Florida Senate - 2026                                     SB 914
       
       
        
       By Senator Calatayud
       
       
       
       
       
       38-00925-26                                            2026914__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to dry needling; amending s. 468.203,
    3         F.S.; defining the terms “dry needling” and
    4         “myofascial trigger point”; creating s. 468.222, F.S.;
    5         requiring the Board of Occupational Therapy to
    6         establish minimum standards of practice for the
    7         performance of dry needling by occupational
    8         therapists, including specified standards; requiring
    9         the board, if it deems it necessary for patient
   10         safety, to adopt additional supervision and training
   11         requirements for occupational therapists to perform
   12         dry needling on specified areas; requiring the
   13         Department of Health to submit a report of specified
   14         information to the Legislature by a specified date;
   15         providing construction; providing an effective date.
   16          
   17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   18  
   19         Section 1. Present subsections (3) through (8) of section
   20  468.203, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (5)
   21  through (10), respectively, and new subsections (3) and (4) are
   22  added to that section, to read:
   23         468.203 Definitions.—As used in this act, the term:
   24         (3) “Dry needling” means a skilled intervention, based on
   25  Western medicine, that uses filiform needles and other apparatus
   26  or equipment to stimulate a myofascial trigger point for the
   27  evaluation and management of neuromusculoskeletal conditions,
   28  pain, movement impairments, and disabilities.
   29         (4) “Myofascial trigger point” means an irritable section
   30  of soft tissue often associated with palpable nodules in taut
   31  bands of muscle fibers.
   32         Section 2. Section 468.222, Florida Statutes, is created to
   33  read:
   34         468.222 Dry needling.—
   35         (1) The board shall establish minimum standards of practice
   36  for the performance of dry needling by occupational therapists,
   37  including, at a minimum, all of the following:
   38         (a) Completion of 2 years of licensed practice as an
   39  occupational therapist.
   40         (b) Completion of 50 hours of face-to-face continuing
   41  education from an entity accredited in accordance with s.
   42  468.209 on the topic of dry needling. To satisfy this
   43  requirement, the instructor of the continuing education must
   44  make a determination that the occupational therapist
   45  demonstrates the requisite psychomotor skills to safely perform
   46  dry needling. The continuing education must include instruction
   47  in all of the following areas:
   48         1. Theory of dry needling.
   49         2. Selection and safe handling of needles and other
   50  apparatus or equipment used in dry needling, including
   51  instruction on the proper handling of biohazardous waste.
   52         3. Indications and contraindications for dry needling.
   53         4. Psychomotor skills needed to perform dry needling.
   54         5. Postintervention care, including care for adverse
   55  responses, adverse incident recordkeeping, and any reporting
   56  obligations.
   57         (c)1. Completion of at least 25 patient sessions of dry
   58  needling performed under the supervision of an occupational
   59  therapist who holds an active license to practice occupational
   60  therapy in any state or the District of Columbia and has
   61  actively performed dry needling for at least 1 year. The
   62  supervising occupational therapist must document that the
   63  occupational therapist under his or her supervision has met the
   64  supervision and competency requirements specified by board rule
   65  and does not need additional supervised sessions to safely
   66  perform dry needling; or
   67         2. Completion of 25 patient sessions of dry needling
   68  performed as an occupational therapist licensed in another state
   69  or in the United States Armed Forces.
   70         (d) A requirement that dry needling be performed only if
   71  the patient consents to the treatment and it is part of the
   72  patient’s documented plan of care.
   73         (e) A requirement prohibiting the delegation of dry
   74  needling to any person other than an occupational therapist who
   75  is authorized to engage in dry needling under this part.
   76         (2) The board shall establish additional supervision and
   77  training requirements an occupational therapist must meet before
   78  performing dry needling on the head, neck, or torso if the board
   79  deems such requirements necessary for patient safety.
   80         (3) The department shall, within existing resources, submit
   81  a report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the
   82  House of Representatives on or before December 31, 2028,
   83  detailing the total number of occupational therapists licensed
   84  in this state, the number of occupational therapists who perform
   85  dry needling in this state, any increases or decreases in the
   86  number of occupational therapists in this state by geographic
   87  area, and the number of any adverse medical incidents, as
   88  defined by board rule, involving the performance of dry needling
   89  by occupational therapists in this state.
   90         (4) The performance of dry needling in the practice of
   91  occupational therapy may not be construed to limit the scope of
   92  practice of other licensed health care practitioners not
   93  governed by this chapter.
   94         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.