LAC 46:XLV.4926. Types of Supervision

A. General supervision is required for all occupational therapy assistants by an occupational therapist. General supervision shall consist of a client care conference at least monthly for each individual client. This is considered to be a minimum standard of client care conference frequency and it is the responsibility of both the OT and OTA to determine when more frequent meetings are indicated. The client care conference can be conducted using a variety of types and methods of supervision and may include: 1. observation; 2. modeling; 3. co-treatment; 4. discussions; 5. teaching; 6. instruction; 7. phone conversations; 8. video teleconferencing; and 9. other secure telecommunication technology. B. The specific frequency, methods, and content of supervision may vary by practice setting and is dependent upon the: 1. complexity of clients’ needs; 2. number and diversity of clients; 3. skills of the occupational therapist and the occupational therapy assistant; 4. type of practice setting; 5. service delivery approach; 6. requirements of the practice setting; and 7. federal and state regulatory requirements. C. More frequent supervision may be necessary when: 1. the needs of the client and the occupational therapy process are complex and changing; 2. the practice setting provides occupational therapy services to a large number of clients with diverse needs; or 3. the occupational therapist and occupational therapy assistant determine that additional supervision is necessary to ensure safe and effective delivery of occupational therapy services. D. A variety of levels and methods of supervision may be used. E. All methods of supervision must be compliant with HIPAA and confidentiality requirements of government agencies, facilities, employers, or other appropriate bodies. F. An occupational therapy assistant shall not administer occupational therapy to any client whose physical, cognitive, functional or mental status differs substantially from that identified by the supervising occupational therapist's individual program plan in the absence of re-evaluation by, or an immediate prior client care conference with, the supervising occupational therapist. G. An occupational therapist is responsible for determining the number of appropriate occupational therapy assistants to be supervised depending on the experience of the occupational therapist, the experience of the occupational therapy assistant(s), the complexity of the client, and the setting of care.