Any person licensed under this act as a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant shall treat human ailments by physical therapy only under the referral of a person licensed as a physician or surgeon with unlimited license and Doctors of Dentistry, Chiropractic and Podiatry, with those referrals being limited to their respective areas of training and practice; provided, however, a physical therapist may provide services within the scope of physical therapy practice without a physician referral to children who receive physical therapy services pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Amendment of 1997 (P.L. 105-17) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504. Nothing in this act shall prevent a physical therapist from performing screening and educational procedures within the scope of physical therapy practice without a physician referral. Nothing in this act shall be construed as authorization for a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant to practice any branch of the healing arts. Any person violating the provisions of this act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor as per Section 887.16 of this title.

The provisions of this act are not intended to limit the activities of persons legitimately engaged in the nontherapeutic administration of baths, massage, and normal exercise. This act shall not prohibit students who are enrolled in schools of physical therapy approved by the State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision from performing such work as is incidental to their course of study; nor shall it prevent any student in any recognized school of the healing arts in carrying out prescribed courses of study; provided such school is a recognized institution by the statutes of Oklahoma, and its practitioners are duly licensed as prescribed by law. Nothing in this act shall apply to any person employed by an agency, bureau, or division of the federal government while in the discharge of official duties, however, if such individual engages in the practice of physical therapy outside the line of official duty, the individual must be licensed as herein provided.

Laws 1965, SB 143, c. 153, § 17, emerg. eff. May 26, 1965; Amended by Laws 1969, HB 1333, c. 345, § 11; Amended by Laws 1987, HB 1401, c. 13, § 16, emerg. eff. July 1, 1987; Amended by Laws 1987, HB 1473, c. 236, § 196, emerg. eff. July 20, 1987; Amended by Laws 2003, SB 561, c. 135, § 1, eff. November 1, 2003 (superseded document available).