South Dakota § 36-10-35.9 - Physical therapist assistant--Supervision--Requirements.

§ 36-10-35.9. Physical therapist assistant--Supervision--Requirements.

When supervising a physical therapist assistant's care of a patient in any setting, the supervising physical therapist shall comply with the following standards of supervision:

(1)    Before assigning the physical therapist assistant to the patient for physical therapy procedures and related tasks, the supervising physical therapist must perform a comprehensive assessment of the patient and establish a plan of care;

(2)    The supervising physical therapist must be present at least one of every ten patient visits or one patient visit every thirty calendar days, whichever occurs sooner. The supervising physical therapist may be present through the use of interactive audio and visual communications technology. During each visit at which the supervising physical therapist is required to be present, the supervising physical therapist shall reassess the patient, review the plan of care, and if appropriate, make changes to or terminate the plan of care; and

(3)    During any other patient visit at which the supervising physical therapist is not required to be present, the supervising physical therapist must be immediately available for consultation and direction, either in person or by telecommunications technology, while the physical therapist assistant is performing physical therapy procedures and related tasks.

Source: SL 1996, ch 231, § 15; SL 2017, ch 173, § 12; SL 2025, ch 152, § 5.