Section 110. Supervisory responsibilities of an occupational therapist

A. Delegation to an occupational therapy assistant.

1. An occupational therapist shall be ultimately responsible and accountable for patient care and occupational therapy outcomes under his clinical supervision.

2. An occupational therapist shall not delegate the discretionary aspects of the initial assessment, evaluation or development of a treatment plan for a patient nor shall he delegate any task requiring a clinical decision or the knowledge, skills, and judgment of a licensed occupational therapist.

3. Delegation shall only be made if, in the judgment of the occupational therapist, the task or procedures do not require the exercise of professional judgment, can be properly and safely performed by an appropriately trained occupational therapy assistant, and the delegation does not jeopardize the health or safety of the patient.

4. Delegated tasks or procedures shall be communicated to an occupational therapy assistant on a patient-specific basis with clear, specific instructions for performance of activities, potential complications, and expected results.

B. The frequency, methods, and content of supervision are dependent on the complexity of patient needs, number and diversity of patients, demonstrated competency and experience of the assistant, and the type and requirements of the practice setting. The occupational therapist providing clinical supervision shall meet with the occupational therapy assistant to review and evaluate treatment and progress of the individual patients at least once every tenth treatment session or 30 calendar days, whichever occurs first. For the purposes of this subsection, group treatment sessions shall be counted the same as individual treatment sessions.

C. An occupational therapist may provide clinical supervision for up to six occupational therapy personnel, to include no more than three occupational therapy assistants at any one time.

D. The occupational therapy assistant shall document in the patient record any aspects of the initial evaluation, treatment plan, discharge summary, or other notes on patient care performed by the assistant. The supervising occupational therapist shall countersign such documentation in the patient record at the time of the review and evaluation required in subsection B of this section.

Historical Notes

Derived from VR465-08-1 § 4.3, eff. January 31, 1991; amended, Volume 10, Issue 09, eff. February 23, 1994; Volume 13, Issue 17, eff. June 11, 1997; Volume 19, Issue 01, eff. October 23, 2002; Volume 26, Issue 11, eff. March 3, 2010.

Statutory Authority

§ 54.1-2400 of the Code of Virginia.