While the West Virginia Physical Therapy Practice Act does not explicitly limit practice to humans, it is important to understand the intersection with Veterinary Law. Under W. Va. Code § 30-10-1 et seq., Physical Therapists (PTs) and other allied health professionals are permitted to work with animals only when acting as Veterinary Assistants.
To remain in compliance, please note the following legal requirements:
- Supervision: You must operate under the "General Supervision" of a West Virginia licensed veterinarian. This requires the veterinarian to be in the building, to have provided specific treatment instructions, and to be quickly available (§30-10-3.i).
- Scope of Practice: Allied health professionals are strictly prohibited from the "Practice of Veterinary Medicine" (§30-10-3.o). This includes diagnosing, prescribing, or independently deciding on a course of treatment for an animal.
- Accountability: The supervising veterinarian is legally responsible for determining your competence to perform specific tasks and remains accountable for your actions (§30-10-3.v).
- Enforcement: The West Virginia Board of Veterinary Medicine has the authority to take legal action if they find a PT is practicing on animals outside of these parameters. This may include filing a motion for injunctive relief in circuit court to halt the activity and filing a formal complaint against your license with this Board.
We encourage all licensees to review the provided statutory definitions below to ensure your practice remains within the bounds of West Virginia law.
For your reference, the relevant statutory definitions are provided below:
§30-10-3-v. "Veterinary assistant" means a person who has not met the requirements for becoming a registered veterinary technician. The duties and tasks of a veterinary assistant are instructed from and directly supervised by a licensed veterinarian, who is accountable for the veterinary assistant's actions. The supervising veterinarian is responsible for determining the ability and competence of the veterinary assistant to perform the directed task or procedure.
§30-10-3-i. “General supervision" means the supervising veterinarian is in the building where the animal is being treated, has given instructions for treatment and is quickly and easily available.
§30-10-3-o. "Practice of veterinary medicine" means to diagnose, treat, correct, change, relieve or prevent any disease, deformity, defect, injury, or other physical or mental condition, of any animal, or to prescribe for or to administer to any animal any drug, medicine, biologic, apparatus, application, anesthetic or other therapeutic or diagnostic substance or technique, or to render advice or any recommendation with respect to any of the foregoing.
If the WV Board of Veterinary Medicine received knowledge that a physical therapist (PT) is practicing animal physical therapy on an animal, they have the authority to file a motion with the circuit court for injunctive relief and to file a complaint with this Board.