OBPT Licensee News Brief

August 2021

1. Weekly COVID-19 Testing or Proof of Vaccination for Health Care Workers in Oregon

Governor Brown recently directed the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to promulgate rules requiring weekly COVID-19 testing for all “healthcare personnel” in Oregon. Individuals may show proof of vaccination in lieu of weekly testing. The requirement goes into effect September 30th. Please see the rules published by OHA here: https://www.oregon.gov/pt/Documents/PH_34-2021.pdf

Per the rule, “Healthcare personnel includes individuals, paid and unpaid working, learning, studying, assisting, observing or volunteering in a healthcare setting providing direct patient or resident care or who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients, residents, or infectious materials, and includes but is not limited to any individual licensed by a health regulatory board as that is defined in ORS 676.160, unlicensed caregivers, and any clerical, dietary, environmental services, laundry, security, engineering and facilities management, administrative, billing, student and volunteer personnel.”

2. Oregon Health Authority (OHA) COVID-19 Resources for Health Care Partners

The Oregon Health Authority maintains resources including guidance, recommendations and requirements for health care personnel relating to COVID-19. This information is updated regularly and is typically categorized by care setting. Please see the main landing page here: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/covid19/Pages/Healthcare-Partners.aspx

The Board recommends reviewing the documents posted under Health Care Providers, which apply generally, as well as any other relevant sections pertaining to your practice location. For specific questions, you can also send an email to [email protected]

3. Oregon’s Health Care Workforce Reporting Program

If you’ve renewed your Oregon license with us in the past, then you are familiar with the Oregon Workforce Data Survey, which is required for renewal of licensure for most health professional licenses in Oregon. Did you know your survey responses are anonymized and aggregated into statewide data on Oregon’s Health care workforce? The data is used to inform policy recommendations for the Governor’s Office, the Oregon Legislature and state agencies. The Board references the data when doing strategic planning.

Explore the current dataset as well as historical reports here: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/hpa/analytics/Pages/Health-Care-Workforce-Reporting.aspx

4. Benefit of Oregon Licensure: Participation in the PT Compact

Did you know that Oregon is part of the national PT Compact Commission, which allows eligible Oregon-licensed PTs and PTAs who reside in Oregon the opportunity to purchase a privilege to practice in another participating state? Compact privileges are equivalent to licensure in the remote state, and can often be processed same day, allowing for greater mobility. 23 states, including Washington, are currently issuing compact privileges, and an additional 10 have passed compact legislation, and will soon be issuing privileges. To learn more, see http://ptcompact.org/

5. Future of the PT Compact: Survey Opportunity

The Board would like to extend an important survey input opportunity to you. The PT Compact Commission, of which Oregon is a member, is seeking input from the physical therapy profession to inform its growth strategy. We invite all licensed physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, as well as physical therapy students and educators to respond to the survey linked below.

https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6459998/PTCompact2021

The survey should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete and will close on Sunday, August 15. Your data will be held as confidential and will only be used for research purposes. Data will be analyzed by the PT Compact’s survey partner, McKinley Advisors, to protect confidentiality and anonymity of responses. To learn more about the Compact, please visit http://ptcompact.org/

6. Experiences and Needs of Underrepresented Groups: Research Study Opportunity

The Board would like to encourage participation in a research study sponsored by the Cultural and Minority Affairs Committee of APTA-Oregon. This study is seeking participants to gather information about the experiences and needs of underrepresented groups in physical therapy. Participants in this study must be a physical therapist, physical therapist assistant, or student of either degree program who identifies as a member of a racial/ethnic minority group and/or the LGBTQIA+ community, and who currently resides within Oregon or Washington.

If interested in participating, please complete the survey here: https://pacificu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9pMoEzA31qolfqC

The survey is estimated to take 30 minutes to complete. The survey will close on August 25th.

For questions about the research study, please contact the principal researcher at [email protected].

7. Rule Advisory Input: Continuing Competence

The Board is seeking additional members for a rule advisory team to provide input on the development of potential rule changes to OAR 848 Division 35: Continuing Competence Requirements. The Board is looking specifically at online content and related requirements, as well as other changes related to recent legislation. The rule advisory team will review possible changes and make recommendations for draft rules in the focus area. These recommendations will be presented to the Board for consideration and potential administrative rulemaking. If the Board initiates administrative rulemaking, notice of the proposed rulemaking will be published for public comment.

If you are interested in being part of the advisory team, please email [email protected] by Tuesday, August 17th.

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We want to highlight answers to the most recent common questions we are receiving. If you have other questions, please contact us at [email protected].   Please bookmark www.oregon.gov/PT and be sure to check our site regularly for the most current information and updates, as well as to keep your practice and contact information current.