Best practice for occupational therapists requires the use of evidence-based research to demonstrate the quality and efficacy of services provided to clients. A way to enhance the service delivery to clients is by using reliable and standardized methods of assessment. Standardized assessments must be population and setting specific to be valid and reliable measures that show clinically significant change. A literature search revealed six evaluation tools that are relevant for use with clients who have cardiac and respiratory conditions in the acute hospital and intensive care unit. These tests include the Alpha FIM, AM-PAC “6-Clicks” daily activity short form, Assessment of Motor and Processing Skills (AMPS), Barthel Index (BI), Functional Status Score in the Intensive Care Unit (FSS-ICU), and the Physical Function Intensive Care Unit Test (PFIT). A test manual describing each assessment’s purpose, design, scoring, cost, timeliness of administration, training requirements, and the available research’s strengths and weaknesses are examined.
