The bill requires the department to consult the international reciprocity agreement between the National Board for Respiratory Care and the Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists in responding to an application from an individual registered in Canada. Following promulgation of the department's rules, certain titles and abbreviations related to the profession would be protected from use by unregistered individuals. Any individual claiming to be a respiratory therapist' or a registered respiratory therapist' would be required to be registered. The department is required to issue a registration for individuals possessing certain national credentials and applying within 1 year of the effective date of the bill. Lastly, the bill would not require new or additional third party reimbursement for services rendered by a registered respiratory therapist.
Respiratory therapy is a profession where mistakes can cause serious injury and even death.
The proposed registration program would protect the public from serious harm by assuring that individuals calling themselves respiratory therapists are what they claim to be. Michigan would join over thirty eight states across the nation that have regulated this profession. They are already certified nationally by the National Board for Respiratory Care. This credential would become a requisite for state licensure, which means that individuals would have to pay twice for what is essentially the same certification. The main beneficiaries of a new licensure or registration program are all too frequently the regulated profession rather than the general public.