PURPOSE: To determine the inter-rater and test-retest reliability of the 
Orpington Prognostic Scale (OPS) in patients with stroke. Pilot data were 
gathered to evaluate its predictive validity for discharge destination and 
therapeutic services required on discharge.
METHOD: Ninety-four consecutive patients, admitted to hospital due to stroke 
participated. Pairs of physiotherapists (PT) and occupational therapists (OT) 
assessed patients using the OPS on days 7 and 14 post stroke. For inter-rater 
reliability, one rater performed the OPS while the other observed, each scoring 
the scale independently. For test-retest reliability, two different raters 
tested the subjects separately within the same day. Data were gathered on the 
discharge destination and the number of follow-up services prescribed.
RESULTS: The inter-rater reliability as measured by the intraclass correlation 
coefficient (ICC) was 0.99 (95% CI 0.97 - 0.99). For test-retest reliability, 
the ICC was 0.95 (95% CI 0.90 - 0.98). The accuracy for predicting discharge to 
home using OPS 5.0 was 65% (95% CI 0.52 - 0.76). OPS scores were not related to 
number of follow-up services prescribed.
CONCLUSIONS: Despite high inter-rater and test-retest reliability, the OPS has 
limited predictive accuracy for discharge destination and is a poor predictor of 
follow-up services.