Sloan v. South Carolina Board of Physical Therapy Examiners

Justice BURNETT:

In this appeal, we are asked to decide the novel issue of whether a physical therapist in South Carolina is statutorily prohibited from working as an employee of a physician who refers patients to the physical therapist for services.

*461FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The arrangement at issue, known within the medical profession as a physician-owned physical therapy service, or POPTS, has generated debate nationwide since the mid-1970s. The debate is driven in part by money, i.e., whether physicians or physical therapists will primarily benefit from fees paid by therapy patients,…