HB 188 revises Utah’s physical therapy and occupational therapy statutes to expressly include trigger point dry needling within the scope of both professions, subject to training and registration requirements. For physical therapists, the bill moves dry needling from a prior exception tied to unlawful or unprofessional conduct into a formal licensure-based authorization. For occupational therapists, it creates a parallel registration framework and adds dry needling to the list of permitted interventions when the practitioner has the required training.
The bill also clarifies that neither physical therapy nor occupational therapy requires a referral from another health service provider before evaluation or treatment. In addition, it updates definitions throughout the affected chapters, including expanding occupational therapy language to reference mental wellness support and making technical conforming changes. The bill contains no appropriation and takes effect May 7, 2025.
Impact
HB 188 amends Title 58 chapters governing physical therapy and occupational therapy, creating new statutory sections for dry needling registration, training, and rulemaking. It requires both physical therapists and occupational therapists who perform trigger point dry needling to complete a division-approved course of at least 304 total hours, including in-person instruction and supervised patient treatment, file proof of completion, and register with the Division of Professional Licensing. It also repeals an older dry needling provision in the physical therapy chapter and authorizes the division to set rules and fees for registration.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial in the legislative process. It received unanimous favorable recommendations in both the House and Senate committees and passed the House and Senate with no recorded opposition. The vote history suggests strong consensus around formalizing dry needling standards and clarifying scope-of-practice rules for therapists.
Contention
There is little evidence of major contention in the available record. The main policy issues reflected in the text are whether dry needling should be treated as a licensed, regulated practice for both physical therapists and occupational therapists, and whether therapists should be able to evaluate and begin treatment without a referral. The bill also touches on the boundary between occupational therapy and mental health therapy, but it expressly states that occupational therapy does not permit the practice of mental health therapy, which likely helped reduce concern about scope expansion.