Managing changes in reimbursement patterns, Part 2.

Developing clarity of thought and written expression. We mest develop skills in putting information on paper that allow someone who is not an occupational therapist to understand why we are treating a patient. This is important because our services will continue to be reviewed by the system. It also helps us in the long run because it enables us to review our clinical decision making on whether a patient needs or continues to need skilled occupational therapy treatment intervention or something else. As we move into a prospective payment system, we must be able to make appropriate decisions, or we will lose first money and then our patients' satisfaction. Triage must be performed at appropriate pOints. Defining our level of services. Does a patient need services that require the skills, knowledge, and judgment of an occupational therapist? What clinical reasoning is expressed in the documentation? What criteria are used in the decision-making process' We must not confuse skilled occupational therapy with positive change. Skilled treatment is not always required to bring about positive change, and we should recognize that. But by clearly differentiating care from treatment we do not mean to abandon care. A therapist might be instrumenMary Foto