sec 32-2030. Business entities; patient records; protocol; exemptions; rules

A. Beginning September 1, 2011, a business entity shall not offer physical therapy services pursuant to this chapter unless:

1. The business entity is registered with the board pursuant to this section.

2. The physical therapy services are conducted by a licensee or certificate holder pursuant to this chapter.

B. The business entity must file a registration application on a form prescribed by the board. The application shall include:

1. A description of the entity's services offered to the public.

2. The name of the manager who is authorized and who is responsible for managing the physical therapy services offered at each office.

3. The names and addresses of the officers and directors of the business entity.

4. A registration fee prescribed by the board by rule.

C. A business entity must file a separate registration application and pay a fee for each branch office in this state.

D. A registration expires on August 31 of odd numbered years in accordance with the physical therapist professional licensing schedule. A business entity that wishes to renew a registration must submit an application for renewal as prescribed by the board on a biennial basis on a form prescribed by the board before the expiration date. An entity that fails to renew the registration before the expiration date is subject to a late fee as prescribed by the board by rule.

E. The business entity must notify the board in writing within thirty days after any change:

1. In the business entity's name, address or telephone number.

2. In the officers or directors of the business entity.

3. In the name of the manager who is authorized and who is responsible for managing the physical therapy services in any facility.

F. The business entity must establish and implement a written protocol for the secure storage, transfer and access of the physical therapy records of the business entity's patients. This protocol must include, at a minimum, procedures for:

1. Notifying patients of the future locations of their records if the business entity terminates or sells the practice.

2. Disposing of unclaimed physical therapy records.

3. The timely response to requests by patients for copies of their records.

G. The business entity must notify the board within thirty days after the dissolution of any registered business entity or the closing or relocation of any facility and must disclose to the board the entity's procedure by which its patients may obtain their records.

H. This section does not apply to:

1. A sole proprietorship or partnership that consists exclusively of persons who are licensed by a health profession regulatory board as defined in section 32-3201.

2. A facility regulated by the federal government or a state, district or territory of the United States.

3. An administrator or executor of the estate of a deceased physical therapist or a person who is legally authorized to act for a physical therapist who has been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent for not more than one year from the date the board receives notice of the physical therapist's death or incapacitation.

4. A health care institution that is licensed pursuant to title 36.

I. A facility that offers physical therapy services to the public by persons licensed under this chapter must be registered by the board unless the facility is any of the following:

1. Owned by a licensee.

2. Regulated by the federal government or a state, district or territory of the United States.

J. Except for issues relating to insurance coding and billing that require the name, signature and license number of the physical therapist providing treatment, this section does not:

1. Authorize a licensee in the course of providing physical therapy services for an entity registered pursuant to this section to disregard or interfere with a policy or practice established by the entity for the operation and management of the business.

2. Authorize a business entity registered pursuant to this section to establish or enforce a business policy or practice that may interfere with the professional judgment of the licensee in providing physical therapy services for the business entity or may compromise a licensee's ability to comply with this chapter.

K. The board shall adopt rules that provide a method for the board to receive the assistance and advice of business entities registered pursuant to this section in all matters relating to the regulation of business entities.

L. The board shall adopt rules necessary to enforce this chapter in the practice settings of its licensees, certificate holders and registrants if the practice settings are not regulated by the department of health services.