Occupational therapy practitioners as essential members of primary care

+Practice

In print

Clinical comment

Occupational therapy practitioners as essential members of primary care

16 August 2023

By Ryan B Osal

Wednesday 16 August 2023, 12:40 AM

Occupational therapy can help empower clients towards positive health behaviour change, such as taking a daily walk [Image: Jordan McQueen on Unsplash]

Occupational therapist/kaiwhakaora ngangahau Ryan B Osal explains how both you and your patients can benefit from including occupational therapy clinicians in general practice

Key points, Team-based and interprofessional collaboration within primary care is important for positive client health outcomes and the wellbeing of staff. Occu, Pract Green w Pale Yellow

General Practice

References

1. World Federation of Occupational Therapists. About occupational therapy.

2. American Nurses Association. Promoting Patient-Centered Team-Based Health Care. 2016.

3. RNZCGP. The Workforce Survey 2022: Overview Report. 27 February 2023.

4. American College of Physicians. Team-Based Care Toolkit.

5. Meyers DJ, Chien AT, Nguyen KH, et al. Association of team-based primary care with health care utilization and costs among chronically ill patients. JAMA Intern Med 2019;179(1):54–61.

6. Jordan K. Occupational therapy in primary care: Positioned and prepared to be a vital part of the team. Am J Occup Ther 2019;73(5):1–6.

7. Donnelly C, Leclair L, Hand C, et al. Occupational Therapy and Primary Care: A Vision for the Path Forward. Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists; 2022.

How to Treat

+How to treat

For older people and frail people, the long-term benefit of medicines reduces and the potential for harm from adverse effects increases. When the benefit–risk balance changes in this way, medicine review and optimisation are important to simplify the therapeutic regimen, reduce inappropriate medicines and minimise risks. In this article, pharmacist prescriber Linda Bryant uses two case studies to illustrate important considerations during medicine reviews

Wednesday 28 May 2025, 12:50 AM