OT Utilization in Home Health

Resource Tool: OT Evaluation Tool

References: American Occupational Therapy Association’s Standards & Scope of Practice guidelines; Medicare Benefit Policy Manual Chapter 7 – Home Health Services

Date: April 2, 2015 12pm EST

​Overview:
Identification of the need for occupational therapy in the home health setting is often falls within the domain of the physical therapist. Currently, physical therapy accounts for approximately 75% of the therapy provided to patients in the home health environment –with occupational therapy (OT) and speech language pathology (SLP), collectively, comprising the remaining 15%. This may be due, in part, to the limited availability of both OT and SLP industry-wide, but this cannot be assumed. The limited knowledge of the Occupational Therapist’s skill set, as well as their contribution to patient habilitation and maintenance, appears to be a significant contributing factor.

This webinar will provide participants with an enhanced understanding of the role of Occupational Therapy as a critical member of the interdisciplinary care team. Specific examples of appropriate utilization of OT services will be provided, as well as baseline documentation expectations to ensure defensibility of OT services in the home health setting is established. In addition to this, all participants will be introduced to how & when to refer to Occupational Therapy for their home health patient through a review of the American Occupational Therapy Association’s (AOTA) standards and scope of practice guidelines. A sample OT Evaluation tool for use as a template for completing an OT initial assessment will be provided.
 
Objectives:
Upon completion of this webinar course, participants will be able to:
1. Define the skill set of the Occupational Therapy under the Medicare Part A Home Health benefit.
2. Identify key OASIS items that can and should be utilized for identification of and referral to Occupational Therapy in the home health setting.
3. Discuss critical components of the OT evaluation and care planning process.
4. Determine patient populations that would benefit from a referral for Occupational Therapy services.

Target Audience: Clinical Supervisors, Nurses, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech-Language Pathologist