The Amplify OT Podcast

Understanding the Benefits and Limitations of Using AI in Healthcare and Clinical Practice Welcome to The Amplify OT Podcast with your host, Clarice Grote—occupational therapist, founder of Amplify OT, and self-proclaimed policy nerd who actually enjoys reading the long documents most people avoid. No matter where you are in your occupational therapy journey, you belong here as an important part o...

Hospice vs Palliative Care: OT's Role in Care and Comfort Welcome to The Amplify OT Podcast with your host, Clarice Grote—occupational therapist, founder of Amplify OT, and self-proclaimed policy nerd who actually enjoys reading the long documents most people avoid. No matter where you are in your occupational therapy journey, you belong here as an important part of this community. The work you do...

Home Health OT vs OT in the Home: Differences in Billing and Practice Welcome to The Amplify OT Podcast with your host, Clarice Grote—occupational therapist, founder of Amplify OT, and self-proclaimed policy nerd who actually enjoys reading the long documents most people avoid. No matter where you are in your occupational therapy journey, you belong here as an important part of this community. The...

Financial Freedom for Occupational Therapists with Doug Vestal As occupational therapists, our primary goal is to help and be in service of others. But to do that, we often undervalue our services, leaving us underpaid, undervalued, and on the road to burnout. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way. Doug Vestal joins me on the podcast today to talk about all things financial freedom for occup...

2025 Advocacy Updates: Navigating a New Congress, New Presidency, and New Initiatives The start of 2025 has had a lot in store for us as we navigate a new congress, a new presidential administration, and all that is being proposed as a result of these individuals settling into their new positions. This week on The Amplify OT Podcast, I am helping you stay informed and navigate the whirlwind of cha...

Healthcare Changes for 2025: End of Year Review With the closing of another year and looking ahead to a new Congress as well as a new presidential term, we can expect to see quite a few changes in healthcare policy. That’s why this week on The Amplify OT Podcast and my final episode of 2024, I am talking about healthcare changes for 2025! As an exclusive bonus for podcast listeners, you can j...

Voting for Healthcare in the 2024 Election The 2024 presidential election is upon us, and while healthcare plays an important role in every election cycle, this year’s election has a huge emphasis on healthcare and access to healthcare services. This, as we know, doesn’t just impact us as individuals but has an impact on our profession as a whole. That’s why this week on The Amplify OT Podcast, I...

PACE Programs: Patient-Centered Care in Action with Courtney Barr While many programs appear too good to be true, PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) programs are the real deal. Courtney Barr joins me on the podcast as we dive into the transformative impact of these patient-centered, collaborative care programs. That’s why this week on The Amplify OT Podcast, I am talking about pa...

Addressing Fraud And Upholding the Professional Integrity of OTs [Strengthening Occupational Therapy from Within] As clinicians, it is our job to find the balance between operating in a legal, ethical, and professional manner while always keeping the client’s well-being a top priority. As you may have experienced, these things don’t always line up and we find ourselves navigating incredibly diffic...

Social Media's Impact on Our Professional Trust and Credibility [Strengthening Occupational Therapy from Within] We tend to talk about advocacy as a way of trying to control external factors, predominantly policy and regulation, however, there is so much we can do as practitioners ourselves to change the future of our profession. One of these factors is simply how we use social media to either mov...

How the Overturn of the Chevron Deference Will Impact The Future of Healthcare with John Miller If you’re in the Amplify OT Membership or you’ve been paying attention to the Supreme Court then you may have heard about the overturning of the Chevron deference. Regardless if you’ve joined the conversation or not, it’s time to start paying attention as the overturning of this precedence may have huge...

Stop Saying "No One Knows What Occupational Therapy Is" I am standing on my soapbox when I say we have to stop saying, “No one knows what OT is”. I’ll be honest, I am guilty of this myself and am proactively working to change it because this phrase is detrimental to our profession and our perception of ourselves and prevents us from moving forward together. This week on The Amplify OT Podcast, I a...

Insurance and How It Impacts Our Plan of Care [Replay] As a therapy provider, you will see many insurance types including private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, as well as others. That’s why this week on The Amplify OT Podcast, I am talking about how insurance impacts our plan of care! Join the Amplify OT Membership As an exclusive bonus for podcast listeners, you can join the Amplify OT Membershi...

