Virginia Code 54.1-3485: Form of compact; declaration of purpose.
A. The General Assembly hereby enacts, and the Commonwealth of Virginia hereby enters into, the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact with any and all jurisdictions legally joining therein according to its terms, in the form substantially as follows.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 54.1-3485
- Practice of physical therapy: means that branch of the healing arts that is concerned with, upon medical referral and direction, the evaluation, testing, treatment, reeducation and rehabilitation by physical, mechanical or electronic measures and procedures of individuals who, because of trauma, disease or birth defect, present physical and emotional disorders. See Virginia Code 54.1-3473
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
B. The purpose of this Compact is to facilitate interstate practice of physical therapy with the goal of improving public access to physical therapy services. The practice of physical therapy occurs in the state where the patient is located at the time of the patient encounter. The Compact preserves the regulatory authority of states to protect public health and safety through the current system of state licensure.
This Compact is designed to achieve the following objectives:
1. Increase public access to physical therapy services by providing for the mutual recognition of other member state licenses;
2. Enhance the states’ ability to protect the public’s health and safety;
3. Encourage the cooperation of member states in regulating multi-state physical therapy practice;
4. Support spouses of relocating military members;
5. Enhance the exchange of licensure, investigative, and disciplinary information between member states; and
6. Allow a remote state to hold a provider of services with a compact privilege in that state accountable to that state’s practice standards.
2019, c. 300.