👉 Capacity available in OT, Physio, EP, and Speech Path for Aged Care & NDIS clients
Referral Allocation Guide
Scope of practice
At Super Rehab our Physiotherapists (PTs), Exercise Physiologists (EPs) and Occupational Therapists (OTs) all work closely together to provide the best quality services for our clients.
While each profession has its own scope of practice, there are also times when our roles overlap. This is particularly the case for PTs and EPs and PTs and OTs. We have devised this resource to help you understand these differences. We hope this will help you when making referrals, and give you a better insight into the services each profession is able to provide for your clients.
Difference and overlap between PT and EP
PT and EP are both university qualified allied health professionals. They are both trained in the management of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, cognitive decline, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, falls risk, and back pain. There are some differences between these two health professionals:
- EP use exercise and movement prescription as their main form of intervention, for people who are healthy as well as people with chronic conditions and/or disabilities.
- PT can assess, diagnose and treat a wide range of acute and chronic conditions and injuries, including musculoskeletal, neurological, and respiratory diseases and impairments. They use physical methods, such as manual muscle and joint techniques, as well as stretching and exercise prescriptions to treat physical conditions and injuries.
In the community setting, there is often an overlap between PT and EP as both use exercise as the main form of treatment to help clients achieve their goals. These goals may include improving strength, balance and mobility and reducing the risk of falls. Both PT and EP help clients with a range of different conditions, including:
- chronic diseases (e.g. COPD)
- post-surgical rehabilitation
- reconditioning post falls
- neurological conditions (e.g. Parkinson’s Disease, MS, stroke)
- chronic pain
Both PT and EP can provide the following services to our clients in the community:
- exercise prescription and assistance to do home programs for strengthening, balance, mobility, and fitness
- replacement of walking aid
- recommendation on exercise equipment
Difference between PT and OT
Our OT and PT work to keep clients independent and safe in their homes. PT specialise in mobility, including the prescription of mobility aids. OT specialise in home modification assessments and equipment prescription to assist clients with their activities of daily living.
- PT can assess a client's gait pattern, physical impairments such as declining balance, joint deterioration and falls risk, and then prescribe a suitable mobility aid if the client hasn't used one previously. This ensures that the need for a new mobility aid can be thoroughly assessed and addressed by PT.
- OT can assess a client’s individual needs and observe his/her performance of daily activities in the home environment. OT also evaluate a client’s home setup and help the client identify barriers to his/her performance and safety during activities. OT then discuss solutions and strategies to facilitate the client's safety and independence at home. In terms of mobility aid, OT can only prescribe a replacement of existing mobility aids, for instance, when the mobility aids are broken or worn out, provided that there has been no change in the client’s function or health.
Apart from the above differences, both PT and OT can support our clients with the below requests:
- walking aids prescription/replacement
- basic community access wheelchairs prescription/replacement
- falls prevention education
Referral allocations flow chart
Referral allocations table
