The Single Assessment Process: An Opportunity for Collaboration or a Threat to the Profession of Occupational Therapy?

The single assessment process is being introduced into the care of older people across health and social services in order to streamline assessments, target resources carefully and improve client-centred practices with a focus on outcomes. Health professions may view this change as a threat because it recommends collaborative working practices that are outside professional tribal boundaries; occupational therapy may be perceived as particularly sensitive to such threats. In order to work in new ways and survive change, learning needs to take place both formally and informally and structures that facilitate the development of professional roles and responsibilities need to exist at organisational level.