Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Illinois General Assembly, fetched 2026-09-25. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. This is the current version. The official bill page.
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1 AN ACT concerning regulation.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Illinois Physical Therapy Act is amended by
5 changing 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7 (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)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
10 used to address access issues to care, enhance care delivery,
11 or increase the physical therapist's ability to assess and
12 direct the patient's performance in the patient's own
13 environment.
14 (b) Only a A physical therapist or physical therapist
15 assistant working under the general supervision of a physical
16 therapist may provide physical therapy through telehealth
17 services pursuant to the terms and use defined in the
18 Telehealth Act and the Illinois Insurance Code and subject to
19 the following conditions:
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 from a
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1 health care professional;
2 (ii) the patient has an established relationship
3 with the physical therapist; or
4 (iii) the physical therapist has the capacity to
5 perform or facilitate a referral for an in-person,
6 hands-on examination or re-examination by a physical
7 therapist at any time throughout the course of the
8 patient's care, as needed. Initial physical therapy
9 evaluations without a referral or established
10 diagnosis may only be performed by a licensed physical
11 therapist and cannot be performed via telehealth
12 unless necessary to address a documented hardship,
13 including, but not limited to, geographical, physical,
14 or weather-related conditions.
15 (2) A physical therapist or a physical therapist
16 assistant may require the patient to undergo an in-person
17 visit instead of providing telehealth services. The use of
18 telehealth as a primary means of delivering physical
19 therapy must be an exception and documentation must
20 support the clinical justification.
21 (3) A patient receiving physical therapy via
22 telehealth must be able to request and receive in-person
23 care at any point during their treatment.
24 (4) A physical therapist providing telehealth must
25 have the capacity to provide or be able to facilitate a
26 referral to in-person care within the State of Illinois.
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1 (5) A physical therapist or a physical therapist
2 assistant may engage in the practice of telehealth
3 services in this State to the extent of the physical
4 therapist's or the physical therapist assistant's scope of
5 practice as established in this Act and consistent with
6 the standards of care for in-person services. This Section
7 shall not be construed to authorize the delivery of
8 physical therapy services in a setting or in a manner not
9 otherwise authorized by law.
10 (6) A physical therapist or a physical therapist
11 assistant working under the general supervision of a
12 physical therapist treating a patient located in this
13 State through telehealth services must be licensed or
14 authorized to practice physical therapy in this State.
15 (c) The Department may, in consultation with the
16 Department of Human Services and the Department of Early
17 Childhood, exempt physical therapists and physical therapist
18 assistants providing physical therapy services as part of the
19 Illinois Early Intervention Program, an individualized
20 education program, or a federal Section 504 plan through a
21 school system from this Section by rule to address service
22 delays.
23 (d) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to allow
24 noncompliance with any requirements under the federal
25 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Early
26 Intervention Services System Act, the Department of Early
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1 Childhood Act, or any other State or federal law or rules.
2 (Source: P.A. 103-849, eff. 1-1-25.)
3 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
4 becoming law.Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.