OT in Primary Care

Earn 1 hour of continuing education by joining OT Potential after taking this course.

Course Description

For years, “Occupational Therapy in Primary Care” has felt like a professional aspiration—a “gold standard” we discussed in classrooms but rarely saw in job postings. Today, that reality is shifting. Following the 2020 statutory mandates in Norway and Sweden that solidified OT as a required primary care service, the global tide is turning.

In the United States, we are moving past the era of mere “co-location” toward true interprofessional integration. Driven by the rise of Alternative Payment Models (APMs) and the 2026 Medicare updates to Advanced Primary Care Management, the door is finally opening for OTs to lead in chronic disease management, mental health, and aging-in-place.

On today’s episode, we sit down with Dr. Ashley Halle, a leading voice in this movement and co-author of the foundational AJOT research on the topic, to discuss how clinicians can finally step out of the “hypothetical” and onto the primary care team.

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OT Potential courses are presented as live webinars, then released on-demand video and audio via the OT Potential Podcast. Attendance in the live webinar will be indicated on your certificate. Learn more about how our courses help meet live webinar requirements, and OT CEU requirements overall.

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Learning Objectives

1. You will be able to identify occupation-bassed assessments for OT professionals in primary care. 
2. You will be able to recognize evidenced-based interventions for OT professionals in primary care.

Agenda

Intro (5 minutes)

Discussion (40 minutes)

1. Tell me the story of your interest in OT in primary care?
2. Tell about the work you did in primary care.
3. What models exist for OT in primary care outside of the United States? 
4. How so you currently see the state of OT in Primary Care in the United States.
5. What would it look like logistically for OTs to work and bill in primary care? And what are the barriers?
6. What is your overall advice for stepping into a such a broad scope of assessment and treatment like primary care?
7. What specific assessment and treatment intervention were your go-tos in primary care. And, are there any specific intervention tools you wish you had in your toolbox? 
8. What do you think are the consequences of us NOT being part of primary care. 
9. What advocacy do you think need to happen for us to really step into our role in primary care.

Live Q&A (10 min)

Closing (5 min)

Supporting Research and Journal Articles

• Exploring Occupational Therapists’ Experiences in U.S. Primary Care Settings: A Qualitative Study
• The value of the occupational therapy workforce in primary care: A rapid review
• Acceptability and exploratory effects of an occupational therapy intervention to improve recovery and return to work of workers with mental health disorders in primary care: a mixed methods study protocol

Target Audience/Educational Level

Our target audience is occupational therapy practitioners who are looking to learn more about OT in primary care. The educational level is introductory.

Financial and Non-financial Disclosures

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

We here at OT Potential have no financial stake in this topic.

Speakers

Ashley Halle OTD, OTR/L, CAPS, LRC

Ashley Halle graduated from USC with a bachelor’s degree in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Studies and a minor in Occupational Science. She continued at USC to pursue her master’s degree in Occupational Therapy and then her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy degree. Her doctoral residency was completed at the USC Occupational Therapy Faculty Practice and her doctoral work focused on interprofessional primary health care.

Dr. Halle previously served as the Coordinator of Primary Care Residency & Services at USC Chan. For over a decade, she provided patient care and trained occupational therapy and other health professional students in primary care settings throughout the LA and Orange County areas. She also worked for 8 years as lead occupational therapist on the USC Geriatric Assessment Program at Keck Hospital, providing care in the home and clinic for older adults and their families. Dr. Halle now enjoys teaching students and is passionate about student learning to best support the next generation of occupational therapists who will help people live their lives to the fullest.

Dr. Halle is trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) and is a Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS) through the National Association of Home Builders. She also served on numerous volunteer leadership and national subcommittees, such as the National Quality Forum Technical Expert Panel on Preventative Care and a 3-year elected term as the chairperson of AOTA’s Home and Community Health Specialist Interest Section (HCHSIS).

Sarah Lyon, OTR/L

Sarah’s passion is helping fellow OT practitioners translate evidence into daily practice. Sarah earned her BA in religion from St. Olaf College, then earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy from New York University in 2011.

Since then, she’s worked in numerous facilities, including a critical access hospital, an acute trauma hospital, and a state inpatient psychiatric hospital. Sarah is the founder/owner of OT Potential. Read more about OT Potential here.

This course was designed to meet your continuing education requirements

We designed the courses in the Club to meet the requirements for “online” and “independent/self-study” courses. To verify the requirements from your specific state (within the US), check out our post, OT Continuing Education Requirements. If you are outside of the United States and have questions, please contact us.

We are proud to be an AOTA Approved Provider and to meet the requirements for your NBCOT renewal.

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