AOTA approves Updates to Occupational Therapy Model Practice Act

The Model Occupational Therapy Practice Act has been updated to reflect the modern occupational therapy practice. These revisions to the Model Practice Act were approved by the Representative Assembly Coordinating Committee (RACC) on behalf of the Representative Assembly in December 2022.

The Model Practice Act is meant to help guide state occupational therapy associations or state regulatory boards interested in developing or revising legislation to regulate the practice of Occupational Therapy in their state.

The process for this update, led by the Commission on Practice, with support from AOTA State Affairs staff, included stakeholder review by the AOTA Policy Department, state occupational therapy association leaders which includes state association Presidents and legislative chairs, and state occupational therapy boards. The Model Practice Act was last updated in September 2007.

The most major of changes was to include a section on referral requirements to allow for direct access for occupational therapy services as well as a section on telehealth to allow occupational therapy practitioners to provide occupational therapy services via telehealth. The model practice act includes the model definition of occupational therapy, which was updated in 2021 and was not up for review in the review of the Model Practice Act and is therefore unchanged from that update. Changes from the 2007 version of the Model Practice Act to this recent revision are outlined below. If you have any questions about these changes, how to utilize the Model Practice Act, or have any scope of practice issues in your state, please contact AOTA State Affairs staff at state@aota.org.

 

Overall changes:

  • Changed pronouns from he/she, him/her to them/their/they
  • Changed titles of articles and re-ordered sections within articles:
    • III. Licensing became Article III. Licensing and Examination
    • IV. Disciplinary Action became Article IV. Regulation of Practice
  • Changed language from patient to client throughout

 

Article I, General Provisions - Definitions:

  • Added definitions for continuing competence, supervision, and telehealth
  • Revised the definition of aide, occupational therapist, occupational therapy assistant
  • Revised definition of good standing to remove references to "certification" and "registration"

 

Article II, Board of Occupational Therapy:

  • Includes both a public member and a consumer member and at least one member to be an OTA (previously stated one member, not at least one) in the suggested board makeup. Clarifies who a public member and consumer member can be.
  • Adds language that an OT or OTA board member may be an individual who holds a privilege to practice through the OT compact in the state
  • Adds requirement for the Board to establish a system to track how long it takes to issue a license
  • Removes approval of an examination as part of the powers and duties of the Board

 

Article III, Licensing and examination:

  • Re-titles name of title to reflect article is about licensing and examination
  • Rearranged original language related to unlawful practice and exemptions by moving to Article IV
  • Revises specific language around weeks of supervised fieldwork to instead state “minimum” period of supervised fieldwork
  • Updates language around internationally educated applicants
  • Combines standalone section on examination with overall requirements and updates language related to the examination
  • Creates new section for re-entry
  • Creates standalone section for inactive licenses

 

Article IV, Regulation of Practice

  • Re-titles Article IV to Regulation of Practice from Disciplinary Action

Unlawful practice

  • Adds title “doctor of occupational therapy” for an OT and professional abbreviations for OT and OTA

Exemptions

  • Creates an exemption for any person fulfilling an occupational therapy doctoral capstone experience if they act under appropriate supervision or mentorship

Titles and designations

  • Adds additional titles for an OT including MOT/L, MSOT/L, and OTD/L
  • Changes to language in titles and designation to reflect these titles and designates indicate licensure and are not limited to these titles

Complaints

  • Adds definition of what constitutes “sufficient detail” with a complaint

Investigation

  • Adds requirement that the licensee shall comply with lawful investigation

Referral requirements

  • Creates entire new section regarding referral requirements to allow for direct access for occupational therapy services

Telehealth

  • Creates entire new section regarding telehealth to allow occupational therapy practitioners to provide occupational therapy services via telehealth

 





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