PART 12. TEXAS BOARD OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY EXAMINERS
The Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners, (TBOTE) proposes amendments to §362.1 concerning Definitions.
The section is being amended to delete unnecessary definitions and to match up the definition for occupational therapist and occupational therapy assistant in the rules with the definitions in the OT Practice Act.
John P. Maline, Executive Director of the Executive Council of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Examiners, has determined that for the first five-year period the amendments are in effect there will be no fiscal implication for state or local government as a result of enforcing or administering the rule.
Mr. Maline also has determined that the public benefit anticipated as a result of enforcing the amended rules will be the consistency of using OT and OTA as terms for occupational therapist and occupational therapy assistant. Those who want to maintain additional registration and certification may continue to do so. There will be no effect on small businesses, and no economic cost to persons having to comply is anticipated.
Comments on the proposed amendments may be submitted to Augusta Gelfand, OT Coordinator, at (512) 305-6900, 333 Guadalupe St. #2-510, Austin, Texas 78701 or augusta.gelfand@mail.capnet.state.tx.us.
The amendment is proposed under the Occupational Therapy Practice Act, Title 3, Subchapter H, Chapter 454, Occupations Code, which provides the Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners with the authority to adopt rules consistent with this Act to carry out its duties in administering this Act.
Title 3, Subchapter H, Chapter 454 of the Occupations Code is affected by this amended section.
§362.1.Definitions.
The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in this part shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Act--The Occupational Therapy Practice Act, Title 3, Subtitle H, Chapter 454 of the Occupations Code.
(2) AOTA--American Occupational Therapy Association.
(3) Applicant--A person who applies for a license to the Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners.
(4) Board--The Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners (TBOTE).
(5) Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA)--An alternate term for a Licensed Occupational Therapy Assistant. An individual who uses this term must hold a regular or provisional license to practice or represent self as an occupational therapy assistant in Texas and must practice under the general supervision of an OTR or LOT. An individual who uses this term is responsible for ensuring that he or she is otherwise qualified to use it.
(6) Class A Misdemeanor--An individual adjudged guilty of a Class A misdemeanor shall be punished by:
(A) A fine not to exceed $4,000;
(B) Confinement in jail for a term not to exceed one year; or
(C) Both such fine and imprisonment (Vernon's Texas Codes Annotated Penal Code §12.21).
(7) Client--The entity that receives occupational therapy. Clients may be individuals (including others involved in the individual's life who may also help or be served indirectly such as caregiver, teacher, parent, employer, spouse), groups, or populations (i.e., organizations, communities).
(8) Complete Application--Notarized application form with photograph, license fee, jurisprudence examination with at least 70% of questions answered correctly and all other required documents.
(9) Complete Renewal--Contains renewal fee, renewal form with signed continuing education affidavit, home/work address(es) and phone number(s), and jurisprudence examination with at least 70% of questions answered correctly.
(10) Continuing Education Committee--Reviews and makes recommendations to the board concerning continuing education requirements and special consideration requests.
(11) Coordinator of Occupational Therapy Program--The employee of the Executive Council who carries out the functions of the Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners.
(12) Direct Contact--Refers to contact with the client and includes face-to-face in person or via visual telecommunications.
(13) Endorsement--The process by which the board issues a license to a person currently licensed in another state, the District of Columbia, or territory of the United States that maintains professional standards considered by the board to be substantially equivalent to those set forth in the Act, and is applying for a Texas license for the first time.
(14) Evaluation--The process of planning, obtaining, documenting and interpreting data necessary for intervention. This process is focused on finding out what the client wants and needs to do and on identifying those factors that act as supports or barriers to performance.
(15) Examination--The Examination as provided for in Section 17 of the Act. The current Examination is the initial certification Examination given by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).
(16) Executive Council--The Executive Council of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Examiners.
(17) Executive Director--The employee of the Executive Council who functions as its agent. The Executive Council delegates implementation of certain functions to the Executive Director.
