Stakeholders Applaud RESNA Move to Combine ATS/ATP Certifications

ARLINGTON, Va.–After months of discussion and study, the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America has rolled out its plan to combine the Assistive Technology Supplier (ATS) and Assistive Technology Practitioner (ATP) certifications into one.

Unlike the current ATS and ATP designations, the new designation of Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) is not tied to a role, but instead “recognizes professionals who have reached an internationally accepted standard of knowledge in assistive technology and who adhere to RESNA’s code of ethics and standards of practice,” according to RESNA officials. The change is effective Jan. 1, 2009.

“RESNA has made this change to clarify the purpose of certification, remove confusion that is caused when certification is tied to roles and to identify a core knowledge base in AT that is common to all individuals working in the service delivery model so that they can consult, refer and work with each other to best serve the needs of the consumer,” said Anjali Weber, the organization’s director of certification.

Weber said RESNA will continue its scheduled ATS and ATP exams through the end of the year. Those earning the designations will automatically be transferred to the new designation, she said, and those already holding such certificates will be issued new ones with the redefined ATP designation. No additional testing or fees will be required.

An updated test designed for the new ATP certification will be released in January, and computer-based testing will also be implemented then, according to RESNA.

Assistive technology stakeholders largely applauded the move.

“We are in support of the consolidation. We think it is an appropriate move for the profession and the industry at this point,” said Simon Margolis, executive director of the National Registry of Rehabilitation Technology Suppliers.

He added, “There are going to be people who have reservations and who don’t understand it. We have spent the last 13 years working toward role-based certification, so it’s difficult to get your arms around.”

However, Margolis continued, NRRTS held a teleconference on the change with Laura Cohen, chair of RESNA’s Professional Standards Board, and she was able to address many of the NRRTS members’ questions and concerns.

Julie Piriano, director of rehabilitation industry affairs for Pride Mobility Products in Exeter, Pa., also supported the change.

“Overall, it’s a positive move. I know that there is going to be some confusion initially because the current ATS/ATP is looking [at it] as a role that the individual plays in the team as opposed to a knowledge base,” she said. “But in the long run, it hopefully sets up the industry, especially complex rehab, to move more toward a positive continuum of care similar to orthotics and prosthetics.”

Piriano said she particularly welcomed the ability through the new designation to speak a common language with others in the industry. “It’s very important to be speaking the same language with the providers, the clinicians, the researchers,” she said.

“It simplifies the confusion between the ATS and the ATP credential, and settling on the ATP was the right move, I think,” said Tim Pederson, president and CEO of WestMed Rehab in Rapid City, S.D., member of the American Association for Homecare’s RATC and an ATS himself. “I see it as a good move. It takes the confusion out of the marketplace.”

Last year, CMS’ DME Program Safeguard Contractors eliminated a requirement for a certified ATP to evaluate beneficiaries receiving certain power wheelchairs after industry stakeholders said the nationwide shortage of ATPs would result in an access issue for Medicare beneficiaries. (See HomeCare Monday, Dec. 11, 2007.)

Elimination of the ATP requirement, which had been set to take effect in April this year, drew mixed reviews, with Margolis saying at the time he felt the complex rehab and assistive technology profession had been “sold out.”

The new single designation changes all that, since it allows a baseline of knowledge, Margolis said.

“The rationale is that all people who are involved in seating and technology … need to have a certain baseline of knowledge [in whatever role they play]. This [designation] brings everything together and says, ‘Here is the baseline.’”

The exciting aspect of the change, he and other stakeholders said, is that specialty certifications will be offered by RESNA.

“The first specialty in seating and mobility will be available in the second half of 2009, and the process for clinicians and for suppliers will be a separate one that is yet to be determined,” Weber said.

She added that not all areas of practice require specialty recognition; which ones do “will need to be identified by those practicing and recognizing the need.”

Margolis said NRRTS will be involved in helping to develop the specialty certification for seating and mobility.

“We want a specialty certification that is affordable, accessible and realistic,” he said. “It can’t cost $600 and we have to be able to get to it. It has to be computer-based, using all the technology that’s out there, that measures what we do. I think our involvement is going to be critical.”

Weber said specialty certification might not be through a test. “Recognition in the various practice areas may be awarded by many different pathways other than an exam, including certificate programs, continuing education and training, strict work experience or education requirements and more,” she said.

As it moves forward with the new certification program, RESNA will work with funding sources, employers and accrediting bodies to ensure that the appropriate policy changes are made, officials said.