Blog
Legislative Update: Changes Effective July 1, 2023
.png)
As a result of our lobbying in this past legislative session, the Virginia General Assembly passed HB2359 and SB1005, removing access barriers to physical therapy services by expanding direct access and trigger point dry needling. In March, Governor Youngkin signed them into law.
This legislative victory was the culmination of more than 25 years of work by past and present members and leaders of APTA Virginia. We thank and congratulate all those who contributed their time and energy to creating the framework for this change.
These bills legislated the following changes:
- Removed the time limit on physical therapy care delivered under direct access.
- Removed the requirement of a physician order for the performance of trigger point dry needling.
- Provides access to physical therapy services without a referral for students with disabilities under a 504 plan.
- Provides access to physical therapy services without a referral for infants and toddlers to fulfill their care requirements under an individualized service plan.
These changes are effective July 1, 2023.
As part of this legislation, the Virginia Board of Physical Therapy is required to issue a report to the legislature at the end of 2024 documenting any adverse events reported for care received after 60 days of care and any reported adverse events with respect to trigger point dry needling.
The Virginia Board of Physical Therapy has sent all licensees a bulletin outlining these changes and provided an updated direct access patient attestation and medical release form.
Should you have any questions, please review the Virginia Board of Physical Therapy's News Brief. If you still have questions, please contact APTA Virginia.
Thank you again for your efforts and hard work to improve access to quality care for Virginians by improving access to physical therapy services!