Obtaining a professional certification as a physical therapist requires training, education, resilience, and hard work. That is why, if you are licensed and the Physical Therapy Board of California notifies you that a person has filed a complaint against you, you should take the matter seriously. Losing your professional license could mean the loss of your career and livelihood. Safeguard your reputation, rights, career, and future by retaining Riverside License Attorney. We can collect evidence and interview witnesses to determine the best defense strategy and negotiate with the board to impose a lenient disciplinary action or dismiss the allegations altogether.

What Does the Role of a Physical Therapist Entail?

If you are interested in joining the physical therapy practice, you should expect to perform the following roles:

Diagnose Physical Impediments

A physical therapist facilitates the rehabilitation of people coping with physical impediments so that they regain their normal functions. If a patient needs therapy, it shows that some body parts are not functioning appropriately, limiting their normal movement.

Physical therapists are trained to identify body structures experiencing physical impairments and choose the most suitable treatment. It could mean helping an elderly patient regain physical functionality following a stroke or other physical therapy patients of different ages.

Develop Patient’s Treatment Plans

Physical therapy patients require a personalized treatment plan based on their health conditions, injuries, and unique orthopedic structure features.

While treatment plans differ, most patients should engage in therapeutic exercise instead of only depending on pharmaceuticals.

Many physical therapy patients require treatment plans that strengthen and stretch the impacted muscles to help restore function. A physical therapist also uses pain relief modalities like transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) to lower symptoms and complement the physical exercise program.

Provide Patient Treatment

Following the patient’s diagnosis and developing a treatment plan, you should work to provide professionally prescribed treatment. You will attend to the patients regularly, implement the treatment plan, and make relevant adjustments depending on the progress. You should maintain regular treatment until it becomes evident that the patient’s disability or injury is healed or that they have acquired adequate knowledge to personally administer minor therapy-related exercises at home.

Since PT involves plenty of movement with patients, one of your duties will be raising limbs and helping with manual therapy if necessary. You should ensure your patients are in the right shape to perform their physically demanding role. Before venturing into PT practice, you should understand that quality treatment is vital to the patient’s recovery.

Teaching Patient Self-Care

Another significant role of a physical therapy expert is educating patients on nurturing an improved quality of life. Unlike most healthcare providers who treat aches, injuries, and pains, physical therapists encourage long-lasting lifestyle changes that can accelerate healing.

Since you know the human body and its functionality, you are qualified to treat therapy patients and guide them toward effective lifestyle changes. You can help your patients understand the pathology and the specific treatments involved and give them self-care tips to promote their recovery at home following supervised treatment. 

Introducing the Physical Therapy Board of California (PTBC)

Assembly Bill 1001 created the Physical Therapy Examining Committee in 1953. Although the state has changed its name to the Physical Therapy Board of California (PTBC), the agency's objective remains to protect members of the public from criminal, unprofessional, and incompetent physical therapists. It is a regulatory entity under the Department of Consumer Affairs. 

PTBC is the state government authority tasked with licensing and disciplining physical therapists and their assistants. It offers three different types of consumer services, including the following:

  • Verifying background and education before granting licenses
  • Offering details about the physical therapy (PT) practice of physical therapy assistants and physical therapists
  • Investigating complaints against a professional

Please note that the board is not a referral source and cannot recommend physical therapists to patients.

A licensed physical therapist can practice independently. To be licensed, you must have a post-bachelor degree in PT, pass the California Law Examination, and pass the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE).

On the other hand, a physical therapist assistant helps the physical therapist practice. In other words, they work under the supervision of physical therapists. Before the board issues a professional license, the person should have an associate’s degree in PT or meet the equivalency qualifications.

Disciplinary Process and Action the PTBC Adopts

The board initiates disciplinary action once a complaint is filed against a qualified and certified PT expert. Any party, including your colleague or patients, who believes you acted against the standards governing your profession can file a claim. Your disciplinary proceedings could also begin if a criminal court sentences you for a crime.

The board has discretion over every case involving a violation of Business and Professional law and California’s Physical Therapy Act. So, the board can discipline you for many reasons, including the following categories:

  • Sexual misconduct (According to Section 2660.1 of the Business and Professions Code, a customer, client, or patient cannot give full, informed, and free consent to a sexual activity)
  • Gross negligence (an extreme deviation from the recognized standards of practice)
  • Incompetence (The PT expert performing a procedure that is beyond their expertise or training or using an obsolete or unnecessary procedure)
  • Aiding and abetting the physical therapy practice (Inappropriate supervision of PTAs)
  • Billig services not offered
  • Engaging in dishonest conduct, like filing a fraudulent insurance claim
  • Convictions reported to the board from other agencies, including the Department of Justice (DOJ)
  • Failing to abide by infection control regulations
  • Mental or physical incapacity to practice safely
  • Offering the wrong nutritional advice
  • Excessive treatment or prescribing
  • Failing to maintain patient or professional confidentiality
  • Refusing to submit medical records
  • Poorly keeping, modifying, or falsifying patient records
  • Paying or charging for referral
  • Substance addiction or abuse, mainly if it happens while the professional is working
  • Physical abuse
  • Misleading or false advertising
  • Repeated negligent conduct

When the Board receives a complaint, its Consumer Protection Services Division tasks enforcement analysts with examining the matter and determining whether the agency has power over it. If yes, the analysts collect evidence and work with physical therapist experts. Depending primarily on the consultation’s results, the analysts can refer the matter to the PTBC’s Investigation Department or dismiss the complaint.

