This website will be unavailable from Friday, April 26, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, April 29, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.
By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1580
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of providers of wheeled mobility
systems.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The Texas Occupations Code is amended by adding
Section 703.001 to read as follows:
703.001 This act shall be known and be known and may be cited
as the "Consumer Protection Act for Wheeled Mobility."
SECTION 2. The Texas Occupations Code is amended by adding
Section 703.002 to read as follows:
(a) "Assistive Technology Supplier (ATS)" means an
individual that has appropriately obtained the designation of ATS,
meeting all requirements thereof, as established by the
Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of
North America (RESNA) and is involved in the sale and service of
wheeled mobility systems;
(b) "Assistive Technology Practitioner (ATP)" means an
individual that has appropriately obtained the designation of ATP,
meeting all requirements thereof, as established by the
Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of
North America (RESNA) and is trained in evaluating the consumer's
needs and in training consumers on the use of a prescribed wheeled
mobility systems;
(c) "Consumer" means an individual for which a wheeled
mobility system has been prescribed.
(d) "Health Care Professional" means Medical Doctor (MD),
Physical Therapist (PT), Occupational Therapist (OT), Assistive
Technology Practitioner (ATP), or other credentialed professional
that performs Physical Evaluations within their scope of their
practice;
(e) "Physical Evaluation" means the determination and
documentation of the consumer's pathology, history and prognosis,
and the physiological, functional, and environmental factors that
impact the selection of an appropriate wheeled mobility system;
(f) "Qualified Rehabilitation Professional" means: (A) an
individual who has appropriately obtained the designation of ATS,
ATP, or RET, meeting all requirements thereof, as established by
the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of
North America (RESNA), or (B) an individual who is a member of the
National Registry of Rehabilitation Suppliers (NRRTS) designating
that he/she has met the following requirements:
(1) Provide documentation to prove completion of at
least fifteen (15) hours of continuing education (CEC) within the
twelve (12) months immediately prior to July 1, 2006, and all other
subsequent years thereafter by June 30, in the field of seating and
wheeled mobility, which may include, but is not limited to, the
following:
(A) courses by health care professionals,
(B) courses by health care associations,
(C) courses by a college or university,
(D) courses by manufacturers,
(E) in-service training by manufacturers, or
(F) attendance at symposiums or conferences.
Further, all fifteen (15) completed CEC's shall be from at least two
separate continuing education programs, services or courses. All
contact hours may not come from a sole course.
(2) Provide proof of at least one year experience in
the field of rehabilitation technology; and
(3) Provide three recommendations from health care
professionals who can attest to the skills of the provider in
seating and wheeled mobility.
(g) "Rehabilitation Engineering Technologist" (RET) is an
individual that has appropriately obtained the designation of RET,
meeting all requirements thereof, as established by the
Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of
North America (RESNA) and is a person who applies engineering
principles to the design, modification, and/or customization of
wheeled mobility systems;
(h) "Repair Service Department" is a dedicated area where a
wheeled mobility system can be serviced and equipped with tools
applicable to the service of wheeled mobility systems.
(i) "Technology Assessment" means the process and
documentation of matching the pathology, history and prognosis of
the consumer, and the contextual physiological, functional and
environmental factors identified in the consumer's physical
evaluation, to the appropriate wheeled mobility system;
(j) "Wheeled Mobility System" means a power or manual
mobility system including:
(1) seated positioning components; or
(2) powered or manual seating options; or
(3) electronic drive control; or
(4) specialty driving controls; or
(5) multi-adjustment frame; or
(6) non-standard performance options; or
(A) other complex or specialized components; and
1. prescribed by a physician and required
for use by the consumer for a period of six months or more.
SECTION 3. Texas Occupations Code is amended by adding
Section 703.003 to read as follows:
(a) On or after July 1, 2006, all companies or organizations
shall have a Qualified Rehabilitation Professional on staff if they
provide any prescribed "wheeled mobility system", as defined above,
or any manual or power wheelchair or power operated vehicle to a
consumer under the following conditions:
(1) the consumer is under age 21; or
(2) the consumer has a diagnosis which results from
childhood or adult onset injury or trauma; or
(3) the consumer has a diagnosis which is progressive
and or degenerative in nature; or
(4) the consumer has a diagnosis which is
neuromuscular in nature; or
(5) the consumer requires seated positioning
components; or
(6) the consumer has a pathology that indicates a need
for other assistive technology such as speech generating devices or
environmental controls.
(b) On and after July 1, 2006, consumers requiring a wheeled
mobility system shall undergo a Physical Evaluation by a health
care professional who shall provide a written report of said
evaluation to be included in the consumer's medical record and
maintained on file by the organization providing the wheeled
mobility system to the consumer.
(c) On and after July 1, 2006, all organizations making
available technology assessments on prescribed wheeled mobility
systems shall have on staff a qualified rehabilitation
professional.
(d) On and after July 1, 2006, qualified rehabilitation
professionals shall perform a complete, face-to-face technology
assessment of the consumer, based upon the physical evaluation
required in Section (3) (2) and document, in writing,
recommendations for a wheeled mobility system as appropriate to
meet the consumer's needs.
(e) On or after July 1, 2006, the delivery and final fitting
of a wheeled mobility system to the consumer shall be performed by a
qualified rehabilitation professional or other employee determined
by the Qualified Rehabilitation Professional on staff with that
organization to be appropriately trained to complete the delivery
and final fitting.
(f) On and after July 1, 2009, a 90 day grace period shall be
provided to organizations that provide prescribed wheeled mobility
systems if the qualified rehabilitation professional on staff
ceases to be employed and the organization has no other qualified
rehabilitation professional on staff. During the grace period,
2005 qualified rehabilitation professional standards shall apply.
(g) On and after July 1, 2009, the qualified rehabilitation
professional shall be Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North
America certified with the designation of ATS, ATP, or RET.
(h) On and after July 1, 2006, all organizations making
available prescribed wheeled mobility systems to consumers in the
state of Texas, shall have a physical location within the state of
Texas or within 200 miles of the consumer's residence, with a
working land line telephone, staffed during working hours, and a
repair service department on the premises.
SECTION 4. The Texas Occupations Code is amended by adding
Section 703.004 to read as follows:
703.004 This act shall take effect July 1, 2006, the public
welfare requiring it.