Section 601.2 - DefinitionsThe following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Act--The Texas Medical Physics Practice Act (Act), Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 602, concerning the licensure and regulation of professional medical physicists.(2) APA--The Administrative Procedure Act, Texas Government Code, Chapter 2001.(3) Applicant--A person who applies to the Texas Board of Licensure for Professional Medical Physicists (board) for a license.(4) Board--The Texas Board of Licensure for Professional Medical Physicists.(5) Commissioner--The Commissioner of the Department of State Health Services.(6) Department--The Department of State Health Services.(7) Diagnostic radiological physics--The branch of medical physics that deals with the diagnostic application of roentgen rays, gamma rays from sealed sources, ultrasonic radiation, or radiofrequency radiation and the use of equipment associated with the production and use of that radiation.(8) License--A certificate issued by the board authorizing the license holder to engage in the practice of medical physics including the temporary license and provisional license unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.(9) Licensed medical physicist--A person who holds a license issued under the Act.(10) Medical health physics--The branch of medical physics that deals with the safe use of roentgen rays, gamma rays, electron or other charged particle beams, neutrons, radionuclides, and radiation from sealed radionuclide sources for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in humans and the use of equipment required to perform appropriate radiation tests and measurements.(11) Medical nuclear physics--The branch of medical physics that deals with the therapeutic and diagnostic application of radionuclides, except those used in sealed sources for therapeutic purposes, but including therapy with radiolabeled microspheres and with the use of equipment associated with the production and use of radionuclides.(12) Medical physics--The branch of physics that is associated with the practice of medicine; and includes, but is not limited to, the field of radiological physics.(13) Physician--A person licensed to practice medicine by the Texas Medical Board under Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 152, or if out-of-state a person who holds a valid license to practice medicine in that state or territory.(14) Practice of medical radiological physics--The use of principles and accepted protocols of physics to assure the correct quality, quantity, and placement of radiation during the performance of a radiological procedure prescribed by a practitioner that will protect the patient and others from harmful excessive radiation. The term includes radiation beam calibration and characterization, quality assurance, instrument specification, acceptance testing, shielding design, protection analysis on radiation-emitting equipment and radiopharmaceuticals, and consultation with a physician to assure accurate radiation dosage to a specific patient.(15) Practitioner--A doctor of medicine, osteopathy, podiatry, dentistry, or chiropractic who is licensed in this state and who prescribes radiologic procedures for other persons.(16) Provisional license--An authorization to practice medical physics for a period not to exceed 180 days for individuals currently licensed or certified in another jurisdiction.(17) Quality assurance--An all encompassing term that includes data recording, patient management, outcome analysis and equipment performance monitoring.(18) Quality control--A subset of quality assurance that concerns monitoring the performance of imaging, treatment and associated radiological equipment.(19) Radiation--Ionizing and/or nonionizing radiation above background levels used to perform a diagnostic or therapeutic medical or dental radiological procedure.(20) Radiological physics--The branch of medical physics that includes diagnostic radiological physics, therapeutic radiological physics, medical nuclear physics, and medical health physics.(21) Radiological procedure--A test, measurement, calculation, or radiation exposure used in the diagnosis or treatment of disease or other medical or dental conditions in humans that includes therapeutic radiation, diagnostic radiation, nuclear magnetic resonance, or nuclear medicine procedures. (A) The activities and services which fall within the definitions in the Act of the practice of medical radiological physics, diagnostic radiological physics, therapeutic radiological physics, medical nuclear physics, or medical health physics are not radiological procedures.(B) The activities and services which fall within the Texas Regulations for Control of Radiation, as defined in 25 TAC § 289.201(b) (relating to General Provisions for Radioactive Material) and § 289.231(c) (relating to General Provisions and Standards for Protection Against Machine-Produced Radiation), concerning radiographic entrance exposure rates; entrance exposure rates for fluoroscopy; dose measurements of the radiation output of computed tomography (CT) x-ray systems; equipment performance evaluations; surveys, calibrations, and spot checks for therapeutic radiation systems operating above 150 kVp up to 1MeV, and surveys, calibrations, and spot checks for therapeutic radiation systems operating at energies of 1MeV and above, are not radiological procedures.(22) Supervision--To oversee the work of a medical physicist holding a temporary license in the performance of those duties defined as the practice of medical physics. For the purpose of fulfilling the work experience and examination requirement, the supervisor shall be responsible for the temporary licensee's work during this period. The supervisor assumes the responsibility, and must have the authority, to observe and correct the actions of the individual being supervised. There are three levels of supervision as described in subparagraphs (A) - (C) of this paragraph. (A) General Supervision--The temporary licensee works under the overall control and direction of the supervisor, but the supervisor's presence is not required during the performance of the work.(B) Direct Supervision--The supervisor is present in the building or institution and immediately available to furnish assistance and direction throughout the work. The supervisor need not be in the room where the work is being performed.(C) Personal Supervision--The supervisor is physically present in the room where the temporary licensee is working.(23) Temporary License--A certificate authorizing an individual to practice medical physics under the supervision of a licensed medical physicist.(24) Therapeutic radiological physics--The branch of medical physics that deals with the therapeutic application of roentgen rays, gamma rays, electron and other charged particle beams, neutrons, or radiations from radionuclide sources and the use of equipment associated with the production and use of that radiation.(25) Upper division semester hour credits--Third-year level or above (junior, senior or graduate) course work completed from a regionally accredited college or university.22 Tex. Admin. Code § 601.2
The provisions of this §601.2 adopted to be effective December 15, 1992, 17 TexReg 8440; amended to be effective June 22, 1994, 19 TexReg 4419; amended to be effective June 27, 1995, 20 TexReg 4344; amended to be effective October 7, 1996, 21 TexReg 9234; amended to be effective June 23, 1997, 22 TexReg 5750; amended to be effective February 4, 1999, 24 TexReg 559; amended to be effective August 5, 2001, 26 TexReg 5808; amended to be effective January 2, 2008, 32 TexReg 10003; amended to be effective August 30, 2012, 37 TexReg 6594