Pennsylvania Code & Bulletin
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

• No statutes or acts will be found at this website.

The Pennsylvania Code website reflects the Pennsylvania Code changes effective through 53 Pa.B. 8238 (December 30, 2023).

49 Pa. Code § 40.302. Procedural matters.

§ 40.302. Procedural matters.

 (a)  The consent of the patient to any sexual impropriety or sexual violation is not a defense to any disciplinary charge for violation of the act or this chapter.

 (b)  Evidence of specific instances, opinion evidence or reputation evidence of a patient’s past sexual conduct is not admissible in proceedings brought under § §  40.52 and 40.181 (relating to unprofessional conduct; physical therapists; and refusal, suspension or revocation of registration). The Board may consider sexual relationships between the physical therapist or the physical therapist assistant and the patient occurring prior to the professional relationship.

 (c)  A physical therapist or the physical therapist assistant who attempts to raise as a defense an argument that conduct prohibited as a sexual violation or sexual impropriety was necessary or appropriate to the treatment of any patient shall be required to demonstrate the relevancy of the conduct in question to the patient’s condition or diagnosis. Appropriate discussions of sexual matters between a physical therapist or the physical therapist assistant and a patient shall be fully documented in patient records.



No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.


This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Code full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.