The Investigation Department will contact the complainant, physical therapists, and other parties with more details about the matter. It will analyze relevant records and documents, like medical bills and records. After finalizing the case investigation, the PTBC will act depending on the proof the Investigation Department collected. These actions include the following:

  • Closing the case but reserving the files for more than five years (The board takes this option if it cannot validate the allegations against you)
  • If the evidence the board collected was inadequate to take legal action against you, it will close the case but reserve it in files indefinitely.
  • Issuing a citation and imposing a fine that does not exceed five thousand dollars
  • If you are accused of a severe issue, the board will bring the case to the Office of the California State Attorney General to issue a charge against you. In this case, the board will suspend or revoke your license.

After filing your case, the licensing agency will refer it to an administrative inquiry. During the hearing, all parties will present proof to support their case. Next, the officer in charge of your trial will suggest a non-binding decision. The PTBC can accept, increase, or reduce the recommended penalties.

You can agree or disagree with the agency’s conclusion. If not, you can petition the decision in court. Nevertheless, the judge will neither hear new proof nor analyze the proof presented during your administrative inquiry. Instead, they will consider the records used during the case trial for errors.

Citations and Fines

PTBC does not consider fines and citations a form of discipline. They are a way to handle minor violations. While not as severe as a letter of public reprimand, they are a matter of public record and worth fighting with a skilled defense attorney.

An order of abatement can also accompany the fine and citation. It requires you to stop engaging in the conduct for which the board issued the citation.

Probation Terms and Conditions

While suspension, revocation, and citation are some of the possible disciplinary actions, the board can choose to impose probation.

Probation conditions are classified into three categories:

  • Standard conditions in every probation case
  • Specific conditions that depend on the nature of the case
  • Terms specific to controlled substances and alcohol

Common conditions include the following:

  • You should reimburse the board for the reasonable and actual costs it incurs. The agency can establish a cost recovery payment plan. You should pay the total amount six months before completing your probation. Otherwise, the probation will remain effective until you fully pay the cost recovery.
  • You should abide by all state, local, and federal laws and rules governing your practice. You should also abide by all court-ordered probation terms.
  • You should adhere to all restitution orders and payments
  • You should tell every current and future employer the reasons for your probation terms
  • You should notify PTBC of all name, email address, and address changes within ten days of changing
  • Your probationary period runs only when you practice within the state. Practicing in another state will not be credited toward completing probation. If, during your probation, you stop practicing within California, you should alert the agency and report the date of your expected return.
  • If you violate your probation in any way, the board can revoke it and execute the stayed disciplinary order.
  • If you stop practicing due to an illness, retirement, or cannot meet your probation terms, you should request to surrender the license. The board has the right to analyze your request and exercise its discretion to grant it or take another action it deems reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances.
  • If your allegations are alcohol and substance abuse, you should stop practicing until the board determines you are safe to practice again.
  • You should enroll in the agency’s rehabilitation program at your cost within 15 days of the order issuing to engage in a substance abuse rehabilitation program.
  • Before determining whether you should return to practice and your practice limitations, the Board should consider your license type, treatment history, medical history, seriousness of alcohol abuse, and whether you are a threat to others. While waiting for the agency’s determination, you should take random drug tests twice a week.
  • You should abstain entirely from using alcohol.

How a License Defense Attorney Can Help You with License Application Denial

According to Business and Professions Code Section 2660.5, the board should deny licensure to all applicants required to register as sex offenders unless the ground for registration is a violation of indecent exposure (PC 314).

The board can deny your application if you have a criminal history or misconduct significantly associated with your duties, functions, and qualifications. Under Business and Professions Code Section 480, below are the reasons for denial:

  • You have a previous serious felony conviction
  • You have been found guilty of an offense within seven years from the application date associated with your practice’s duties, functions, or qualifications.
  • You deliberately made a fake statement of fact that should be revealed in your application.

The board can also deny you licensure if you are guilty of sexual misconduct or unprofessional conduct.

Please note that you can reapply to the licensing agency after a year from the date of your denial.

Applying for your professional license is exciting since it is the last step before you start practicing. For most applicants, the process is simple, straightforward, and smooth. However, suppose any of the above circumstances apply to your case. In that case, it is advisable to retain an attorney who can complete and file the application on your behalf, increasing the chances of the board granting the license. The denial of an application is called a Statement of Issues, and your lawyer can defend you with the intention that you become licensed.

If you should serve probation, your defense attorney can negotiate favorable terms and conditions. The legal professional will clean up your previous criminal issues to prove your rehabilitation to the licensing agency.

Additionally, your license defense attorney can help you appeal the issuance of a license with conditions or a denial.

Find a Seasoned PT Professional License Legal Counsel Near Me

You have worked hard to obtain your professional license, dedicating many years to training, education, and hands-on care to improve your patients’ lives. When PTBC imposes disciplinary action against you for facing a criminal conviction or unprofessional conduct, you could feel lost and confused. If you believe your career and livelihood are at stake, do not hesitate to contact Riverside License Attorney at 951-404-0569 for a confidential, discreet, and no-obligation consultation. We understand your concerns and the importance of returning to work as soon as possible, and we can guide and help you during this challenging moment. We can navigate the board process, help you reinstate your license, and prevent it from being suspended or revoked.