Bill > S1209

This bill amends Section 13 of Chapter 112 of the general laws to redefine "podiatry" as the diagnosis and treatment of ailments of the human foot and lower leg using medical, mechanical, electrical, and surgical methods. It clarifies that surgical treatments performed in a healthcare facility will be determined by that facility's credential committee and must be performed at that facility. The bill also specifies that the provisions related to podiatry will not apply to surgeons in the U.S. Army, Navy, or Public Health Service, nor to physicians already registered in the commonwealth, and importantly, it states that the terms "physician" and "surgeon" in certain other sections of the law will now include podiatrists when they are acting within the defined limitations of their practice.