Assessments and the OTA

By law, OTs and OTAs are legally able to assess patients.  This comes from the AOTA website 

"An occupational therapy assistant contributes to the screening, evaluation, and re-evaluation 

process by implementing delegated assessments and by providing verbal and written reports 

of observations and client capacities to the occupational therapist in accordance with federal 

and state laws, other regulatory and payer requirements, and AOTA documents."

         The difference between the OT and the OTAs role is the matter of interpretation.  The OTA is not legally qualified to interpret the results to create a plan of intervention.  The OTAs role in assessment is to simply complete the assessment given to them by the OT and give the OT the results afterward.  This law does not address the experience or aptitude that the OTA may have.  He or she simply cannot interpret the results.

        The question that this blog addresses, however, is should OTAs be able to assess patients.  I do feel that, if the OTA has completed a thorough competency with the exact assessment that he/she has been asked to do, then he/she should be able to carry out the assessment.  It is the OTAs responsibility to make sure that he/she is competent and feels comfortable with the various assessments that are used in the practice where they are working.  If OTAs are not allowed to perform assessments, the backlog that already exists in this area (especially in the school systems) would become worse, delaying treatment to many and even denying treatment to others.  That would be, in my opinion, an injustice to the many school-age children that desperately need treatment for SI problems, handwriting problems and difficulties related to birth defects such as CP.  Many of these children will not receive services at all if they do not receive them at school.
       However, I tend to side with the NCBOT on the issue of interpretation.  I think that it takes much more education and understanding to interpret the results of an assessment.  Maybe after many years of OTA experience, one could understand how to interpret the assessments, but in the big picture, I feel that this should be left to the OTs.
       I guess, overall, I agree with the rules of the AOTA and the NCBOT, that OTAs can perform assessments in which he/she has passed competency, but cannot interpret the results or plan the intervention based on the results.