04/02/2009
Senate bill 318, sponsored by Sen. Ira Silverstein, would amend the Medical Practice Act to allow any person licensed under it (physicians, chiropractors) to delegate tasks or duties to licensed or unlicensed personnel as long as those duties fall within the scope of practice for the physician or chiropractor. If passed, SB 318, would circumvent the Massage Licensing Act and allow the unlicensed practice of massage therapy.
The bill would allow chiropractors and physicians to assign various duties to staff who might not be trained or qualified to perform those duties. For example, they could ask a receptionist to perform massage, or a massage therapist to draw blood. If passed, this bill could negatively impact public safety and would obviously impact a host of licensed professions, including massage therapy.
To view the entire bill, go to:
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09600SB0318sam003&SessionID=76&GA=
96&DocTypeID=SB&DocNum=0318&print=true
ABMP encourages you to call, email, or fax your state senator immediately and ask them to oppose SB 318. Keep your conversation short and on point. It doesn’t take much to express your view. Here is a sample script:
"SB 318 will allow physicians to delegate duties and tasks to unlicensed individuals. As a licensed massage therapist, I am concerned that this bill would allow massage to be performed by individuals who are not trained and licensed which would severely impact patient safety. As a consumer, I don’t want unlicensed and unqualified people would be working on my family and me.”
To find out who your legislator is, go to:
http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/SelectSearchType.aspx?NavLink=1
SB 318 is the Senate version of House Bill 64, which ABMP reported on in February.
State: