Supervision Requirements of an Assistant in a Private Practice

July 30, 2020
 / 
Rick Gawenda
 / 

Due to the Public Health Emergency (PHE) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has eased the supervision requirements of a physical therapist assistant (PTA) by a physical therapist (PT) and an occupational therapy assistant (OTA) by an occupational therapist (OT). In this article, I will answer the following questions:

  1. Normally, what are the supervision requirements of a PTA by a PT and an OTA by an OT in a private practice setting under traditional Medicare Part B?
  2. What are CMS’ current supervision requirements of a PTA by a PT and an OTA by an OT in a private practice setting due to the PHE under traditional Medicare Part B?
  3. What if my state practice act requires direct or personal supervision of a PTA or an OTA?

Question
Normally, what are the supervision requirements of a PTA by a PT and an OTA by an OT in a private practice setting under traditional Medicare Part B?

Answer

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Question
What are CMS’ current supervision requirements of a PTA by a PT and an OTA by an OT in a private practice setting due to the PHE under traditional Medicare Part B?

Answer

The content here is for members only log in here or sign up.

Question
What if my state practice act requires direct or personal supervision of a PTA or an OTA?

Answer

The content here is for members only log in here or sign up.

I hope you found the answers to the above questions helpful to your private practice. Thank you for being a Gold Member!



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  1. Are there are any rules under Medicare that state that a patient under the treatment of a PTA (not for an evaluation) needs to see the PT/DPT after a certain # of visits? For example, do medicare patients have to see a PT every 14 days or every 6 visits instead of seeing a PTA? I’m assuming since they cannot evaluate they would have to have the progress report done by the PT…

    1. For OP therapy, CMS does not state how often a PT or OT must see a Medicare patient. You would also have to look at your state practice act to see if it has any requirements.

  2. Has CMS eased the previous guidelines for treatment in the clinic during the Pandemic? IE: Does the PTA still need direct supervison for in person visits? Thanks!

  3. CMS is allowing for “virtual” direct supervision of PTAs during the public health emergency but I don’t see any guidance specifically for New York, where the state practice act requires direct supervision. Do you know if there needs to be on-site supervision for PTAs in New York right now, or if it can also be done virtually? Thanks!

    1. You would need to contact your NY PT State Association and/or NY PT Licensing Board and ask them.