(18) First Available Examination--Refers to the first scheduled Examination after successful completion of all educational requirements.
[(19) Health Care Condition--See Medical Condition.]
(19) [(20)] Intervention--The
process of planning and implementing specific strategies based on
the client's desired outcome, evaluation data and evidence, to effect
change in the client's occupational performance leading to engagement
in occupation to support participation.
(20) [(21)] Investigation Committee--Reviews
and makes recommendations to the board concerning complaints and disciplinary
actions regarding licensees and facilities.
(21) [(22)] Investigator--The
employee of the Executive Council who conducts all phases of an investigation
into a complaint filed against a licensee, an applicant, or an entity
regulated by the board.
(22) [(23)] Jurisprudence Examination--An
examination covering information contained in the Texas Occupational
Therapy Practice Act and Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners
rules. This test is an open book examination with multiple choice
or true-false questions. The passing score is 70%.
(23) [(24)] License--Document
issued by the Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners which
authorizes the practice of occupational therapy in Texas.
[(25) Licensed Occupational
Therapist (LOT)--A person who holds a valid regular or provisional
license to practice or represent self as an occupational therapist
in Texas.]
[(26) Licensed Occupational
Therapy Assistant (LOTA)--A person who holds a valid regular or provisional
license to practice or represent self as an occupational therapy assistant
in Texas and who is required to practice under the general supervision
of an OTR or LOT.]
(24) [(27)] Medical Condition--A
condition of acute trauma, infection, disease process, psychiatric
disorders, addictive disorders, or post surgical status Synonymous
with the term health care condition.
(25) [(28)] NBCOT--National Board
for Certification in Occupational Therapy.
(26) [(29)] Non-licensed Personnel--OT
Aide or OT Orderly or other person not licensed by this board who
provides support services to occupational therapy practitioners and
whose activities require on-the-job training and close personal supervision.
(27) [(30)] Non-Medical Condition--A
condition where the ability to perform occupational roles is impaired
by developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, the aging process,
sensory impairment, psychosocial dysfunction, or other such conditions
which does not require the routine intervention of a physician.
(28) [(31)] Occupation--Activities
of everyday life, named, organized, and given value and meaning by
individuals and a culture. Occupation is everything people do to occupy
themselves, including looking after themselves, enjoying life and
contributing to the social and economic fabric of their communities.
(29) [(32)] Occupational Therapist
(OT)--A person who holds a valid regular or provisional license
to practice or represent self as an Occupational Therapist in Texas.
This definition includes an Occupational Therapist who is designated
as an Occupational Therapy, Registered (OTR) and a Licensed Occupational
Therapy (LOT). [
Temporary License to practice as an occupational
therapist in the state of Texas, who is waiting to receive results
of taking the first available Examination, and who is required to
be under continuing supervision of an OTR or LOT.]
(30) [(33)] Occupational Therapist,
Registered (OTR)--An alternate term for a Licensed Occupational Therapist.
An individual who uses this term must hold a regular or provisional
license to practice or represent self as an occupational therapist
in Texas. An individual who uses this term is responsible for ensuring
that he or she is otherwise qualified to use it.
(31) [(34)] Occupational Therapy Practice--includes:
(A) Methods or strategies selected to direct the process of interventions such as:
(i) Establishment, remediation, or restoration of a skill or ability that has not yet developed or is impaired.
(ii) Compensation, modification, or adaptation of activity or environment to enhance performance.
(iii) Maintenance and enhancement of capabilities without which performance in everyday life activities would decline.
(iv) Health promotion and wellness to enable or enhance performance in everyday life activities.
(v) Prevention of barriers to performance, including disability prevention.
(B) Evaluation of factors affecting activities of daily living (ADL) instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), education, work, play, leisure, and social participation, including:
(i) Client factors, including body functions (such as neuromuscular, sensory, visual, perceptual, cognitive) and body structures (such as cardiovascular, digestive, integumentary, genitourinary systems).
(ii) Habits, routines, roles and behavior patterns.
