AAPMR

BACKGROUND: Although the State of Hawai'i overall may have an adequate number of physiatrists, there are physiatrist shortages on the neighbor islands. This study describes the demographics, practice type, and most important concerns of current practicing physiatrists within the state of Hawai'i. METHODS: A phone survey was conducted of 44 actively practicing Hawai'i physiatrists. Eligible participants were members of either the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPMR) or the Hawai'i Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation...

Physiatry is a relatively new area of medicine worldwide and continues to evolve to meet the medical needs of patients. The fundamental goal of Rehabilitation Medicine is functional performance and quality of life. Lord Viscount Tedder stated, "that the greatest field of the specialty lay in the restoration of individuals to full physical fitness, for he said, "life was not merely to be alive, but to be well". One of the highest awards in the AAPMR is the Frank H Krusen Award, and one of the awardees, Henry Betts and Joel Press, the founder of the Spine and Sports Rehabilitation Center at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, say, "Medicine adds years to people's life, Physiatry adds quality to those years...

Cost-effectiveness studies attempt to determine the ratio of costs to outcomes of a particular intervention or treatment and to compare a standard intervention with an alternative intervention to determine if the alternative is more cost effective. The goal is to establish priorities for the resources allocation and to decide among alternative interventions for the same medical condition. The global process of rehabilitation does not usually lend itself to cost-effective analysis (due to the complex set of treatments provided) but rather to specific interventions and specific aspects of outcome...