American Occupational Therapy Association Supports FDA Idea Lab

BETHESDA, Maryland—The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) announced its support of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Devices and Radiological Health’s Idea Lab, which will be a part of its Home as a Health Care Hub initiative. The Idea Lab aims to help innovators, providers and patients reimagine the home as an integral part of the health care system.

“Occupational therapy plays a distinct and critical role in the health and well-being of caregivers and patients and can often make the key difference in quality of life for individuals living with chronic disease,” said Katie Jordan, CEO of AOTA. “We thank the FDA for the opportunity to represent the occupational therapy profession in this critical discussion. AOTA stands ready to continue to contribute to this and future initiatives and recognizes the home environment as an integral part of the healthcare system for all people in the United States.”

In April 2024, AOTA was selected to serve on the FDA’s Home as a Healthcare Hub steering committee. The association was also invited to the listening session that helped inform the Idea Lab’s virtual reality prototype development. The Idea Lab will feature a virtual reality prototype, Lilypad, which intends to provide an immersive experience inside affordable homes for people living with diabetes. Additionally, the virtual reality feature seeks to provide a realistic look into the challenges and barriers people face navigating medical conditions in their daily lives. The Idea Lab will include insights from patients, caregivers, providers and experts, tours of different types of affordable housing environments and landscape research for design opportunities.

“As the national professional organization representing occupational therapy, AOTA asserts that the inclusion of housing and home modification considerations is critical at a time when payers, policymakers and quality experts are recognizing the importance of social determinants of health or social risk in the overall risk, profile and recovery trajectory for patients,” said Sharmila Sandhu, listening session representative and chief operating officer for AOTA. “AOTA continues to believe it is critical to incorporate key social determinants of health—in particular, housing status—into the fabric of health, care, coverage and payment.”

Industry expert insights, like those provided by AOTA, intend to help the FDA, innovators and other interested parties better understand how current medical devices fit into people’s homes and lives. 

“Focusing on the home as the individual’s healthcare hub allows us to gain insight and tailor interventions around those social determinants of health items that we know can either have a positive or a negative impact on health equity such as income, social support and the setup of a home environment,” said Sabrena McCarley, VP of clinical reimbursement and regulatory affairs for AOTA and committee member for the Home as a Healthcare Hub steering committee. “These are all very important factors when we talk about determining home modifications and technology recommendations.”