Environmental Modification Occupational Therapist

Occupational therapists (OT, OTR/L) work on the specific activities a person needs to do — dressing, writing, driving, returning to a job. Where a physical therapist typically targets the movement itself, an occupational therapist targets the task, including adapting the task or the environment.

Adapting the home or workplace so daily tasks become possible again.

The formal definition

Occupational therapy practitioners are experts at identifying the cause of difficulties in performance of activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. Occupational therapy practitioners evaluate the client, their environment, and their occupational performance in that environment, as well as make recommendations for products to improve the fit between the client, place, and activity. Occupational therapists can evaluate both the skills of the client and the environmental features that support or limit the performance of meaningful or necessary activities, thereby enhancing health, safety and well-being. Based on this assessment, they recommend modification and intervention strategies that improve the fit between the person and his or her environment.

Source: NUCC Health Care Provider Taxonomy code set. This is the definition used for billing and registration, which is why it reads the way it does.