Act No. 523

Public Acts of 2008

Approved by the Governor

January 12, 2009

Filed with the Secretary of State

January 13, 2009

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 13, 2009

STATE OF MICHIGAN

94TH LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2008

Introduced by Senator Kahn

ENROLLED SENATE BILL No. 921

AN ACT to amend 1978 PA 368, entitled "An act to protect and promote the public health; to codify, revise, consolidate, classify, and add to the laws relating to public health; to provide for the prevention and control of diseases and disabilities; to provide for the classification, administration, regulation, financing, and maintenance of personal, environmental, and other health services and activities; to create or continue, and prescribe the powers and duties of, departments, boards, commissions, councils, committees, task forces, and other agencies; to prescribe the powers and duties of governmental entities and officials; to regulate occupations, facilities, and agencies affecting the public health; to regulate health maintenance organizations and certain third party administrators and insurers; to provide for the imposition of a regulatory fee; to provide for the levy of taxes against certain health facilities or agencies; to promote the efficient and economical delivery of health care services, to provide for the appropriate utilization of health care facilities and services, and to provide for the closure of hospitals or consolidation of hospitals or services; to provide for the collection and use of data and information; to provide for the transfer of property; to provide certain immunity from liability; to regulate and prohibit the sale and offering for sale of drug paraphernalia under certain circumstances; to provide for the implementation of federal law; to provide for penalties and remedies; to provide for sanctions for violations of this act and local ordinances; to provide for an appropriation and supplements; to repeal certain acts and parts of acts; to repeal certain parts of this act; and to repeal certain parts of this act on specific dates," by amending sections 16345, 18301, 18303, 18305, 18307, and 18309 (MCL 333.16345, 333.18301, 333.18303, 333.18305, 333.18307, and 333.18309), section 16345 as added by 1993 PA 79, sections 18301, 18303, 18307, and 18309 as added by 1988 PA 473, and section 18305 as amended by 2006 PA 394, and by adding sections 18313 and 18315.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 16345. Fees for an individual licensed or seeking licensure to engage in the practice of occupational therapy, or to engage in practice as an occupational therapy assistant, under part 183 are as follows:

(a) Application processing fee $ 20.00

(b) License fee, per year 75.00.

Sec. 18301. (1) As used in this part:

(a) "Occupational therapy assistant" means an individual licensed under this article to engage in practice as an occupational therapy assistant.

(b) "Occupational therapist" means an individual licensed under this article to engage in the practice of occupational therapy.

(c) "Occupational therapy services" means those services provided to promote health and wellness, prevent disability, preserve functional capabilities, prevent barriers, and enable or improve performance in everyday activities, including, but not limited to, the following:

(i) Establishment, remediation, or restoration of a skill or ability that is impaired or not yet developed.

(ii) Compensation, modification, or adaptation of a person, activity, or environment.

(iii) Evaluation of factors that affect activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, and other activities relating to education, work, play, leisure, and social participation. Those factors include, but are not limited to, body functions, body structure, habits, routines, role performance, behavior patterns, sensory motor skills, cognitive skills, communication and interaction skills, and cultural, physical, psychosocial, spiritual, developmental, environmental, and socioeconomic contexts and activities that affect performance.

(iv) Interventions and procedures, including, but not limited to, any of the following:

(A) Task analysis and therapeutic use of occupations, exercises, and activities.

(B) Training in self-care, self-management, home management, and community or work reintegration.

(C) Development remediation, or compensation of client factors such as body functions and body structure.

(D) Education and training.

(E) Care coordination, case management, transition, and consultative services.

(F) Modification of environments and adaptation processes such as the application of ergonomic and safety principles.

(G) Assessment, design, fabrication, application, fitting, and training in rehabilitative and assistive technology, adaptive devices, and low temperature orthotic devices, and training in the use of prosthetic devices. For the purposes of this sub-subparagraph, the design and fabrication of low temperature orthotic devices does not include permanent orthotics.

(H) Assessment, recommendation, and training in techniques to enhance safety, functional mobility, and community mobility such as wheelchair management and mobility.

(I) Management of feeding, eating, and swallowing.

(J) Application of physical agent modalities and use of a range of specific therapeutic procedures, including, but not limited to, techniques to enhance sensory-motor, perceptual, and cognitive processing, manual therapy techniques, and adjunctive and preparatory activities.

(K) Providing vision therapy services or low vision rehabilitation services, if those services are provided pursuant to a referral or prescription from, or under the supervision or comanagement of, a physician licensed under part 170 or175 or an optometrist licensed under part 174.

(d) "Practice as an occupational therapy assistant" means the practice of occupational therapy under the supervision of an occupational therapist licensed under this article.

