Bill > H1970

This bill proposes to update the definitions and standards for the independent practice of several healthcare professions in Massachusetts, including athletic training, occupational therapy, physical therapy, respiratory care, optometry, chiropractic, marriage and family therapy, rehabilitation counseling, mental health counseling, educational psychology, dietetics and nutrition, perfusion, massage therapy, and genetic counseling. Essentially, for each of these professions, the bill states that their scope of practice will be determined by their respective state boards of registration in accordance with national standards. It also makes specific changes regarding optometrists' ability to dispense pharmaceutical agents and issue prescriptions, and mandates that the Department of Public Health and the Division of Professional Licensure report on regulatory changes and recommend statutory adjustments to prescriptive authority if national standards for any licensed profession evolve to include it.