The Occupational Therapy Software Market in 2026 is being significantly shaped by the permanent expansion of telehealth as a delivery modality for occupational therapy services following the pandemic-era demonstration that many OT interventions can be effectively delivered through video platforms for appropriate patient populations and clinical indications, with software platforms evolving to support integrated telehealth OT delivery that combines real-time video sessions with remote functional assessment, digital home program delivery, and asynchronous patient communication in unified clinical management systems. The occupational therapy applications most naturally suited to telehealth delivery include upper extremity rehabilitation exercises where therapist observation and coaching of home exercise performance is feasible through video, cognitive rehabilitation for neurological conditions where computer-based cognitive training tasks can be delivered and monitored remotely, mental health and wellness OT for anxiety, depression, and occupational performance difficulties in community-dwelling adults, pediatric early intervention where parent coaching and home environment assessment through video can be highly effective, and assistive technology consultation for equipment recommendations that can often be conducted through video assessment of the patient's home environment. The clinical adaptation of OT assessment for telehealth delivery has required development of validated telehealth versions of standardized assessments that can be reliably administered through video observation rather than direct physical interaction, with research validating telehealth administration of the COPM, AMPS-modified observation protocols, and pediatric developmental assessments for specific clinical populations and conditions where remote administration maintains adequate psychometric properties.

State insurance coverage policies for telehealth OT that were dramatically liberalized during the COVID-19 pandemic through emergency waivers allowing audio-video delivery of services traditionally requiring in-person contact are progressively transitioning from emergency flexibility to permanent coverage frameworks, with state-by-state variation in coverage permanence, eligible patient populations, allowable telehealth technologies, and required documentation creating a complex regulatory landscape that OT practice management software must accommodate through payer-specific billing rule configuration and documentation requirement tracking. The rural healthcare access equity application of telehealth OT is particularly compelling, as rural communities with limited OT availability frequently have the highest concentrations of patients needing OT services including elderly adults with age-related functional decline, rural trauma populations, and children with developmental disabilities in school districts without OT staff, where telehealth delivery can substantially reduce the geographic access barrier that limits OT utilization in underserved rural areas. Pediatric school-based OT telehealth represents a significant and growing application where school occupational therapists serve multiple school buildings in different districts, creating logistical constraints on in-person visit frequency that telehealth can supplement, with school-based OT telehealth enabling more frequent therapist touchpoints with students than travel-constrained in-person scheduling allows and enabling parent involvement in sessions that supports generalization of skills to home environments. As telehealth coverage frameworks continue stabilizing and OT software platforms mature in their telehealth integration capabilities including seamless documentation, remote assessment tools, and digital home program delivery, telehealth OT is expected to become a permanent complement to in-person service delivery that meaningfully expands OT access for underserved populations.

Do you think telehealth-delivered occupational therapy will achieve equivalent clinical outcomes to in-person OT for most clinical indications within the evidence base, or will the hands-on facilitation and physical environment assessment components of OT practice maintain the clinical superiority of in-person delivery for many patient populations?

FAQ

• What occupational therapy interventions are most effectively delivered through telehealth and what patient characteristics predict successful telehealth OT participation? Most effectively telehealth-delivered OT includes self-management education and coaching for chronic disease functional management, cognitive rehabilitation using computer-based programs administered through screen sharing, upper extremity exercise programs observed and coached through video with adequate room lighting, parent coaching in early intervention for pediatric developmental delay where therapist guidance of parent-child interaction is the primary intervention, mental health and wellness OT including behavioral activation and meaningful occupation engagement coaching, and adaptive strategy instruction for home safety modification and assistive technology use, while patient characteristics predicting telehealth success include adequate cognition for video navigation, stable internet connectivity, appropriate device availability, motivation for self-directed practice between sessions, and social support for technology assistance when needed.
• How are occupational therapists adapting standardized functional assessments for valid telehealth administration and what psychometric validation exists for telehealth assessment protocols? Telehealth adaptation of OT assessments requires modifying administration procedures for remote observation including providing standardized household item lists for assessment tasks requiring specific objects, developing video observation scoring protocols that account for camera angle and image quality limitations affecting detailed movement observation, training therapists in telehealth administration techniques that maintain standardized cueing and scoring, and conducting psychometric validation studies comparing telehealth to in-person administration across diverse patient populations, with published validation evidence available for telehealth COPM administration, modified AMPS observation protocols, cognitive assessment tools including MoCA administration through video, and pediatric developmental assessments in specific age and diagnostic groups.

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