CA Physical therapists celebrate victory for private practice

The California Physical Therapy Association is celebrating the failure of a bill they claimed would limit patient choice and provide a conflict of interest in regards to Physical Therapy treatment.

California Physical Therapy Association is cheering the failure of a bill that it claimed would’ve limited patient choices in physical therapists and created a conflict of interest among doctors.
Assembly Bill 783 allowed physicians employ physical therapists and to refer services to their employees. It did not pass out of the California Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development, the association said Tuesday. The measure had the backing of the California Medical Association. It claimed the current situation fragments hinders patients’ ability to choose integrated, comprehensive care and could disrupt the communication between physicians and physical therapists.
James Syms, president of the California Physical Therapy Association, said the bill would’ve made it legal for medical corporations to employ physical therapists and allowed physicians to refer physical therapy services to their own employees. That creates a profit motive and an inherent conflict, he said.

Source: SACRAMENTO BUSINESS JOURNAL