§ 37-15-102 — Definitions

Montana § 37-15-102

• Jurisdiction: Montana
• Title 37: PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS
• Ch. 15: SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS AND AUDIOLOGISTS
• Part 1: General

Text

37-15-102 . Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Audiologist" means a person who practices audiology and who meets the qualifications set forth in this chapter. A person represents to the public that the person is an audiologist by incorporating in any title or description of services or functions that the person directly or indirectly performs the words "audiologist", "audiology", "audiometrist", "audiometry", "audiological", "audiometrics", "hearing clinician", "hearing clinic", "hearing therapist", "hearing therapy", "hearing center", "hearing aid audiologist", or any similar title or description of services.
(2) "Audiology assistant" means any person meeting the minimum requirements established by the board of physical, rehabilitative, and developmental health care professionals who works directly under the supervision of a licensed audiologist.
(3) "Board" means the board of physical, rehabilitative, and developmental health care professionals provided for in 2-15-1754 .
(4) "Department" means the department of labor and industry provided for in Title 2, chapter 15, part 17.
(5) "Facilitator" means a trained individual who is physically present with the patient and facilitates telehealth at the direction of an audiologist or speech-language pathologist. A facilitator may be but is not limited to an audiology assistant or a speech-language pathology assistant.
(6) "Over-the-counter hearing aid" has the definition specified in 21 CFR 800.30 in effect on January 1, 2023.
(7) "Patient" means a consumer of services from an audiologist, a speech-language pathologist, a speech-language pathology assistant, or an audiology assistant, including a consumer of those services provided through telehealth.
(8) "Practice of audiology" means nonmedical diagnosis, assessment, and treatment services relating to auditory and vestibular disorders as provided by board rule and includes the ordering, selling, dispensing, and fitting of over-the-counter hearing aids and prescription hearing aids.
(9) "Practice of speech-language pathology" means nonmedical diagnosis, assessment, and treatment services relating to speech-language pathology as provided by board rule.
(10) "Prescription hearing aid" has the definition specified in 21 CFR 801.422 in effect on January 1, 2023. The term does not include an over-the-counter hearing aid.
(11) "Speech-language pathologist" means a person who practices speech-language pathology and who meets the qualifications set forth in this chapter. A person represents to the public that the person is a speech-language pathologist by incorporating in any title or description of services or functions that the person directly or indirectly performs the words "speech pathologist", "speech pathology", "speech correctionist", "speech corrections", "speech therapist", "speech therapy", "speech clinician", "speech clinic", "language pathologist", "language pathology", "voice therapist", "voice therapy", "voice pathologist", "voice pathology", "logopedist", "logopedics", "communicologist", "communicology", "aphasiologist", "aphasiology", "phoniatrist", "language therapist", "language clinician", or any similar title or description of services or functions.
(12) "Speech-language pathology assistant" means a person meeting the minimum requirements established by the board who works directly under the supervision of a licensed speech-language pathologist.
(13) "Telehealth" has the meaning provided in 37-2-305 .

Legislative History

En. 66-3902 by Sec. 2, Ch. 543, L. 1975; R.C.M. 1947, 66-3902; amd. Sec. 11, Ch. 22, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 274, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 413, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 93, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 56, Ch. 429, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 124, Ch. 483, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 262, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 342, L. 2011; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 162, L. 2013; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 78, L. 2021; amd. Sec. 7, Ch. 497, L. 2021; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 483, L. 2023; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 285, L. 2025.