Phase I Field Trials Concluding on APA/WHO Manual for Health Professionals
by Professional Development
While the Phase I Field Trials are concluding, we continue to recruit clinician psychologists who are interested in learning more about the ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health) and would be willing to provide feedback on the expanded prototype Procedural Manual and Guide for a Standardized Application of the ICF: A Manual for Health Professionals. You can participate by contacting us directly.
The ICF: What is it and why is it important to me?
The World Health Assembly approved the ICF in May, 2001, making this the standard for reporting information on functional consequences of health conditions. The classification system is designed to provide a standard language and framework for systematically describing functional aspects of health conditions. This system is conceptually more compatible with psychology's orientation to overall health and well-being, rather than simply a narrow focus on disease states and diagnosis. APA has been involved in the development of the ICF since 1995 and is currently engaged in a unique partnership with the World Health Organization to develop tools to guide health professionals’ use of the (ICF).
The ICF system allows providers to classify what a person with a disease or disorder does do or can do using a shared language and framework. At last, psychologists and all healthcare providers will share a system for recording individuals' functioning, disability and health- and, for all individuals, the emphasis will shift from the disease to the ability. Psychological interventions are frequently aimed at improvement of functioning rather than alleviation of sysmptoms. Moreover, psychological interventions may be the treatment of choice for individuals with health conditions who do not have psychiatric disorders but psychologists frequently are prevented from providing these treatments. APA is engaged in a major advocacy effort with government agencies, health policy experts and payers to adopt the system. In doing this, APA's goal is for psychologists to have access to a large number of billable codes and the capacity to be reimbursed for a broad range of health and rehabilitative interventions.
APA Unveils Prototype Manual for Health Professionals at St. Louis Meeting
The APA, in a unique arrangement with the World Health Organization, is spearheading development of a multidisciplinary user's manual for the ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health). A prototype was distributed for review at the annual meeting of the North American Collaborating Centers (NACC) in St. Louis, MO on June 18, 2003. Participants from across the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and Egypt were on hand and represented academia, government, professional associations and clinicians (psychologists, physicians, occupational therapists, social workers, physical therapists, and speech language pathologists). The Practice Directorate is coordinating an interdisciplinary drafting team comprised of representatives from psychology, occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology who have drafted the first several chapters of the manual to be used as a model for future content development. Consensus conferences with representatives from psychology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech language therapy and social work were conducted in August and October 2003. Individual field trials to test the initial chapters for their utility, comprehensiveness and understandability are concluding. Contact us if you would like to participate in future evaluation efforts.
Final completion of the alpha draft of the Manual and a comment/review period are expected in 2004, while publication of the alpha version is anticipated for the following year.