Skilled Nursing Facilities vs. Nursing Homes: What You Need to Know Often skilled nursing facilities (SNF) and nursing homes are used interchangeably as many facilities offer both services, however, they are two separate things. With the negative stigma surrounding nursing homes, it is important to know the difference between the two and use proper terms when communicating with your patients and t...

Decoding Medicare Advantage and Medicaid MCOs: Understanding the Coverage You may have heard (or even said) that Medicare Advantage is great if you’re healthy but terrible if you’re sick. But why is that? This week on The Amplify OT Podcast, I’m sharing what Medicare Advantage is, why it’s popular, despite these claims, and how it has expanded into the Medicaid space with managed care organization...

Volume-Based vs. Value-Based Reimbursement Models in OT Reimbursement models, in healthcare and business in general, incentivize specific behaviors. The reimbursement model you work under will directly influence what is expected of you. Once you have a better understanding of the incentive structures, you can work better within that structure. That’s why this week on The Amplify OT Podcast, I am t...

Amplifying Impact: Clarice’s Journey from Clinician to OT Visionary I had the incredible honor of receiving AOTA’s Gary Kielhofner Emerging Leader Award this year. So in celebration of this career achievement, Lindsay Bright joins me as my guest host to interview me on my journey from practicing clinician to OT advocate, my goals and plans for Amplify OT, and my vision for the future of our profes...

Spring 2024 Amplify OT and Healthcare Advocacy Updates 2023 was a big year for passing healthcare legislation. A lot of what came through Congress in 2023 is starting to be implemented early in 2024, impacting OT in a big way. That’s why this week on The Amplify OT Podcast, I am talking about OT advocacy updates for spring 2024.  Join the Amplify OT Membership As an exclusive bonus for podcas...

Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) in Skilled Nursing Facilities [Replay] Today's episode is all about the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) in Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF). Join the Amplify OT Membership As an exclusive bonus for podcast listeners, you can join the Amplify OT Membership at any time! Join today to take control of your career! It’s time to become your own best resource on Me...

From Policy to Practice: Everything You Need to Know About Section GG Section GG is one of my favorite topics to talk about because it was really one of the first indications of CMS starting to pay attention to function, mobility, and self-care as an outcome desired from healthcare services. This assessment continues to play an important role in functional assessments, quality measures, and reimbu...

Ep 45: An Interview with AOTA’s Vice-President Candidates Natalie Chang Wright and Christina Reyes Smith [Election Series Part 3] AOTA’s elections are upon us! That’s why this week on The Amplify OT Podcast, through a 3-part episode series, I am sitting down with the candidates running for President and Vice-President in the 2024 AOTA election. Through these conversations, it is my hope that we ca...

An Interview with AOTA’s Presidential Candidates Michael Pizzi and Vikram Pagpatan [Election Series Part 2] AOTA’s elections are upon us! That’s why this week on The Amplify OT Podcast, through a 3-part episode series, I am sitting down with the candidates running for President and Vice-President in the 2024 AOTA election. Through these conversations, it is my hope that we can all learn more about...

An Interview with AOTA’s Presidential Candidates Karen Sames & Arameh Avarizade [Election Series Part 1] AOTA’s elections are upon us! That’s why this week on The Amplify OT Podcast, through a 3-part episode series, I am sitting down with the candidates running for President and Vice-President in the 2024 AOTA election. Through these conversations, it is my hope that we can all learn more abou...

The Value of Membership in Shaping the OT Profession with Vikram Pagpatan AOTA’s elections are upon us and historically, less than 4% of members participate in annual voting. This is such a small percentage of practitioners influencing the future of our profession.  Today I am joined by AOTA’s presidential candidate and current Board Member, Vik Pagpatan as he brings us his insight from the i...

Cuts to OT for 2024 + Good News As we enter into a new year, it’s time to take another deep dive into the important updates that shape our profession and why it is so important to keep advocating year after year. That’s why this week on The Amplify OT Podcast, I am talking about cuts to OT in 2024, plus some good news we can look forward to! Join the Amplify OT Membership As an exclusive bonus for...