The Board of Certification/Accreditation, International (BOC) has developed a model state licensure act, according to a press release.
The model legislation was developed by BOC’s licensure/legislation committee with assistance from Terry Supan, CPO, LPO, FAAOP, FISPO.
BOC used the Georgia Practice Act as a starting point, modifying it to make it adaptable to other states as well as fair and equitable to the current and future professionals that deliver O&P care. Supan provided guidance to Georgia’s O&P organizations during their work to achieve licensure.
“BOC supports the concept of licensure,” BOC president Claudia Zacharias, MBA, CAE, stated in a press release. “But we have not supported some other model legislation efforts because we believe they do not sufficiently protect the interests of BOC practitioners, especially in the areas of practitioner qualifications and reciprocity. We have created a model act that won’t have the unintended consequences of denying patients’ access to care or keeping qualified practitioners from caring for patients.”
The 20-page model act has been approved by BOC’s board of directors.
“For those of us whose day-to-day tasks involve hands-on care, developing model legislation is pretty dry work,” Sharon Nichelson, chairwoman of BOC’s board of directors, stated in the release. “But it is also essential work that requires input from practitioners. State legislators can’t be experts in every field, so they rely on allied health organizations to help them draft legislation that will benefit the residents of their state.”
In addition to providing definitions and scopes of practice, BOC’s model gives legislators a framework for establishing practice standards, examinations, fees, penalties, license renewal and restoration procedures, continuing education requirements, sanctions if needed, a board to oversee the licensure process, and other aspects of regulation.
The model act is available through the BOC website at www.bocinternational.org.