(iii) Cultural, physical, environmental, social, and spiritual contexts and activity demands that affect performance.
(iv) Performance skills, including motor, process, and communication/interaction skills.
(C) Interventions and procedures to promote or enhance safety and performance in activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), education, work, play, leisure, and social participation, including.
(i) Therapeutic use of occupations, exercises, and activities.
(ii) Training in self-care, self-management, home management and community/work reintegration.
(iii) Development, remediation, or compensation of physical, cognitive, neuromuscular, sensory functions and behavioral skills.
(iv) Therapeutic use of self, including one's personality, insights, perceptions, and judgments, as part of the therapeutic process.
(v) Education and training of individuals, including family members, caregivers, and others.
(vi) Care coordination, case management and transition services.
(vii) Consultative services to groups, programs, organizations, or communities.
(viii) Modification of environments (home, work, school, or community) and adaptation of processes, including the application of ergonomic principles.
(ix) Assessment, design, fabrication, application, fitting and training in assistive technology, adaptive devices, and orthotic devices, and training in the use of prosthetic devices.
(x) Assessment, recommendation, and training in techniques to enhance functional mobility including wheelchair management.
(xi) Driver rehabilitation and community mobility.
(xii) Management of feeding, eating, and swallowing to enable eating and feeding performance.
(xiii) Application of physical agent modalities, and use of a range of specific therapeutic procedures (such as wound care management; techniques to enhance sensory, perceptual, and cognitive processing; manual therapy techniques) to enhance performance skills.
(32) [(35)] Occupational Therapy
Assistant (OTA)--A person who holds a valid regular or provisional
license to practice or represent self as an Occupational Therapy Assistant
in Texas. This definition includes an occupational therapist who is
designated as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) and
a Licensed Occupational Therapy Assistant (LOTA) [Temporary
License to practice as an occupational therapy assistant in the state
of Texas, who is waiting to receive results of taking the first available
Examination,] and who is required to be under the continuing
supervision of an OT [OTR or LOT].
(33) [(36)] Occupational Therapy
Plan of Care--A written statement of the planned course of Occupational
Therapy intervention for a patient/client. It must include goals,
objectives and/or strategies, recommended frequency and duration,
and may also include methodologies and/or recommended activities.
(34) [(37)] Occupational Therapy
Practitioners--[Registered] Occupational Therapists,
and [Licensed Occupational Therapists, Certified
] Occupational Therapy Assistants [
and Licensed Occupational Therapy Assistant]
licensed by this board.
(35) [(38)] Outcome--The focus
and targeted end objective of occupational therapy intervention. The
overarching outcome of occupational therapy is engagement in occupation
to support participation in context(s).
(36) [(39)] Place(s) of Business--Any
facility in which a licensee practices.
(37) [(40)] Practice--Providing
occupational therapy as a clinician, practitioner, educator, or consultant.
Only a person holding a license from TBOTE may practice occupational
therapy in Texas.
(38) [(41)] Accredited Educational
Program--An educational institution offering a course of study in
occupational therapy that has been accredited or approved by the Accreditation
Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American
Occupational Therapy Association.
[(42) Regular License--A
license issued by TBOTE to an applicant who has met the academic requirements
and who has passed the Examination.]
(39) [(43)] Rules--Refers to the TBOTE Rules.
(40) [(44)] Screening--A process
used to determine a potential need for occupational therapy interventions,
educational and/or other client needs. Screening information may be
compiled using observation, client records, the interview process,
self-reporting, and/or other documentation.
[(45) Supervision--See
Chapter 373 of this title (relating to Supervision).]
[(46) Temporary License--A
license issued by TBOTE to an applicant who meets all the qualifications
for a license except taking the first available Examination after
completion of all education requirements.]
This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's legal authority to adopt.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on August 15, 2008.
TRD-200804404
John Maline
Executive Director
Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners
Earliest possible date of adoption: September 28, 2008
For further information, please call: (512) 305-6900