Protecting the OT scope of practice in state law is the top priority for AOTA's State Affairs Group. We assist state OT association defend against encroachment as well as make changes to their existing definition of OT practice in statute. In 1999 the Representative Assembly adopted a revised definition of OT practice for the AOTA Model Practice Act. Since then it has be written into a number of state OT laws. I've pasted the definition below. I anticipate if the new OT framework is adopted this year that the definition will be revised.
In addition to scope of practice, we view access to OT to be very important as well. Some states have physician referral requirements in the OT law. We believe that there should be exceptions to this rule for OTs that work in new practice areas or educational systems. We also believe that referral should not be limited to physicians for instance, that referrals should be expanded to include other practitioners such as optometrists. With this in mind we are assisting state OT associations to amend their practice acts and change the referral requirements. These issues are covered in the Capital Briefing column of AOTA's OT Practice magazine if you need more information. Chuck *************** Definition of OT Practice for the AOTA Model Practice Act (A) The "Practice of Occupational Therapy" means the therapeutic use of purposeful and meaningful occupations (goal-directed activities) to evaluate and treat individuals who have a disease or disorder, impairment, activity limitation, or participation restriction which interferes with their ability to function independently in daily life roles, and to promote health and wellness. Occupational therapy intervention may include: (1) remediation or restoration of performance abilities that are limited due to impairment in biological, physiological, psychological or neurological processes. (2) adaptation of task, process or the environment, or the teaching of compensatory techniques, in order to enhance performance. (3) disability prevention methods and techniques which facilitate the development or safe application of performance skills. (4) health promotion strategies and practices which enhance performance abilities. (B) "Occupational therapy services" include, but are not limited to: (1) evaluating, developing, improving, sustaining or restoring skills in activities of daily living (ADLs), work or productive activities, including instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), and play and leisure activities. (2) evaluating, developing, remediating, or restoring sensorimotor, cognitive, or psychosocial components of performance. (3) designing, fabricating, applying, or training in the use of assistive technology or orthotic devices, and training in the use of prosthetic devices. (4) adaptation of environments and processes, including the application of ergonomic principles, to enhance performance and safety in daily life roles. (5) application of physical agent modalities as an adjunct to or in preparation for engagement in occupations. (6) evaluating and providing intervention in collaboration with the client, family, caregiver, or others. (7) educating the client, family, caregiver, or others in carrying out appropriate nonskilled interventions. (8) consulting with groups, programs, organizations, or communities to provide population-based services. Adopted by the Representative Assembly 4/16/99 (1999M10) >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 04/23/02 12:11PM >>> I am curious to know if AOTA is taking any steps or planning on taking any steps to preserve, expand and/or reiterate legislatively the scope of practice of OT in the U.S. To my mind doing so becomes particularly important in view of the erosion of jobs in the SNF sector; as well as the underemployment of OTs throughout the U.S., particularly those who are not employed in the hospital-based sector. Thanks in advance, Biraj Ron Carson wrote: > Hello Chuck: > > Thanks for adding your comments. Can you give any information about which > States have ammended their practice acts to include PT's doing self-care, > community and work reintegration training? Any information for the list > will be greatly appreciated. > > Ron > > ~~~~~~ > On Tuesday, April 23, 2002, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > CW> "3. PT's are changing their State Practice Acts to incorporate the above > CW> guidelines. The Practice Acts provide language for what PT can legally > CW> claim to do. Whether they can actually do it better than OT doesn't matter. > CW> Once it's in their practice act they can legally claim expertise in the > CW> area." > > CW> Ron, > > CW> I just wanted to share with listserv participants that AOTA and the state > CW> OT associations are closely monitoring this issue. In order to succeed > CW> the PTs need to change one state law at a time. If the PT bills are > CW> amended to clarify the context of their intervention then encroachment > CW> into traditional areas of OT practice will be avoided. > > CW> Chuck > CW> Manager, State Affairs AOTA > > CW> *********ой*********** > > CW> Unsubscribe? Send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > CW> In the message's *body*, put the following text: unsubscribe OTlist > > CW> ** List messages are archived at: > > CW> http://www.mail-archive.com/otlist@otnow.com > > CW> *********ой*********** > > *********ой*********** > > Unsubscribe? Send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > In the message's *body*, put the following text: unsubscribe OTlist > > ** List messages are archived at: > > http://www.mail-archive.com/otlist@otnow.com > > *********ой*********** *********ой*********** Unsubscribe? Send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message's *body*, put the following text: unsubscribe OTlist ** List messages are archived at: http://www.mail-archive.com/otlist@otnow.com *********ой*********** *********ой*********** Unsubscribe? Send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message's *body*, put the following text: unsubscribe OTlist ** List messages are archived at: http://www.mail-archive.com/otlist@otnow.com *********ой***********
