Licensing History
Occupational Therapy Practitioners Licensing Program
The Minnesota Department of Health is responsible for licensing occupational
therapists and occupational therapy assistants in Minnesota. The Department
first began regulating occupational therapy practitioners in June 1996 with
a system of registration. The regulations for registration prohibited the use
of protected titles unless education, supervised fieldwork and examination requirements
were met and the practitioner registered with the Commissioner of Health. In
2000, the Legislature enacted a licensing law to regulate the practice of occupational
therapy. The definition and scope of occupational therapy practice remained
the same. Licensing regulations prohibit the practice of occupational therapy
unless minimum qualification of education, supervised fieldwork and an examination
have been met and a license is issued by the Commissioner of Health. Licensees
must meet continuing education standards, and the Department can take disciplinary
action against any licensed practitioner who violates any of the prohibited
acts.
148.6402 Definitions.
Subd. 15. Occupational therapy. "Occupational
therapy" means the use of purposeful activity to maximize the independence
and the maintenance of health of an individual who is limited by a physical
injury or illness, a cognitive impairment, a psychosocial dysfunction,
a mental illness, a developmental or learning disability, or an adverse
environmental condition. The practice encompasses evaluation, assessment,
treatment, and consultation. Occupational therapy services may be provided
individually, in groups, or through social systems. Occupational therapy
includes those services described in section
148.6404
148.6404 SCOPE OF PRACTICE.
The practice of occupational therapy by an occupational therapist or
occupational therapy assistant includes, but is not limited to, intervention
directed toward:
(1) assessment and evaluation, including the use of skilled observation
or the administration and interpretation of standardized or nonstandardized
tests and measurements, to identify areas for occupational therapy services;
(2) providing for the development of sensory integrative, neuromuscular,
or motor components of performance;
(3) providing for the development of emotional, motivational, cognitive,
or psychosocial components of performance;
(4) developing daily living skills;
(5) developing feeding and swallowing skills;
(6) developing play skills and leisure capacities;
(7) enhancing educational performance skills;
(8) enhancing functional performance and work readiness through exercise,
range of motion, and use of ergonomic principles;
(9) designing, fabricating, or applying rehabilitative technology, such
as selected orthotic and prosthetic devices, and providing training in
the functional use of these devices;
(10) designing, fabricating, or adapting assistive technology and providing
training in the functional use of assistive devices;
(11) adapting environments using assistive technology such as environmental
controls, wheelchair modifications, and positioning;
(12) employing physical agent modalities, in preparation for or as an
adjunct to purposeful activity, within the same treatment session or to
meet established functional occupational therapy goals, consistent with
the requirements of section 148.6440; and
(13) promoting health and wellness.
