Physical Rehabilitation 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.

Restoring daily function after injury, surgery or serious illness.

The formal definition

Occupational therapists are experts at helping people lead as independent a life as possible. Occupational therapists bring an understanding of the physical and psychological implications of illness and injury and their effects on peoples' ability to perform the tasks of daily living. Occupational therapists provide interventions that can aide a person in completing ADL and IADL tasks, such as dressing, bathing, preparing meals, and driving. They also may fabricate custom orthotics to improve function, evaluate the environment for safety hazards and recommend adaptations to remove those hazards, help a person compensate for cognitive changes, and build a persons' physical endurance and strength. Occupational therapists' knowledge of adapting tasks and modifying the environment to compensate for functional limitations is used to increase the involvement of clients and to promote safety and success.

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.