Practice rights by state - hands, legs?

[shezadeh]

https://www.acfas.org/uploadedFiles/Physicians/Health_Policy_and_Advocacy/Scope_of_Practice/Content/State%20Scope%20of%20Practice.pdf

I was looking at different practice rights by state (see link above). I was surprised to see "includes hand" (I figured "includes leg" refers to adjacent tissues that may be affected by a procedure).

Can anyone shed light on the meaning of "includes hand" and "includes leg"?

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[shezadeh]

Nobody?

 

[DexterMorganSK]

It means you can work on those areas in those states as long as you meet the state and board requirements. Also, just because we can work on the "hand" in a state does not mean that most DPMs are working on hands in that area; we are lower extremity experts first.

Read more in the pdf attached (from 2018, so not up to date).

 

[shezadeh]

Thanks for the update. I also understand that just because one "can" doesn't meant one "should". I just found it strange that hand was included (yes, there are anatomical similarities, but it is further "removed" in one sense than the "leg")

 

[shezadeh]

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Just saw this. Good clarification.