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1    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Physical Therapy Act is amended by 
5changing Section 1.3 as follows:
 
6    (225 ILCS 90/1.3)
7    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
8    Sec. 1.3. Telehealth services.
9    (a) Physical therapy through telehealth services may be 
10used to address access issues to care, enhance care delivery, 
11or increase the physical therapist's ability to assess and 
12direct the patient's performance in the patient's own 
13environment. 
14    (b) A physical therapist or physical therapist assistant 
15working under the general supervision of a physical therapist 
16may provide physical therapy through telehealth services 
17pursuant to the terms and use defined in the Telehealth Act and 
18the Illinois Insurance Code subject to the following 
19conditions: 
20        (1) Physical therapists may use telehealth to perform 
21    an initial physical therapy evaluation if one of the 
22    following criteria is met:
23            (i) the patient has a referral or diagnosis;
 
 
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1            (ii) the patient is an established patient; or
2            (iii) the physical therapist has the capacity to 
3        perform or facilitate a referral for an in-person, 
4        hands-on examination or re-examination by a physical 
5        therapist at any time throughout the course of the 
6        patient's care. Initial physical therapy evaluations 
7        without a referral or established diagnosis may only 
8        be performed by a licensed physical therapist and 
9        cannot be performed via telehealth unless necessary to 
10        address a documented hardship, including, but not 
11        limited to, geographical, physical, or weather-related 
12        conditions. 
13        (2) A physical therapist may require a patient to 
14    undergo an in-person visit instead of providing telehealth 
15    services. The use of telehealth as a primary means of 
16    delivering physical therapy must be an exception and 
17    documentation must support the clinical justification. 
18        (3) A patient receiving physical therapy must be able 
19    to request and receive in-person care at any point during 
20    their treatment. 
21        (4) A physical therapist providing telehealth must 
22    have the capacity to provide or be able to facilitate a 
23    referral to in-person care within the State of Illinois.
24        (5) A physical therapist or a physical therapist 
25    assistant may engage in the practice of telehealth 
26    services in this State to the extent of his or her scope of 
 
 
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1    practice as established in this Act and consistent with 
2    the standards of care for in-person services. This Section 
3    shall not be construed to authorize the delivery of 
4    physical therapy services in a setting or in a manner not 
5    otherwise authorized by law.
6        (6) A physical therapist treating a patient located in 
7    this State through telehealth services must be licensed or 
8    authorized to practice physical therapy in this State.
9        (7) The Department may, by rule, exempt physical 
10    therapists and physical therapist assistants providing 
11    physical therapy services as part of the Illinois Early 
12    Intervention Program, an individualized education program, 
13    or a federal Section 504 plan through a school system from 
14    this Section to address service delays.
15(Source: P.A. 103-849, eff. 1-1-25.)