645—206.1(147) Definitions. For purposes of these rules, the following definitions shall apply:
“Active license” means a license that is current and has not expired.
“Board” means the board of physical and occupational therapy.
“Department” means the department of health and human services.
“Endorsement” means the issuance of an Iowa license to practice occupational therapy to an applicant who is currently licensed in another state who has the same or similar qualifications to those required in Iowa.
“Grace period” means the 30-day period following expiration of a license when the license is still considered to be active. In order to renew a license during the grace period, a licensee is required to pay a late fee.
“Inactive license” means a license that has expired because it was not renewed by the end of the grace period. The category of “inactive license” may include licenses formerly known as lapsed, inactive, delinquent, closed, or retired.
“Licensee” means any person licensed to practice as an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant in the state of Iowa.
“License expiration date” means the fifteenth day of the birth month every two years after initial licensure.
“Licensure by endorsement” means the issuance of an Iowa license to practice occupational therapy to an applicant who is or has been licensed in another state.
“Licensure examination” means the examination administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy.
“Mandatory training” means training on identifying and reporting child abuse or dependent adult abuse as required in Iowa Code sections 232.69 and 235B.16.
“NBCOT” means the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy.
“Occupational therapist” means a person licensed under this chapter to practice occupational therapy.
“Occupational therapy assistant” means a person licensed under this chapter to assist in the practice of occupational therapy.
“Occupational therapy practice” means the therapeutic use of occupations, including everyday life activities with individuals, groups, populations, or organizations, to support participation, performance, and function in roles and situations in home, school, workplace, community, and other settings. Occupational therapy services are provided for habilitation, rehabilitation, and the promotion of health and wellness to those who have or are at risk for developing an illness, injury, disease, disorder, condition, impairment, disability, activity limitation, or participation restriction. Occupational therapy addresses the physical, cognitive, psychosocial, sensory-perceptual, and other aspects of performance in a variety of contexts and environments to support engagement in occupations that affect physical and mental health, well-being, and quality of life. The practice of occupational therapy includes:
	1.	Evaluation of factors affecting activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), rest and sleep, education, work, play, leisure, and social participation, including:
	●	Client factors, including body functions (such as neuromusculoskeletal, sensory-perceptual, visual, mental, cognitive, and pain factors) and body structures (such as cardiovascular, digestive, nervous, integumentary, genitourinary systems, and structures related to movement) and values, beliefs, and spirituality.
	●	Habits, routines, roles, rituals, and behavior patterns.
	●	Physical and social environments; cultural, personal, temporal and virtual contexts; and activity demands that affect performance.
	●	Performance skills, including motor and praxis, sensory-perceptual, emotional regulation, cognitive, communication and social skills.
	2.	Methods or approaches selected to direct the process of interventions, including:
	●	Establishment of a skill or ability that has not yet developed or remediation or restoration of a skill or ability that is impaired or is in decline.
	●	Compensation, modification, or adaptation of activity or environment to enhance performance or to prevent injuries, disorders, or other conditions.
	●	Retention and enhancement of skills or abilities without which performance in everyday life activities would decline.
	●	Promotion of health and wellness, including the use of self-management strategies, to enable or enhance performance in everyday life activities.
	●	Prevention of barriers to performance and participation, including injury and disability prevention.
	3.	Interventions and procedures to promote or enhance safety and performance in ADL, IADL, rest and sleep, education, work, play, leisure, and social participation, including:
	●	Therapeutic use of occupations, exercises, and activities.
	●	Training in self-care, self-management, health management and maintenance, home management, community/work reintegration, and school activities and work performance.
	●	Development, remediation, or compensation of neuromusculoskeletal, sensory-perceptual, visual, mental, and cognitive functions, pain tolerance and management, and behavioral skills.
	●	Therapeutic use of self, including one’s personality, insights, perceptions, and judgments, as part of the therapeutic process.
	●	Education and training of individuals, including family members, caregivers, groups, populations, and others.
	●	Care coordination, case management, and transition services.
	●	Consultative services to groups, programs, organizations, or communities.
	●	Modification of environments (home, work, school, or community) and adaptation of processes, including the application of ergonomic principles.
	●	Assessment, design, fabrication, application, fitting, and training in seating and positioning, assistive technology, adaptive devices, and orthotic devices, and training in the use of prosthetic devices.
	●	Assessment, recommendation, and training in techniques to enhance functional mobility, including management of wheelchairs and other mobility devices.
	●	Low vision rehabilitation.
	●	Driver rehabilitation and community mobility.
	●	Management of feeding, eating, and swallowing to enable eating and feeding performance.
	●	Application of physical agent modalities and use of a range of specific therapeutic procedures (such as wound care management, interventions to enhance sensory-perceptual and cognitive processing, and manual therapy) to enhance performance skills.
	●	Facilitating the occupational performance of groups, populations, or organizations through the modification of environments and the adaptation of processes.
“Occupational therapy screening” means a brief process that is directed by an occupational therapist in order for the occupational therapist to render a decision as to whether the individual warrants further, in-depth evaluation and that includes:
	1.	Assessment of the medical and social history of an individual;
	2.	Observations related by that individual’s caregivers; or
	3.	Observations or nonstandardized tests, or both, administered to an individual by the occupational therapist or an occupational therapy assistant under the direction of the occupational therapist.
Nothing in this definition shall be construed to prohibit licensed occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants who work in preschools or school settings from providing short-term interventions to children prior to an evaluation, not to exceed 16 sessions per concern per school year, in accordance with state and federal educational policy.
“On site” means:
	1.	To be continuously on site and present in the department or facility where the assistive personnel are performing services;
	2.	To be immediately available to assist the person being supervised in the services being performed; and
	3.	To provide continued direction of appropriate aspects of each treatment session in which a component of treatment is delegated to assistive personnel.
“OT” means occupational therapist.
“OTA” means occupational therapy assistant.
“Reactivate” or “reactivation” means the process as outlined in rule 645—206.8(17A,147,272C) by which an inactive license is restored to active status.
“Reciprocal license” means the issuance of an Iowa license to practice occupational therapy to an applicant who is currently licensed in another state that has a mutual agreement with the Iowa board of physical and occupational therapy to license persons who have the same or similar qualifications to those required in Iowa.
“Reinstatement” means the process as outlined in rule 645—11.31(272C). Once the license is reinstated, the licensee may apply for active status.
[ARC 7982C, IAB 5/15/24, effective 7/1/24]