Is it permissible for Licensees to allow Podiatric Assistants to take X-rays?
It is permissible for Licensees to allow podiatric assistants to take X-rays under the supervision of the Licensees. Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111, ยง 186A, “[n]o person shall operate or maintain a shoe-fitting device or machine which uses fluoroscopic, X-ray or radiation principles, except for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes by or under the direction of a physician or podiatrist registered under the laws of the commonwealth.” The Board has interpreted this statute to mean that a licensed podiatrist may designate another person, who is “under the direction of the podiatrist,” to operate the machines specified in the statute above. As such, the Board promulgated 249 CMR 4.01, which specifically states that a podiatrist may “supplement examination by ordering or performing various laboratory tests, analyses and diagnostic procedures, including X-rays, which may be taken by the podiatry assistant under the registered podiatrist’s supervision.
