2016 Delaware Code
Title 24 - Professions and Occupations
CHAPTER 20. OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
Subchapter I Board Of Occupational Therapy Practice
§ 2002. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them under this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

(1) "Board" shall mean the State Board of Occupational Therapy Practice established in this chapter.

(2) "Distant site" means a site at which a health-care provider legally allowed to practice in the State is located while providing health-care services by means of telemedicine or telehealth.

(3) "Excessive use or abuse of drugs" shall mean any use of narcotics, controlled substances or illegal drugs without a prescription from a licensed physician, or the abuse of alcoholic beverage such that it impairs a person's ability to perform the work of an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant.

(4) "Occupational therapist" shall mean a person who is licensed to practice occupational therapy pursuant to this chapter and who offers such services to the public under any title incorporating the words "occupational therapy," "occupational therapist" or any similar title or description of occupational therapy services.

(5) "Occupational therapy assistant" shall mean a person licensed to assist in the practice of occupational therapy, under the supervision of an occupational therapist.

(6) "Occupational therapy services" shall mean, but are not limited to:

a. The assessment, treatment and education of or consultation with the individual, family or other persons; or

b. Interventions directed toward developing, improving or restoring daily living skills, work readiness or work performance, play skills or leisure capacities, or enhancing educational performance skills; or

c. Providing for the development, improvement or restoration of sensorimotor, oralmotor, perceptual or neuromuscular functioning, or emotional, motivational, cognitive or psychosocial components of performance.

These services may require assessment of the need for use of interventions such as the design, development, adaptation, application or training in the use of assistive technology devices; the design, fabrication or application of rehabilitative technology such as selected orthotic devices; training in the use of assistive technology, orthotic or prosthetic devices; the application of thermal agent modalities, including, but not limited to, paraffin, hot and cold packs and fluido therapy, as an adjunct to, or in preparation for, purposeful activity; the use of ergonomic principles; the adaptation of environments and processes to enhance functional performance; or the promotion of health and wellness.

Services may be provided through the use of telemedicine in a manner deemed appropriate by regulation. Services also may include participation in telehealth as further defined in regulation.

(7) "Originating site" means a site in Delaware at which a patient is located at the time health-care services are provided to him or her by means of telemedicine or telehealth, unless the term is otherwise defined with respect to the provision in which it is used; provided, however, notwithstanding any other provision of law, insurers and providers may agree to alternative siting arrangements deemed appropriate by the parties.

(8) "Person" shall mean a corporation, company, association and partnership, as well as an individual.

(9) "Practice of occupational therapy" shall mean the use of goal-directed activities with individuals who are limited by physical limitations due to injury or illness, psychiatric and emotional disorders, developmental or learning disabilities, poverty and cultural differences or the aging process, in order to maximize independence, prevent disability and maintain health.

(10) "Store and forward transfer" means the transmission of a patient's medical information either to or from an originating site or to or from the provider at the distant site, but does not require the patient being present nor must it be in real time.

(11) "Substantially related" means the nature of the criminal conduct, for which the person was convicted, has a direct bearing on the fitness or ability to perform 1 or more of the duties or responsibilities necessarily related to the practice of occupational therapy.

(12) "Supervision" shall mean the interactive process between the licensed occupational therapist and the occupational therapy assistant. It shall be more than a paper review or cosignature. The supervising occupational therapist is responsible for insuring the extent, kind and quality of the services rendered by the occupational therapy assistant.

(13) "Telehealth" means the use of information and communications technologies consisting of telephones, remote patient monitoring devices or other electronic means which support clinical health care, provider consultation, patient and professional health-related education, public health, health administration, and other services as described in regulation.

(14) "Telemedicine" means a form of telehealth which is the delivery of clinical health-care services by means of real time 2-way audio, visual, or other telecommunications or electronic communications, including the application of secure video conferencing or store and forward transfer technology to provide or support health-care delivery, which facilitate the assessment, diagnosis, consultation, treatment, education, care management and self-management of a patient's health care by a licensee practicing within his or her scope of practice as would be practiced in-person with a patient and with other restrictions as defined in regulation.

65 Del. Laws, c. 172, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 71 Del. Laws, c. 293, § 1; 74 Del. Laws, c. 262, § 37; 80 Del. Laws, c. 80, § 11.;