(e) "Practice of occupational therapy" means the therapeutic use of everyday life occupations and occupational therapy services to aid individuals or groups to participate in meaningful roles and situations in the home, school, workplace, community, and other settings, to promote health and wellness through research and practice, and to serve those individuals or groups who have or are at risk for developing an illness, injury, disease, disorder, condition, impairment, disability, activity limitation, or participation restriction. The practice of occupational therapy addresses the physical, cognitive, psychosocial, sensory, and other aspects of performance in a variety of contexts to support engagement in everyday life activities that affect a person's health, well-being, and quality of life throughout his or her life span. The practice of occupational therapy does not include any of the following:

(i) The practice of medicine or osteopathic medicine and surgery or medical diagnosis or treatment.

(ii) The practice of physical therapy.

(iii) The practice of optometry.

(2) In addition to the definitions in this part, article 1 contains general definitions and principles of construction applicable to all articles in this code and part 161 contains definitions applicable to this part.

Sec. 18303. (1) After the rules described in sections 18307 and 18309 are promulgated for licensure under this article, an individual shall not use the titles "occupational therapist", "o.t.", "occupational therapist licensed", "o.t.l.", "occupational therapist registered", "o.t.r.", "occupational therapist registered licensed", "o.t.r.l.", "certified occupational therapy assistant", "c.o.t.a.", "certified occupational therapy assistant licensed", "c.o.t.a.l.", "occupational therapy assistant", "o.t.a.", "occupational therapy assistant licensed", "o.t.a.l.", or similar words which indicate that he or she is licensed as an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant unless the individual is licensed under this article.

(2) After the rules described in sections 18307 and 18309 are promulgated for licensure under this part, an individual shall not engage in the practice of occupational therapy or the practice as an occupational therapy assistant unless licensed or otherwise authorized by this article.

(3) Subsection (2) does not prevent any of the following:

(a) Self-care by a patient or uncompensated care by a friend or family member who does not represent or hold himself or herself out to be a licensed occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant.

(b) An individual licensed or registered under any other part or act from performing activities that are considered occupational therapy services if those activities are within the individual's scope of practice and if the individual does not use the titles protected under subsection (1).

(c) An orthotist or prosthetist from providing services consistent with his or her training in orthotics or prosthetics if he or she is certified by the American board for certification in orthotics, prosthetics and pedorthics and he or she does not represent or hold himself or herself out to be a licensed occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant.

(d) A parks and recreation professional who is directly employed by a local unit of government or a therapeutic recreation specialist certified by the national council for therapeutic recreation certification from providing services if he or she does not represent or hold himself or herself out to be a licensed occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant.

Sec. 18305. (1) The Michigan board of occupational therapists is created in the department and shall consist of the following 9 voting members who shall meet the requirements of part 161: 5 licensed occupational therapists and 4 public members, 1 of whom shall be a physician licensed under part 170 or 175.

(2) The terms of office of individual members of the board created under this section, except those appointed to fill vacancies, expire 4 years after the appointment on December 31 of the year in which the term expires.

Sec. 18307. The board, in consultation with the department, shall promulgate rules under section 16145 setting forth the minimum standards for licensure as an occupational therapist. For purposes of this section, the professional standards issued by the American occupational therapy association or any other recognized trade association may be adopted by the board. The board shall not promulgate rules under this section that diminish competition or exceed the minimum level of regulation necessary to protect the public.

Sec. 18309. The board, in consultation with the department, shall promulgate rules under section 16145 setting forth the minimum standards for licensure as an occupational therapy assistant. For purposes of this section, the professional standards issued by the American occupational therapy association or any other recognized trade association may be adopted by the board. The board shall not promulgate rules under this section that diminish competition or exceed the minimum level of regulation necessary to protect the public.

Sec. 18313. (1) Beginning the license renewal cycle after the effective date of the rules promulgated under this part, an individual licensed under this article shall meet the continuing education or competence requirements of this section when renewing his or her license.

(2) In addition to the requirements of part 161, the board, in consultation with the department, may promulgate rules to require a licensee seeking renewal to furnish evidence that, during the licensing period immediately preceding the application for renewal, the licensee completed an appropriate number of hours of continuing education courses or continuing competence activities related to the practice of occupational therapy and designed to further educate and maintain competence.

Sec. 18315. This part does not require new or additional third party reimbursement or mandated worker's compensation benefits for services rendered by an individual licensed as an occupational therapist or an occupational therapist assistant under this article.

Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect unless Senate Bill No. 493 of the 94th Legislature is enacted into law.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Secretary of the Senate

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Approved

Governor